We will hear about the battle of bunker hill, the American Invasion of canada and the eventual british evacuation of boston. Okay everybody. So last class we were talking about the outbreak of the american revolution. Tension is building and a spring of 1775 general thomas cage sends troops in the countryside fighting breaks out at lexington and concord at nightfall, about 20,000 americans descend on boston, lay siege to the city, this war that nobody really wants but has been brewing for probably 12, 13 years, has started. We are going to talk whats called raja military does anybody take . French raja many tear this is april 1775 right after lexington and concord through the declaration of independence. This is sometimes called the Popular Uprising phase. This is the year of the revolution, that probably more people supported the war than any other one. Why do you suppose theres so much support for for the war this year . Any ideas . They havent started fighting it. Gabriel they haven
American history. I thought i would start by spending five or ten minutes just talking about the book. Partly its genesis and partly the kinds of questions that arose, which for me, gave the book a kind of larger scope than i had originally intended. The quotations that are in the book, the slogans and catchphrases, up until 1955 were easy for me to remember because i am a child of the forties. That is what i learned in school. That is how we learned history in school. Either the books that we took out of the library in fourth or fifth grade, or the way history was taught. But when i got to graduate school in the sixties, i discovered that some of my fellow students who came from overseas would come to meet periodically, as one woman did, and said, who is this joe and why should he say it aint so . So i told her the story. And then, much much later, a friend of ours who is an immigrant doctor from south africa came to me and said, why do my patience, when they see me, say whats up doc
Been brewing for 12, 13 years has started. So today were going to talk whats called [ speaking Foreign Language ] anybody take french . This is april 1775, right after lexington and concord, through the declaration of independence. This is sometimes called the Popular Uprising phase. And this is the year of the revolution that probably more people supported the war than any other one. Why do you suppose theres so much support for the war this year . Any ideas . They havent really started fighting yet. They havent started fighting yet. They dont know what war is going to mean. Anybody else, any ideas . Some of it, this is like fury. And i have some images to show you. Theres a historian named charles roister and he coined this phrase, rage militaire. And it says, the rage militaire has taken hold on the entire continent. The americans are fighting mad. Its a wild passion. What is rage . Go ahead. Anger. Intense anger. The americans are really furious. All this stuff has been building up
Today, were going to focus on the Continental Army. And this is were situating this very much in the broad history. Of war and the military. And the Continental Army, a lot of ways, is different from other armies that have preceded it, largely because its one thats very much based on ideals and certain concepts and beliefs rather than sort of your traditional army. So, what is the Continental Army, what is it . America. America, okay. Continental army based in america. It electrical but first United States army, but before it is the u. S. Army it is the army of america, yes. But what element . Certainly part of the American Revolution. The united colonies. Yeah, the united colonies. So when does the Continental Army begin . Its not necessarily with the start of the revolution. But we are going to pick up the story with the beginning of the war. So, a couple classes ago, we were talking about the french and indian war. And the french and indian war was a world war that fundamentally alt
Abigail would grow to be an equal of john adams. Confident and dearest friend. She has really revealed to herself as yes as an 18th century woman, but her concern some very modern to us today. John and Abigail Adams had become so prominent in the minds of americans because of this collection of papers and publications that have opened up to the world. The story of Abigail Adams and the revolutionary war is the story of sacrifice and commitment to country. Abigail rose to the occasion. Abigail was adamantly opposed to slavery. She was a the scenes kind of women. She warned her husband. You cannot rule without including what women want and what women have to contribute. The backdrop to the and to the adams brief occupancy in the white house is one of political defeat and personal tragedy. She is worried about her husband and defensive against slander. Shes concerned about her children, their upbringing and education. She could hold her own with anybody in her own time and since. She was