Video Podcasts

Hessian POWs: Hold Them. Win Them Over. Weaken Britain.

Image of Adel Aali (program host) and his guest, Dr. Daniel Krebs, superimposed on the Betsy Ross flag, along cover image of “A Generous and Merciful Enemy: Life for German Prisoners of War during the American Revolution”. Visit AARevolution.net for more images of the American Revolution and for interviews of scholars with Adel Aali.

Introduction In this interview: “They wanted to take good care of those German POWs… Hey, if you leave the British and become American, this is how many acres we’re going to promise you.” Watch this segment in the video below (01:03:57; 01:07:39) Why treat enemy POWs well? Why offer them land? Why encourage them to […]

Why Canada Refused to Join the American Revolution

Image of Adel Aali (program host) and his guest, Dr. Jeffers Lennox, superimposed on the Betsy Ross flag, along cover image of “North of America: Loyalists, Indigenous Nations, and the Borders of the Long American Revolution”. Visit AARevolution.net for more images of the American Revolution and for interviews of scholars with Adel Aali.

Introduction In this interview: “It’s actually the other way. Nova Scotia asks to be invaded.” Watch this segment in the video below (37:49) Did Nova Scotia really asked to be invaded? If so, then why did George Washington refuse? And why did he invade Quebec instead – a campaign that ultimately failed? Why did Congress […]

The Habsburgs and the American Revolution: A Missing Chapter

Image of Adel Aali (program host) and his guest, Dr. Jonathan Singerton, superimposed on the Betsy Ross flag, along cover image of "The American Revolution and the Habsburg Monarchy", a book by Dr. Singerton that we discuss in this interview. Visit AARevolution.net for more images of the American Revolution and for interviews of scholars with Adel Aali.

Introduction In this interview: “May 13, 1779 is not a date well remembered by historians of the American Revolution, but it should be.” Watch this segment in the video below (00:38:41) Why did Benjamin Franklin enjoy greater access to Maria Theresa – Holy Roman Empress – than to Louis XVI – the French king? Did […]

Did the Treaty of Paris Create the United States?

Image of Adel Aali (program host) and his guest, Dr. Eliga Gould, superimposed on the Betsy Ross flag, along cover image of "Among the Powers of the Earth: The American Revolution and the Making of a New World Empire", a book by Dr. Gould that we discuss in this interview. Visit AARevolution.net for more images of the American Revolution and for interviews of scholars with Adel Aali.

Introduction In this interview: “We like the documents that we wrote. We didn’t write, you know, we Americans had to write the Treaty of Paris with the British. It is a bilateral document. And, you know, it’s not entirely a welcome truth that one of our three founding documents is an international document.” Watch this […]

Who Decides What the American Revolution Means?

Image of Adel Aali (program host) and his guest, Dr. Michael Hattem, superimposed on the Betsy Ross flag, along with the cover image of "The Memory of '76: The Revolution in American History", a book we discuss in this interview. Visit AARevolution.net for more images of the American Revolution and for interviews of scholars with Adel Aali.

Introduction In this interview: “The memory of the Revolution has often done more to divide Americans than to unite them.” Watch this segment in the video below (00:27:30) Most Americans think the meaning of the American Revolution has always been obvious. But has it? Did Americans always celebrate the Declaration of Independence the way we […]

America Compared to History’s Great Empires

Image of Adel Aali (program host) and his guest, Dr. Steven Pincus, superimposed on the Betsy Ross flag, along with an 18th century map of the 13 original American colonies. Visit AARevolution.net for more images of the American Revolution and for interviews of scholars with Adel Aali.

Introduction In this interview: “Americans invariably described their new polity, not just as a republic, but also as an empire… They used the word empire over and over and over again. Watch this segment in the video below (00:10:01) America was founded as a republic. So why did early Americans repeatedly describe it as an […]

Did the Declaration of Independence Actually Have Legal Authority?

Image of Adel Aali (program host) and his guest, Dr. Edward Larson, superimposed on the Betsy Ross flag, along with the cover image of Dr. Larson's recent book "Declaring Independence: Why 1776 Matters". Visit AARevolution.net for more images of the American Revolution and for interviews of scholars with Adel Aali.

Introduction In this interview: “They have to wait for the colonies to give them authority to go along with this. So the whole status of exactly the authority of the Declaration of Independence, it couldn’t stand alone. It required each colony to also declare independence, which they basically did.” Watch this segment in the video […]

1776: Seven Months That Changed America

Image of Adel Aali (program host) and his guest, Dr. Edward Larson, superimposed on the Betsy Ross flag, along with the cover image of Dr. Larson's recent book "Declaring Independence: Why 1776 Matters". Visit AARevolution.net for more images of the American Revolution and for interviews of scholars with Adel Aali.

Introduction In this interview: “1776 witnesses the drafting of the first written constitutions in the history of the world. Those were those new state constitutions that Congress called for in May of 1776. So that’s why this year was not a rebellion. That’s why this year was a revolutionary transformation in government…” Watch this segment […]

The Maritime Origins of the American Revolution: Press Gangs and Fishing Rights

Image of Adel Aali (program host) and his guest, Dr. Christopher Magra, superimposed on the Betsy Ross flag, along with the cover image of Dr. Magra's book "The Fisherman’s Cause: Atlantic Commerce and Maritime Dimensions of the American Revolution". Visit AARevolution.net for more images of the American Revolution and for interviews of scholars with Adel Aali.

Introduction In this interview: “John Adams pushes the British government after Saratoga, 1778. They begin the peace process. And the one thing that holds up the peace process is John Adams insisting on American rights to fish in the Atlantic Ocean. It holds up the peace process for five years.” Watch this segment in the […]

Spain’s Forgotten Role in the American Revolution

Image of Adel Aali (program host) and his guest, Dr. Gonzalo Quintero, superimposed on the Betsy Ross flag, along with the cover image of Dr. Quintero's book "Bernardo de Gálvez: Spanish Hero of the American Revolution". Visit AARevolution.net for more images of the American Revolution and for interviews of scholars with Adel Aali.

Introduction In this interview: “So the politicians, the U.S. politicians at the time, were not very happy when Spain was victorious. They needed Spain to continue to be harassing the Brits in North America in order that those troops were not concentrated against them. But they did not want a victory from Spain.” Watch this […]