July 6-7, 2013: A Crowd-sourced Revolution

[To celebrate the Fourth, this week’s series has focused on some of the realities behind our Revolutionary myths. This crowd-sourced post is drawn from the responses and ideas of fellow AmericanStudiers—add your Revolutionary takes, please!]

Paul Beaudoin shares his “revolutionary memory: the story of Arthur Fiedler introducing the 1812 Overture as a part of the Boston Pops 4th of July celebrations on the Esplanade.”

Donna Moody follows up the Ethan Allen post, writing, “The short version has to do with the illegal admission of 'Vermont' as the 14th state in 1791. The Non-Intercourse Act of 1790 specifically outlines takings of Indian lands. The Allens figured prominently in the formation of this homeland into a state. Ethan Allen was first and foremost a land speculator. Vermont came into the union as a no-man's land--Congress was told that there were no Indians here so no treaties had to be made and no compensation for land had to be given. It is all very ironic as Abenaki warriors fought on the side of the colonists in the Rev. War. I guess at war's end they all marched off to Canada. And of course, we all know that ‘the weight of history’ removed any Abenaki land claims.”

Paolo Petrocchi hopes that we better remember “the representation (or lack of) women in the American Revolution.”

I connected on Twitter this week with Todd Andrlik, author of Reporting the Revolutionary War (2012) and co-founded of All Things Liberty.

Finally, this review essay on scholarly and popular histories of the Revolution is well worth checking out.

Next series starts Monday,

Ben

PS. What do you think? Other Revolutionary histories or stories you’d highlight?