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***New Ken Burns Doc: The American Revolution***

12,554 Views | 119 Replies | Last: 1 mo ago by PatAg
El Gallo Blanco
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Sapper Redux said:

El Gallo Blanco said:

Sea Speed said:



Haha yeah I am going to fact check that part about Benjamin Franklin learning about democracy from the Iraquois. It was probably their example, and not books like Plato's "The Republic" and other writings that influenced the founders to choose their form of government.

It's no wonder there seems to be an increasing trend of people believing that whites have never contributed anything to any society and that everything was either stolen, ripped off or built by "people of color". Wish we could just get facts straight up, but I fear it will only get worse. Academic fields like History are increasingly comprised of die hard devout progressives...Ken Burns is a right winger by comparison to many "historians" coming up.

Basically, we won't be able to trust anything in 10 yrs or less.

Do you only believe something if it reinforces what you want to think?

No, I just have a heavy distrust that progressives won't bend things like history/the truth to serve their agenda or appease their woke gods.
Hey Nav
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AG
Sorry to break into this totally worthless political purity discussion, but I'm just going to say that I'm in love with Iris de Rode.

I'm surprised that she's Dutch (not French). But hubba hubba, what a voice.

Looking forward to her continuing contributions to the 250th Anniversary.
Sapper Redux
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El Gallo Blanco said:

Sapper Redux said:

El Gallo Blanco said:

Sea Speed said:



Haha yeah I am going to fact check that part about Benjamin Franklin learning about democracy from the Iraquois. It was probably their example, and not books like Plato's "The Republic" and other writings that influenced the founders to choose their form of government.

It's no wonder there seems to be an increasing trend of people believing that whites have never contributed anything to any society and that everything was either stolen, ripped off or built by "people of color". Wish we could just get facts straight up, but I fear it will only get worse. Academic fields like History are increasingly comprised of die hard devout progressives...Ken Burns is a right winger by comparison to many "historians" coming up.

Basically, we won't be able to trust anything in 10 yrs or less.

Do you only believe something if it reinforces what you want to think?

No, I just have a heavy distrust that progressives won't bend things like history/the truth to serve their agenda or appease their woke gods.


So that would be a yes. The history of the influence of the Iroquois on Franklin is not new or "woke." Franklin himself wrote about extensively. Believe it or not, history is more complicated than the simple narrative we get in grade school.
aTmAg
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AG
Sapper Redux said:

El Gallo Blanco said:

Sea Speed said:



Haha yeah I am going to fact check that part about Benjamin Franklin learning about democracy from the Iraquois. It was probably their example, and not books like Plato's "The Republic" and other writings that influenced the founders to choose their form of government.

It's no wonder there seems to be an increasing trend of people believing that whites have never contributed anything to any society and that everything was either stolen, ripped off or built by "people of color". Wish we could just get facts straight up, but I fear it will only get worse. Academic fields like History are increasingly comprised of die hard devout progressives...Ken Burns is a right winger by comparison to many "historians" coming up.

Basically, we won't be able to trust anything in 10 yrs or less.

Do you only believe something if it reinforces what you want to think?

Ironic
Sea Speed
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AG
Sapper Redux said:

El Gallo Blanco said:

Sapper Redux said:

El Gallo Blanco said:

Sea Speed said:



Haha yeah I am going to fact check that part about Benjamin Franklin learning about democracy from the Iraquois. It was probably their example, and not books like Plato's "The Republic" and other writings that influenced the founders to choose their form of government.

It's no wonder there seems to be an increasing trend of people believing that whites have never contributed anything to any society and that everything was either stolen, ripped off or built by "people of color". Wish we could just get facts straight up, but I fear it will only get worse. Academic fields like History are increasingly comprised of die hard devout progressives...Ken Burns is a right winger by comparison to many "historians" coming up.

Basically, we won't be able to trust anything in 10 yrs or less.

Do you only believe something if it reinforces what you want to think?

No, I just have a heavy distrust that progressives won't bend things like history/the truth to serve their agenda or appease their woke gods.


So that would be a yes. The history of the influence of the Iroquois on Franklin is not new or "woke." Franklin himself wrote about extensively. Believe it or not, history is more complicated than the simple narrative we get in grade school.


I am unaware of the extensive writings he did on this subject. Can you kindly do the needful and link the writings please?
Sapper Redux
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Sea Speed said:

Sapper Redux said:

El Gallo Blanco said:

Sapper Redux said:

El Gallo Blanco said:

Sea Speed said:



Haha yeah I am going to fact check that part about Benjamin Franklin learning about democracy from the Iraquois. It was probably their example, and not books like Plato's "The Republic" and other writings that influenced the founders to choose their form of government.

It's no wonder there seems to be an increasing trend of people believing that whites have never contributed anything to any society and that everything was either stolen, ripped off or built by "people of color". Wish we could just get facts straight up, but I fear it will only get worse. Academic fields like History are increasingly comprised of die hard devout progressives...Ken Burns is a right winger by comparison to many "historians" coming up.

Basically, we won't be able to trust anything in 10 yrs or less.

Do you only believe something if it reinforces what you want to think?

No, I just have a heavy distrust that progressives won't bend things like history/the truth to serve their agenda or appease their woke gods.


So that would be a yes. The history of the influence of the Iroquois on Franklin is not new or "woke." Franklin himself wrote about extensively. Believe it or not, history is more complicated than the simple narrative we get in grade school.


I am unaware of the extensive writings he did on this subject. Can you kindly do the needful and link the writings please?


Quick overview with some links.
https://blogs.loc.gov/law/2023/09/the-haudenosaunee-confederacy-and-the-constitution/

And an older book that covers Franklin and Jefferson
https://www.amazon.com/Forgotten-Founders-American-Indian-Democracy/dp/0916782905
Sea Speed
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AG
Sapper Redux said:

Sea Speed said:

Sapper Redux said:

El Gallo Blanco said:

Sapper Redux said:

El Gallo Blanco said:

Sea Speed said:



Haha yeah I am going to fact check that part about Benjamin Franklin learning about democracy from the Iraquois. It was probably their example, and not books like Plato's "The Republic" and other writings that influenced the founders to choose their form of government.

It's no wonder there seems to be an increasing trend of people believing that whites have never contributed anything to any society and that everything was either stolen, ripped off or built by "people of color". Wish we could just get facts straight up, but I fear it will only get worse. Academic fields like History are increasingly comprised of die hard devout progressives...Ken Burns is a right winger by comparison to many "historians" coming up.

Basically, we won't be able to trust anything in 10 yrs or less.

Do you only believe something if it reinforces what you want to think?

No, I just have a heavy distrust that progressives won't bend things like history/the truth to serve their agenda or appease their woke gods.


So that would be a yes. The history of the influence of the Iroquois on Franklin is not new or "woke." Franklin himself wrote about extensively. Believe it or not, history is more complicated than the simple narrative we get in grade school.


I am unaware of the extensive writings he did on this subject. Can you kindly do the needful and link the writings please?


Quick overview with some links.
https://blogs.loc.gov/law/2023/09/the-haudenosaunee-confederacy-and-the-constitution/

And an older book that covers Franklin and Jefferson
https://www.amazon.com/Forgotten-Founders-American-Indian-Democracy/dp/0916782905


So this article says he reviewed one publication, and wrote one article this partner about the Iroquois. Considering how much writing he did, I fail to see how these limited works can be said to have largely impacted the founding of the country nor do I find that to be extensive amounts of writing on this subject. Claiming that the founding of this nation was based on the Iroquois system of governance is revisionist history.

"Constitutional convention members such as Benjamin Franklin were very familiar with the Haudenosaunee Confederacy nations and their founding principles. He reviewed Cadwallader's The history of the five Indian nations depending on the province of New-York in America, and he wrote the article, "Short Hints Towards a Scheme for Uniting the Northern Colonies." Franklin wrote to his printing partner, James Parker, "It would be a very strange Thing, if [the] Six Nations… should be capable of forming a Scheme for such an Union, and be able to execute it in such a Manner, as that it has subsisted Ages, and appears indissoluble; and yet that a like Union should be impracticable for ten or a Dozen English Colonies, to whom it is more necessary, and must be more advantageous." He worked on the Albany Plan of Union and members of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy attended the Albany Congress, where members of northern colonies discussed forming a general council for their common defense.
AgFrogfan
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methinks erik the red doth spread his seed long before
Sapper Redux
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Again, I explicitly said this was just a small example and then linked an entire book based on a dissertation that goes into explicit detail.
AgFrogfan
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https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/russian-us-relationship-goes-way-back-john-quincy-adams-180960600/
amercer
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AG
FFS IS THIS THING GOOD OR NOT?

Love me some Ken Burns and would love some entertainment discussion on this before I get around to committing the 12 hours in the next few weeks.

Cast seems astounding. How does the usual Ken Burns style hold up with no photographs (much less video)

Sounds like least some people are learning new things, so I assume it stuffed with interesting facts
Sapper Redux
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It's good. It's a standard Ken Burns documentary. He condenses a VERY complex story into a digestible narrative and relies heavily on a few historians for most of his major beats. That means there's nits to pick, but if you aren't reading early American history nonstop, it's a great introduction to the war and the era.
Hey Nav
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AG
Without the photography, I liked how it used a lot of artwork from the period, some reenactments which remind me of going to places like Yorktown or Monticello or Williamsburg, and computer generated views of villages and soldiers marching. I feel it's well done.

Thankfully, it's not too graphic when talking about small pox, typhoid, and dysentery.

Just ignore the political police. It's worth your time.
Mathguy64
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AG
amercer said:

FFS IS THIS THING GOOD OR NOT?

Love me some Ken Burns and would love some entertainment discussion on this before I get around to committing the 12 hours in the next few weeks.

Cast seems astounding. How does the usual Ken Burns style hold up with no photographs (much less video)

Sounds like least some people are learning new things, so I assume it stuffed with interesting facts


I watched the first 3 episodes so far. I've been very impressed with the military side of the story. I guess I never realized how lucky Washington was. Howe should have beaten him twice and basically let him get away. It's been interesting watching the story of the battle for NY unfold, talking about hills and passes in Brooklyn and Manhattan. We just don't see the terrain there anymore as it's one big city.

I do think he minimized the story of the Declaration and its writing. All you got was "Jefferson wrote it by himself in 5 days." It totally ignored the contributions of Adams, Franklin, Sherman and even Paine.
Teslag
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AG
I'm a huge Ken Burns fan and watch everything he's made. Really like this so far but the constant whining about slavery gets old. Just fast forward through that **** starting in episode 2 and it's better.
Sea Speed
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AG
Sapper Redux said:

Again, I explicitly said this was just a small example and then linked an entire book based on a dissertation that goes into explicit detail.


Ok well I asked for primary sources. Writings Franklin did. One link you gave me mentioned two things Franklin wrote and the other is a book on a dissertation? Where are the extensive writings by Franklin to support your claims?
YouBet
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AG
amercer said:

FFS IS THIS THING GOOD OR NOT?


AgGrad99
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AG
Teslag said:

I'm a huge Ken Burns fan and watch everything he's made. Really like this so far but the constant whining about slavery gets old. Just fast forward through that **** starting in episode 2 and it's better.

That's how history is taught now.

When my son was still in High School, I took a history class from a local college with him. it should have been renamed 'The History of Racism in America'....but it was just a basic US History 101/102 class.

During the section over WWII, they tested extensively on the various ways different races were negatively affected...but Hitler was not mentioned. This is not an exaggeration. We joked, if you didn't know the answer to the question, pick the one that suggest the most racism...and that was the correct answer 90% of the time.

I did some research on the material. It was the #1 used material in High School and College in the U.S.

I dont care if you agree or disagree with parts of History...but it should be taught.
YouBet
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AG
I already mentioned in the thread, but I wasn't joking about my US History 101 course at A&M. My prof was a far left wing nut job who jettisoned the official syllabus on day one and replaced it with the novel "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas". Entire course grade was based on a test over the novel.

Lectures were him *****ing about HW Bush as Hitler. This was 33 years ago. Not the current left wing majority they now hold in academia
AgGrad99
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AG
Gotcha. I missed that in the thread.

I had great History professors at A&M. I'd never heard history taught that way (in story form), and it got me thoroughly interested in History to this day.

I'm very glad that was my experience, instead of the common crap today.
YouBet
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AG
Yeah, I was just pointing out that real History either does not get taught, or gets tainted with current day political whims. And that outcome goes back pretty far even in organizations where we think we can avoid it.
Teslag
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AG
Slavery did have a major presence and influence in the revolution. We all get that. And we all get that the founders owned slaves and it made many of their stances seem hypocritical. That **** has been covered. It's worthy to mention. But I don't need its relevance injected in every battle and situation. Nor do I need some sob story about slaves dying on an island of small pox. Womp
Womp, let's get back to the meat of the battles and the good stuff.

I would however like to watch a Ken Burns documentary on slavery in North America from the 15th century to emancipation. Would be fascinating, especially if they dive into its origins in Africa, the slave trade, its use in native cultures in America, the industry, what it did to families. There's a lot there to work with.

Just stop beating me over the head with it in everything. Burns even managed to work it into Country Music for ****s sake.
AgGrad99
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AG
Here we go....
Quad Dog
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AG
I'm really enjoying it. I've read multiple books about the revolution and I've learned a few new things or heard a new perspective on things I knew.

If you like other Burns, you'll like this. He does well weaving in actual words of figures, artwork, historian talking heads, and reenactments. A real highlight are the descriptions of battles and troop movements. The voice narration is also very good.

If you approach it wanting to be offended by word choice or emphasis, then you will be. Just like anything else in life.
OldArmy71
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AG
Though I have a minor in History and have read much on my own, I have not studied the Revolution very deeply.

I did not realize there was so much material (in the form of letters and journals) from common people at the time. Abigail Adams, of course, and I know that British officers had to submit reports to their superiors in America and also to investigative committees in Parliament, but Burns quotes so many voices from soldiers and civilians that pertain to current events.

When Burns' The Civil War came out in 1990, one of the talking points was that it was "the first war fought by literate people" or something like that. This series is refuting that idea! Just the fact that Paine's Common Sense sold so many copies and was so widely distributed and read illustrates the same thing.

I know that from the beginning of English colonization, the Pilgrims believed in literacy and education so that everyone would be able to read the Bible for themselves, but this series is reminding me of the widespread effects of that belief. Many people could clearly read and write at a high level.

I have family documents and letters that have come down to me from this time period--the earliest written in 1774--but none that mention anything worthy of historical note.
Hey Nav
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AG
Yes, I found it remarkable that people in the Colonies had a higher literacy rate than all European nations, except the Scandinavian countries.
Sapper Redux
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OldArmy71 said:

Though I have a minor in History and have read much on my own, I have not studied the Revolution very deeply.

I did not realize there was so much material (in the form of letters and journals) from common people at the time. Abigail Adams, of course, and I know that British officers had to submit reports to their superiors in America and also to investigative committees in Parliament, but Burns quotes so many voices from soldiers and civilians that pertain to current events.

When Burns' The Civil War came out in 1990, one of the talking points was that it was "the first war fought by literate people" or something like that. This series is refuting that idea! Just the fact that Paine's Common Sense sold so many copies and was so widely distributed and read illustrates the same thing.

I know that from the beginning of English colonization, the Pilgrims believed in literacy and education so that everyone would be able to read the Bible for themselves, but this series is reminding me of the widespread effects of that belief. Many people could clearly read and write at a high level.

I have family documents and letters that have come down to me from this time period--the earliest written in 1774--but none that mention anything worthy of historical note.


90% of Massachusetts men were literate in 1776 and something like 70-80% of women. Similar numbers in other New England colonies. It was literally a law that children had to be taught how to read and write so that they could read their Bible. Once you left New England those numbers plummet. About 60% of Virginian whites could read and write. That number was almost certainly lower in NC and SC, though good data is hard to find.

As a result, most of our documents from a common perspective come from New England and the Middle Colonies.
Cliff.Booth
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MW03
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AG
Hey Nav said:

Yes, I found it remarkable that people in the Colonies had a higher literacy rate than all European nations, except the Scandinavian countries.


I'd be shocked if 15% of the current American population could read and understand the Federalist Papers that were written for consideration by the average American of the period.
Seven Costanza
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AG
An appearance from the great Gordon Wood, still sharp at age 91. And he didn't even comment about the impact of social distinctions predicated upon wealth, especially inherited wealth.
Bunk Moreland
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This thread went as expected. SAD!
Teslag
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AG
Finished it tonight and thought it was great. Really wish they'd have gone more into the constitutional convention a bit more. Highly recommend skipping forward anytime they start talking about slavery or the natives. It's literally the same sob story every episode and you won't miss anything.
ABATTBQ11
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AG
Teslag said:

Slavery did have a major presence and influence in the revolution. We all get that. And we all get that the founders owned slaves and it made many of their stances seem hypocritical. That **** has been covered. It's worthy to mention. But I don't need its relevance injected in every battle and situation. Nor do I need some sob story about slaves dying on an island of small pox. Womp
Womp, let's get back to the meat of the battles and the good stuff.

I would however like to watch a Ken Burns documentary on slavery in North America from the 15th century to emancipation. Would be fascinating, especially if they dive into its origins in Africa, the slave trade, its use in native cultures in America, the industry, what it did to families. There's a lot there to work with.

Just stop beating me over the head with it in everything. Burns even managed to work it into Country Music for ****s sake.


Burns would never do that because it the US would be a footnote and many people would have to have some hard truths about their views on slavery.
Sapper Redux
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ABATTBQ11 said:

Teslag said:

Slavery did have a major presence and influence in the revolution. We all get that. And we all get that the founders owned slaves and it made many of their stances seem hypocritical. That **** has been covered. It's worthy to mention. But I don't need its relevance injected in every battle and situation. Nor do I need some sob story about slaves dying on an island of small pox. Womp
Womp, let's get back to the meat of the battles and the good stuff.

I would however like to watch a Ken Burns documentary on slavery in North America from the 15th century to emancipation. Would be fascinating, especially if they dive into its origins in Africa, the slave trade, its use in native cultures in America, the industry, what it did to families. There's a lot there to work with.

Just stop beating me over the head with it in everything. Burns even managed to work it into Country Music for ****s sake.


Burns would never do that because it the US would be a footnote and many people would have to have some hard truths about their views on slavery.


Slavery in North America would mean the U.S. isn't a footnote. World slavery after 1500 would also mean the U.S. isn't a footnote.
Seven Costanza
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AG
Ken Burns' The War, probably:

"Leading Easy Company into battle, Dick Winters, the great great grandson of a slaveholder. His mission: defeat the Nazis and free the shackled Jews, an irony given the shackles that burdened generations of enslaved Blacks in Winters' America. Through undying grit and determination, his team wiped out waves of Nazi soldiers, just as American settlers had wiped out the Native Americans in a genocide that Hitler could only dream of."
 
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