Analyzing American Revolution - AARevolution.net

The American Revolution was only one theatre in a global war—and far from the main event. Geopolitical rivalry and revenge drove France to rally other powers against Britain, transforming a colonial rebellion in the Americas into a globe-spanning military conflict—a true world war. After its defeat in the Seven Years’ War, France pursued a long-term strategy to weaken Britain, culminating in inter...

Dichotomy of Russians traditions toward the United States started from the beginning - in the American Revolution. While Russia did not fear 13 rebellious colonies that would eventually form a fledging nation, the Russian government feared the ideas of liberty and republicanism that came from America, including the popularity of Benjamin Franklin in Russia. An interesting point about this dichotom...

Steuben after Valley Forge is a story we rarely hear—but it’s when his most significant contribution to the Continental Army takes place. Did you know that Continental soldiers actually liked Steuben, even though he was a tough disciplinarian? Or that the Continental Congress never fully paid him what he was owed? This is the story of a bored, desperate, disgraced—but capable—Prussian officer who...

"An abject disaster"! Native Americans were not a side note in the American Revolution — they were central to it. In fact, much of the war was fought in Native lands. Yet, their story is rarely told. Most Native nations tried to stay neutral at first, calling the conflict a “war between brothers.” But expanding colonial settlements and pressure from both sides forced difficult choices. M...

Were American Loyalists simply “traitors” to the American cause — or were they defending what they believed was constitutional government? Did most American colonists support breaking from Britain, or was the American Revolution really a "minority project," as my guest argues in this interview? 📄 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ I nterview Transcript ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 🚩 About My 205th Guest: Dr. Rebecca Brannon is a pro...

What we often miss about the American Revolution is that it was in reaction to Britain’s empire-wide push for modernization—from India to Ireland, the Caribbean, and the colonies. The French and Indian War elevated Britain to unrivaled world power, but it also compelled Britain to overhaul its political, economic, and administrative systems—all of which met stiff resistance across its imperial pos...

Independence alone wasn’t enough. For Thomas Paine, the Revolutionary War was worth the fight only if independence led to a new kind of government and polity—one in which, as he famously wrote, “the LAW IS KING.” In January 1776—just six months before the Declaration of Independence—General George Washington and his officers were still toasting King George III. Paine’s Common Sense shattered any l...

Before "Common Sense" shook the Atlantic world, Thomas Paine lived a tumultuous life of struggle, failure, and radical discovery. He arrived in America unknown, ill, and nearly broken. Within a year, Paine would transform a rebellion for right to a revolution for independence. ►In this conversation, Professor Harvey J. Kaye traces Paine’s journey from working-class England to revolutiona...

In 1775, Concord was not a quiet rural town waiting for history to arrive. It was an important Massachusetts community already under strain—shaped by class divisions, religious tensions, and an eighteenth-century “affordability crisis” that had been building for years before "the shot heard 'round the world". 📄 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Interview Transcript ⁠ ►In this interview, Dr. Robert Gross examin...

The East India Company’s trade monopoly angered American colonists by undercutting their smuggling of Chinese goods and keeping prices high. This helped push Americans toward revolution — and it wasn’t just the Boston Tea Party. Patriots held Tea Parties up and down the colonies to challenge British tariffs and control. And it wasn’t only about tea: the consumer revolution had colonists hungry for...

Was the Boston Massacre inevitable? For its time, was it truly a “massacre”? And how much do we really know about that night—and how much comes from the stories people chose to share? 📄 ⁠⁠ Interview Transcript ⁠⁠ ► In this interview, historian Dr. Serena Zabin reconsiders March 5, 1770—looking beyond propaganda to the people, choices, and social networks that shaped revolutionary action in the da...

What role did Enlightenment ideas and Thomas Paine’s concept of common sense play in shaping the American Revolution? In this conversation, Dr. Sophia Rosenfeld explores how revolutionary leaders digested and adapted European intellectual currents, and how ordinary people were imagined as capable of participating in a new kind of politics. Discover the ideas that sparked change and still influence...

🖼️ Explore AAR’s Visual Index of the American Revolution☑️How much do you really know about the American Revolution? Quiz your knowledge ▶️In Analyzing American Revolution (AAR), more than 30 scholars tell the story of the American Revolution from 30 different perspectives. AAR is a special series production of the History Behind News program - now in its 5th season, where Adel Aali - host and pro...