Revolution Revisited

We declared independence not too long before a series of obliterating, crushing defeats were suffered by our army. The British were trouncing us time and time again, and George Washington’s Continental Army was on the brink of destruction. But Trenton reversed that. It gave the army the morale boost it desperately needed and helped convince soldiers that maybe they really could beat the British. I...

Welcome to  Revolution Revisited™ , your crash course in the American Revolution. Join us as we dive into the stories of Virginia's rebels, rule breakers, and rabble rousers. While July 4, 1776, is a key date--and perhaps the most recognized in our history--it is not the end of the Revolutionary period. Season Three of  Revolution Revisited™ follows the war across the colonies, tracing the rol...

The colonies had maritime experience—they had sailed with the British Navy, they had operated on privateering vessels—but they didn’t have a navy of their own. And that’s the challenge as the Revolution begins. On land, you can turn militias into an army, but there’s no equivalent at sea. If they’re going to stand up to the British, they have to build a naval presence from the ground up.  In this...

What I think has really changed since the Bicentennial is that issues of race and gender have become much more at the center of the academic story. And one of the paradoxes is that by and large among academics, there's a greater sense of agreement as the landscape has become broader, whereas in the public culture, things are much more polarized. In this bonus episode of Revolution Revisited, l...

In this bonus episode of Revolution Revisited , host Maggie and guest Michael Plumb explore the perilous decision that George Washington made in December 1776 to cross the Delaware River in order to hold off the British Army – and more importantly, secure an important morale victory for his troops.  Inside the Episode: By December 1776, the American Revolution was hanging by a thread. The Continen...

Critical ideas about enlightenment that I think people can miss. It's all about learning, doing better progress. And progress requires virtue. It requires a commitment to civic society. It's communitarian. So when they're talking about liberty, it's liberty to participate because they're dealing with a monarchy where you don't have rights where the king and the nobility bas...

When you were in elementary school and you were learning about George Washington and the American Revolution, it all seemed like it was all gonna go really well. They were gonna win, obviously, and it was in no way obvious and it was super messy. There was a political mess. There was family mess, there was economic mess. It just gets to be so complicated so quickly. In this episode of Revolution R...

It's probably a relatively new phenomena that people are actually thinking about patriots and loyalists, because for a long time it was usually Patriots and red coats, right? So you were either a soldier that fought in the British Army or you were a patriot, and a huge portion of the population got ignored for a long time, because they didn't really fit the patriotic narrative established...

The real heroes in this story are the enslaved people. These people who left their homes based on very little information in order to seek freedom, I think, underscore the terrors of slavery and the fact that people were willing to take enormous risks to find a better life, even if it was a very, very big gamble. In this episode of Revolution Revisited, host Maggie discovers how words on a page be...

This is a great example of things like this happening all across Virginia at this time when the revolution is getting teeth, they are forcing people to choose sides. In this episode of Revolution Revisited, host Maggie takes us through the summer of 1775, as Virginia catches fire. What begins with impassioned debate at the March Convention erupts into open revolution as militias form, tempers flar...

 He was tall, he was muscular. He walked into a room and people took notice, and those might sound like frivolous things, but they're actually really important when you're trying to get people to follow you.  In this episode of Revolution Revisited, host Maggie Creech explores the journey of George Washington becoming the Commander of the Continental Army, and some of the choices that got...

Welcome to  Revolution Revisited™ , your crash course in the American Revolution. Join us as we dive into the stories of Virginia's rebels, rule breakers, and rabble rousers. Season Two of  Revolution Revisited™  follows the story of the Revolution as the colony moves from protests to open war, from royal authority to self-government, and from loyalty to independence. Across six episodes, hear...

Words had turned to action, and revolutionary sentiment simmered amongst Virginians.   In this episode of Revolution Revisited, host Maggie Creech provides a preview of the upcoming Season 2, along with a refresher on key points from the previous season. Inside the Episode: Before anyone fired a shot in the American Revolution, the colonies were already on edge and Virginia was right in the middle...

Revolutions involve people of all races and classes, and they are not just fought on the terrain of battlefields. They are fought in the mundane spaces of classrooms, whether we recognize them or not. In this bonus episode of Revolution Revisited, host Maggie Creech and guest Nicole Brown, a doctoral candidate at William and Mary, explore the Williamsburg Bray School's complex legacy in coloni...

It was a dose of courage for troops. It was a substitution for unclean water, a form of payment, and daily rations. They also used it as an incentive for taking on difficult tasks.  In this episode of  Revolution Revisited ™, host Maggie Creech explores the vital role that taverns and spirits played in both colonial and revolutionary Virginia. Featuring insights from Annie Tobey, a writer and edit...

He held this item when he declared, “Give me liberty or give me death”, and in fact pretended to plunge it into his breast as if it were a dagger. In this mini episode of Revolution Revisited, host Maggie Creech and guest Cody Youngblood, Director of Historic Preservation and Collections at Patrick Henry's Red Hill, explore the story behind Patrick Henry's paper cutter. This seemingly unas...

This revolution is this inherently radical thing, but it's being led by inherently moderate people. In this episode of Revolution Revisited, host Maggie Creech and guest Sam Florer delve into the pivotal events of 1775 that marked the transition from diplomatic efforts to armed conflict in the American Revolution.  The discussion focuses on the formation of local militias, the enforcement of b...

They wanted to make things right with the empire. They also wanted to protect their rights. In this episode of Revolution Revisited ™, host Maggie Creech, along with expert John Ragosta, explores the First Continental Congress of 1774 and the significant contributions of Virginia.  This episode discusses the early resistance efforts in Virginia, the formation and impact of Committees of Correspond...

The high literacy rates amongst colonists created the perfect environment for revolutionary ideas to take root. In this episode of Revolution Revisited ™ , host Maggie Creech explores the pivotal role of print culture in the American Revolution with guests Dr. James Herrera-Brookes & Dr. Cathy Hellier.  Highlighting the contributions of trailblazing printer Clementina Rind and the impact of Th...

They've just kind of decided they're going to meet whether the governor says they're going to meet or not. They feel that this is a crisis. In this episode of Revolution Revisited ™ , host Maggie Creech explores the transformative year of 1774 in the Virginia colony with guest historian Dr. Cathy Hellier.  Discover how Virginia's reaction to the Boston Tea Party and Britain's C...

What was supposed to be a decade of peace and prosperity actually is the road to revolution. In this episode of Revolution Revisited ™, host Maggie Creech and guest historian Dr. Richard Bell delve into the critical decade leading up to the American Revolution, from 1763 to 1773. As Britain grappled with post-war financial crisis, its new taxation policies on the American colonies ignited simmerin...

A skirmish in the backwoods of America set the world on fire.  In this inaugural episode of  Revolution Revisited ™, host Maggie Creech, alongside experts Travis Henline and Michael Plumb, delves into the often overlooked French and Indian War, revealing its critical role in igniting the American Revolution. As conflicts between European powers Britain and France entangled indigenous nations and s...

Welcome to  Revolution Revisited™ , your crash course in the American Revolution. Join us as we dive into the stories of Virginia's rebels, rule breakers, and rabble rousers. In  Season 1: The Road to Revolution , we trace Virginia's path through the French & Indian War to rebellion against the British Crown. From the Stamp Act to Patrick Henry’s iconic "Give Me Liberty" speech...