Maya Jasanoff, a Harvard history professor and expert on the American Revolution, joins the discussion to unpack pivotal events like the Boston Tea Party. She reveals how this iconic protest ignited colonial resistance against British rule. Jasanoff highlights the complex nature of the War of Independence, revealing it as a civil war of sorts. The conversation also touches on the Dunmore Proclamation, showcasing the struggle for freedom among enslaved individuals and illustrating the conflicting ideals during this transformative period in American history.
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Boston Tea Party
Colonists dumped British tea into Boston Harbor during the Boston Tea Party.
Paul Revere's etching and Sam Adams's dissemination of the Boston Massacre fueled tensions.
insights INSIGHT
The Tea Act's Purpose
The East India Company's presence in American waters stemmed from the Tea Act.
This act aimed to balance British interests with American colonists' needs.
insights INSIGHT
British Reaction and Colonial Organization
The British viewed the Boston Tea Party as destruction of property, a serious crime.
Colonists formed Committees of Correspondence, leading to the Continental Congress.
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Christopher Leslie Brown's *Moral Capital* explores the emergence of the British abolitionist movement by examining the impact of the American Revolution and changing views of empire and nation. The book highlights how abolitionism became a moral cause that benefited both the abolitionists and the enslaved, challenging traditional narratives of humanitarianism and economic determinism.
Rough Crossings
Simon Schama
Rough Crossings tells the story of thousands of African-American slaves who fled plantations to fight for the British during the American Revolutionary War, seeking freedom. The book follows their journey through the war, into Nova Scotia, and eventually to Sierra Leone, highlighting the roles of British abolitionists like Granville Sharp and John Clarkson. It explores the complexities of slavery, freedom, and identity during this period.
Epic Journeys of Freedom
Cassandra Pybus
Epic Journeys of Freedom explores the stories of thousands of slaves who fled their masters during the American Revolution, seeking liberty with the British. The book delves into the challenges these individuals faced as they navigated new lives in various parts of the British Empire, including Nova Scotia, London, Sierra Leone, and New South Wales. Through meticulous research, Pybus highlights the courage and resilience of these runaways as they pursued freedom.
Common Sense
Thomas Paine
Liberty's exiles
American Loyalists in the Revolutionary World
Maya Jasanoff
This book tells the story of the sixty thousand Americans loyal to the British cause who fled the United States at the end of the American Revolution. Through detailed individual and family narratives, Maya Jasanoff traces the extraordinary journeys of these refugees as they settled in Canada, the Caribbean, Sierra Leone, and other parts of the British Empire. The book highlights the experiences of individuals such as Elizabeth Johnston, David George, and Joseph Brant, and provides a provocative analysis that reevaluates the legacies of the revolution's 'losers'. Jasanoff's work combines broad global surveys with intimate narrative history, offering a new perspective on the founding of the United States and the post-revolutionary world[1][3][4].
The infamous Boston Tea Party sees colonists dressed as Native Americans dump British tea in the surrounding waters. Calls of “the British are coming!” rally untrained militias to stand together against one of the most advanced militaries in the world. The two sides have their first face off. A war begins. Listen as Anita and William are joined by Maya Jasanoff who explains how the War of Independence was just as much a civil war as any other kind.
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