Self-Evident: American History

We are ready to move on to the next thing, an escalation of things of sorts, the Townshend Acts. 

Taxation without representation as the cause for Revolution? That is one cause, yes, but let’s give credit to this new way to think about the rights of the individual which sprung out of the age of the Enlightenment. Once Britain infringed on the rights of colonial Americans once, it could happen again and the people needed to stand up to make sure liberty, their property, their natural right, was protected. 

The end of the Stamp Act is a little strange and like so many other parts of the American Revolution, unexpected and complicated. It was Patrick Henry who began speaking out about the Act, the riotous mobs threatened all loyalists who even thought about collecting such a tax. But now, how will Britain respond and why do they respond the way they do?

Does a mob fit in with the ideals of the American Revolution?

In this episode, are going to cover the British response to the end of the French and Indian War and the natural reaction of the colonists to that response. From here on out, each episode, each interaction between the colonists and the Brits is a clear step closer to revolution and eventually independence.

In this episode, we get to some of the really big causes and influences on the American Revolution. Today, we are talking about the French and Indian War. It is the first real cause or step towards the Revolution. The French and Indian War is part of a global conflict that took place between Britain, France, Spain and many others over colonial land and trading. Why this war matters is who came out of it as a hero, George Washington, and why the results of the war became a cause for revolution.

In the previous five episodes, we’ve covered five cultural regions of the 13 colonies up until the eve of the American Revolution. What we haven’t covered are the British. England. The mother country of these 13 North American colonies. In this episode we will discuss the monarchs which headed up the Empire, the nature of parliament and England’s relationship with the colonies.

Today we are talking Pennsylvania, founded with Quaker sensibilities in mind, the colony was lead with pacifism and tolerance, but on the eve of the American Revolution, the old ways of thinking in Pennsylvania would not do and control of the colony moved away from its founding in favor of independence.

The Deep South, the subject of this week’s episode, will have things in common with all three, as we learn about the founding of the deep south, what cultural features it had (and still has) and how its founding impacted its role in the American Revolution. The Deep South, also known as the “Lower South” would eventually be states like Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Arkansas. But for today and our purposes for the American Revolution, we will focus mostly on South Carolina with a little Georgia and Florida mixed in.

New York would be unlike both of them, and because of that, the city played a much different and crucial role in the American Revolution. In today’s episode we will cover how New York was founded, how it went from a Dutch port town to an English one and what all of that meant for the American Revolution.

As we will see, New England becomes hostile and the antithesis to a lot of the things that became a part of the culture of Virginia: New Englanders were all about public education, they were against a landed aristocracy and they were highly moralistic. Their original purpose was totally different as well. Where Virginia was a military outpost turned boomtown, New England was established to not just recreate English life in the New World, but to establish a brand new Utopia based on their version of Christian principles. Indeed, the Puritans who came to the new world in 1620 saw the New World as a chance to create a “City on a Hill,” that would serve as a model for the rest of the world.

This week, we focus on the growth of Jamestown: how it happened, who it impacted and what kind of culture it created in the Tidewater region. Again, when we talk about Jamestown, we are referencing the tiny town on a marshy land in eastern Virginia. When I reference the Tidewater region of what becomes the United States, I am talking about the Atlantic coast of Virginia, North Carolina, Maryland and the Chesapeake Bay that, over time, developed its distinct culture as a result of its geography, economy and founding.

This is the first part in a large journey we are taking on American History in general and the American Revolution specifically. Rather than jumping right into the struggles between colonists and the British crown in the 1760s, it is important to get some background on a few things. Not the least important of those things is an understanding that the group of states that we come to know as the 13 colonies, were vastly different places, with different economies, religions, governments, cultures and foundings. Rather than going into too much detail of each of these colonies, lets focus on these colonies as regions.

Jared Stuart and I discuss Universal Basic Income vs the Free Market in relation to ending poverty. 

The history of the first major secession movement in the United States.

In the wake of Russia-gate, I take a look at the reaction to George Washington's lowest moment as president: The Jay Treaty. 

Self Evident - Discussing the history of the constitutionality of West Virginia

A historical look at how states have become smaller and how present day movements to break up California and Texas would be a good thing.

Why do it? Why did 620,000 die? Why did millions fight? Did a bunch of poor, white southerners fight and die so their wealthy neighbors could keep slaves? Did a bunch of northerners go to war just to keep the Union together? Was it an abolition war? One of my goals this summer was to answer those questions by searching a collection of diary entries by the soldiers. The answer surprised me. Be sure to check out James McPherson's work on the subject: "For Cause & Comrades: Why Men Fought in the Civil War."

We go through the history of the Pledge of Allegiance and what it means for us today.

What if the Statue of Liberty has nothing to do with immigration? What if all immigration policy is illegal?

The maiden voyage of this podcast goes through the history of the 14th amendment, the good and the bad, and what it means for us going forward.