The American Revolution: Difference between revisions

[[File:streets-trentonBattle -of CopyTrenton 6469by Charles McBarron.jpg|framethumb|The town is re-captured.]]

Once upon a time, in 1775, The British Empire dominated North America, having won Canada from France in the [[Seven Years' War]]. However, a series of unresolved issues of authority and administration met with misunderstandings, misjudgements and tragedies which led to most of the colonies of British North America seceding from the Empire and later declaring themselves the United States of America. In the beginning, roughly a third of colonists felt this was justified; roughly a fifth never did, and a twentieth left the new country to remain the crown's loyal subjects. This was the American Revolution, the era of King George III of the United Kingdom, General Charles Cornwallis, King Louis XVI of France, General Jean-Baptiste de Vimeur, [[George Washington]], [[Ben Franklin]], [[Thomas Jefferson]], [[John Adams]], Benedict Arnold, the crossing of the Delaware, the Midnight Ride of Paul Revere (which was actually a rather underwhelming affair). As it would later be portrayed, this was [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTcVNuNX8yY&feature=relmfu a time when idealistic demagogues overthrew a tyrant and gave voting rights to the people] -- [[Values Dissonance|Well, if you were north-european, owned land, and male.]] The time of Modern Mythology in America, in short. In reality, it was a lot more complex, and in many ways far more divisive and terrible, and human - and British - than that.

Britain's colonies on the North American mainland were largely co-operative and patriotic until after the [[Seven Years' War]]. Britain's sound victory had three very important consequences. First, the seizure and formal concession of French Canada effectively removed the immediate security threat France had posed to British America. This meant that local elites no longer had any reason to avoid antagonising the central government in disputes between the two. Second, it left France thirsting for revenge and willing to pay a high price to get it. Third, it left the Crown short of cash. This led King George III and his cabinet to conduct an overhaul of the Crown's finances. This meant the cutting of defense expenditure, limited campaigns against governmental corruption, moves to ensure the proper collection of taxes and new laws to close tax loopholes. This led the civil service to re-examine the colonies' fiscal relationship to the crown relative to other possessions. Local elites in northern America worried that this could well mean the introduction of indirect taxes (tariffs, tolls, licenses &c) in line with Britain itself, which would hit themselves hardest of all.

* [[BFSBig Freaking Sword]]: Peter Francisco had nicknames like "the Virginian Hercules" and "Giant of the Revolution." He often used a sword in battle, but when he complained that the sword he had was too small, George Washington had a five-foot long broadsword made for him.

* [[Cheese-Eating Surrender Monkeys]]: Averted hard. The critical contributions of the French in both fighting and financing the war - with Dutch loans and Spanish... something - are often downplayed in modern tellings, though most Americans are aware of them to some extent. The sheer number of towns named [[MarquisdeMarquis de La Fayette|Lafayette]] alone should be indicative.

* [[ColourColor-Coded for Your Convenience]]: Brits are red, rebels are blue, Hessians are green, and when the French are lucky enough to turn up they're white. Paradoxically both [[Truth in Television]] and [[Did Not Do the Research]] at the same time: With the technology of the time it made perfect tactical sense to wear brightly colored, distinct uniforms. However, while the British and French could afford uniforms for all their troops, the Americans were perpetually strapped for cash and most of their troops fought in whatever clothes they brought from home, with the exception of a few small units and wealthy officers until late in the war. Also, Hessian mercenaries employed by the British (Germans from Hesse-Kassel) had their own uniforms which did not in the slightest resemble those of any of the other combatants.

* [[Culture Shock]]: One theory of the cause of it all is that the American and British systems had drifted apart for so long that when forced to cooperate by the [[Seven Years' War]] they discovered they could not abide one another.

** A brilliant commander and skilled drill instructor, not doubt about that. Some people credit him with the Continental Army's [[Took a Level Inin Badass|level taking in badass]] after the disaster that was Valley Forge, but according to many of the writings of the day his bombastic attitude and love of said profanity made him a walking [[Crowning Moment of Funny]] to the troops.

* [[PowerFreudian Trio]]: Hamilton et all not to be downplayed, but it was the combination of Washington's [[The Kirk|charisma]] [[A Father to His Men|on and off the battlefield]], Jefferson's [[The McCoy|steadfast beliefs]] and [[Only Sane Man|ability to keep the Congress in line]], and Benjamin's Franklin's [[Dangerously Genre Savvy|political tactics]] and [[The Man Behind the Man|quiet, patient]] [[The Spock|brilliance]] which formed the very core of the Continental Congress, and where perhaps the three most important leaders in ensuring an American victory for the colonies.

* [[Took a Level Inin Badass]]: The Continental Army spent the beginning of the war running for their lives. After the disastrous winter at Valley Forge they came back bigger and badder than ever. They still suffered their share of defeats but the British hardly recognized them as the same army they had fought six months earlier.