Was the American Revolution a Civil War? Story of American Loyalists

Introduction In this interview: “If it helps, John Adams famously said it was one-third, one-third, one-third, one-third patriot, one-third loyalist, and one-third in the middle. And there’s something to that. I would say it’s probably 25% patriot, 25% loyalist.” Watch this segment in the video below (00:15:38). Was the American Revolution a Civil War? The […]

American Revolution vs. American Isolationism

One of the most fascinating aspects of the Revolution — and one we were barely taught in school — is its global context. What many of us learned in school was a story of colonial protest, British taxation, and rising American resistance. That story is not wrong. But it is incomplete. The American Revolution was […]

How Britain’s Imperial “Modernization” Shaped the American Revolution

Introduction In this interview: “I think it was a revolution, but only a revolution if one realizes that it’s part of… it formed part of an imperial civil war in which the American aspect of it was the most successful.” Watch this section in the video below (00:14:34). What we often miss about the American […]

Thomas Paine to Obama: Why America’s “Original” Founder Still Matters Today

Introduction In this interview: “Paine knew this. He knew that he had to dissuade Americans from feeling any attachment to the king, to parliament, and to the idea of the British constitution.” Watch this section in the video below (00:04:56). From “Common Sense” to the “Crisis” papers, Thomas Paine challenged power and inequality. His writings […]

How Thomas Paine Became Thomas Paine: The Origins of “Common Sense”

Introduction In this interview: “Americans, of course, think of the Revolution and they think of the Declaration of Independence. But let me make it clear. During the Revolutionary War, people thought of Common Sense as the document of independence.” Watch this section in the video below (00:44:46) Thomas Paine arrived in America in late 1774 […]

Images of American Revolution – A Concord Perspective

Discover images of the American Revolution from Concord’s perspective, offering context beyond our videos and posts. These visuals help shape how we remember—and reimagine—the Revolutionary Era. Each image tells its own story, highlighting a key figure, event, or idea, while providing insight into the artist and its historical significance. Explore these Revolutionary Era visuals to […]

Concord’s Crisis: A Town Pushed to the Edge Long Before the Revolution

Introduction In this interview: “And they hold a muster and they don’t get enough people.” Watch this section in the video below (00:11:45). Concord, Massachusetts, on the eve of the American Revolution, was far from a small simple farming town. Beneath its seemingly quiet rural setting lay a community in social, political, generational and economic […]

Why China Mattered to the American Revolution | Dr. Dael Norwood – Part III

Why China Mattered to the American Revolution  Most Americans don’t immediately link China to the Revolution—but trade with East Asia was intimately woven into colonial life in the eighteenth century. Chinese tea, silk, and other luxury goods weren’t just consumables; they were status symbols that helped define social identity and economic aspiration in the British […]

Why China Mattered to the American Revolution | Dr. Dael Norwood – Part II

Why China Mattered to the American Revolution  Most Americans don’t immediately link China to the Revolution—but trade with East Asia was intimately woven into colonial life in the eighteenth century. Chinese tea, silk, and other luxury goods weren’t just consumables; they were status symbols that helped define social identity and economic aspiration in the British […]

Why China Mattered to the American Revolution | Dr. Dael Norwood – Part I

Why China Mattered to the American Revolution Most Americans don’t immediately link China to the Revolution—but trade with East Asia was intimately woven into colonial life in the eighteenth century. Chinese tea, silk, and other luxury goods weren’t just consumables; they were status symbols that helped define social identity and economic aspiration in the British […]