Bill Knightly reviews Ken Burns’ documentary “The American Revolution”
Today, my friend Bill Knightly treats us to a review of Ken Burns’ new documentary, The American Revolution. As a historian with special expertise in the Revolution, Bill offers fascinating insights into a film he calls a “historical gem.” Here’s Bill:
Review of Ken Burns’ Documentary The American Revolution
By Bill Knightly
The latest Ken Burns documentary The American Revolution concluded its debut on public television this past Nov 21st. Like his previous films, this production is a comprehensive and engaging piece of documentary history.
Burns in six two-hour episodes dissects the causes, conduct, and outcomes of the American Revolution. It’s an impressive piece of educational scholarship that viewers are bound to find compelling.
Even those with little interest in history will find something to like in this series. It’s a much-needed relief from the mediocre mass-produced streaming content that frequently monopolizes American broadcast media. Those who watch The American Revolution will learn much about America’s turbulent founding and the characters and forces that shaped our country.
Form and Substance
Viewers will surely compare The American Revolution with Ken Burns masterpiece The Civil War, which was produced in 1990. The American Revolution will suffer by comparison, not because it lacks in essential history or storytelling power, but because absent are the period photographs that made the characters in The Civil War so alive and personal. In an age before photography, Burns was reliant on historic paintings, contemporary illustrations and maps to tell the story of America’s great struggle for independence.
Also missing is iconic music that made The Civil War so appealing. The haunting and memorable Ashokan Farewell became the musical theme of The Civil War. This captivating anthem seemed to perfectly reflect the mood of the era.
It’s puzzling and a real loss that the producers could not find an engaging piece of music to link the episodes of The American Revolution.
Whatever shortcomings viewers might find with the form of The American Revolution, it brims with real historical substance. Starting with the early history of the colonies, Burns details colonial life in North America during the French and Indian War, when England was the protector of its North American colonies.
The series progresses through the causes of the American revolution, the surprising break with England, the eight bitter years of desperate fighting and the tumultuous ending and aftermath of the war.
The American Revolution shines with the strong narration of Peter Coyote (now a robust 84 years old), and other voices such as Jeff Daniels as Thomas Jefferson and Paul Giamatti as John Adams. The traitorous Benedict Arnold is credibly voiced by Micheal Keaton. Tom Hanks, Meryl Streep, Samuel L Jackson and Laura Linney all have major voice roles.
Taxation, Slavery, and Indigenous People
Taxation as many Americans will remember from their school years was one of the proximate causes of the revolution (“no taxation without representation”). However, the details of British tax policy might make viewers re-think this issue.
The French and Indian War (known as Seven Years War in Europe) fought between 1756-1763, was a significant financial and military burden on England. British regulars in North America reached a high point of about 14,000 troops. Accordingly, the British government considered it reasonable to tax the colonists for a portion of their defense costs.
The Stamp Act (requiring an official tax stamp on all paper products) was enacted in 1765 and was aimed at recouping war costs. The colonists who had no representation in the House of Commons declared that only their local assemblies could impose taxes. The parliament repealed the Stamp Act in 1766. But was the tax unreasonable? After all the British government had protected the colonies and invested blood and treasure in their defense.
Had some compromise been negotiated on the Stamp Act, could the revolution have been avoided? Other taxes followed that ultimately lit the spark of revolution. Viewers may be motivated to read more about this interesting subject. It’s not as simple as generations of American grade schoolteachers made it sound.
The American Revolution does not shy away from two important issues: slavery and the treatment of the indigenous population.
Burns consistently reminds viewers of the great inconsistency of the Founding Fathers in announcing that “all men were created equal” while at the same time systematically denying the enslaved and indigenous populations the very freedoms for which the revolution was undertaken. It’s a powerful and consistent theme throughout the series. Unfortunately, another American war would be required to settle this issue.
The treatment of indigenous populations is analyzed in detail. Colonists regularly violated agreements with native Americans put into place by England. These violations put indigenous land and culture at risk.
A Revolution and a Civil War
One striking theme that Burns illuminates is that the American Revolution was every bit as much a civil war as it was a war for independence. Colonist fought the British and each other. American colonist (perhaps the majority) thought themselves English and felt loyalty to the King.
Breaking with the motherland was not something favored by significant parts of the population. American loyalists as they were to be called even formed units that fought for the British army.
The series points out that the loyalist were the “conservatives” of their time. American patriots formed a minority that clashed with those that held loyalist views.
Some of the most savage battles of the revolution, particularly in the south, pitted American vs. American. The battle of King’s Mountain, fought on Oct 7, 1780, in South Carolina was an all-American fight between patriot and loyalist militias with only a single British officer on the field.
Choosing a side in the revolution was not as easy as it may appear to modern Americans. It was fraught with unforeseen consequences for both patriots and loyalists. There is an old saying that one third of Americans favored the King, one third favored independence and one third just wanted to be left alone.
At the wars end, loyalists and their families were at risk in the newly independent American states. Loyalist property was confiscated and even burned. Individual loyalists were attacked and killed.
One of the final acts of the defeated British Army was to shelter loyalists, including enslaved people who had fled to British protection. Burns portrays this as a final act of honor. The British eventually provided safe transport to many of these American refugees to Canada, England, the Caribbean, and even Africa.
At the war’s end, American slave owners, some prominent statesmen, demanded the return of their runaway slaves. How ironic and disappointing that in the hour of victory for the country, freedom should be denied to those who wanted and needed it most. It was not the finest hour for the newly independent America.
The series is superb at illuminating obscure and little-known campaigns of the American Revolution. The epic American march to Canada and the failed attack on Quebec, the failed British offensives in the Hudson and Mohawk valleys, and the many significant battles in the southern states are all addressed in detail.
Viewers may be surprised to learn that an entire Continental army (over 5,000 soldiers) surrendered at the Battle of Charleston, South Carolina. It was the Americans’ biggest defeat during the war.
Takeaways
Among the many takeaways from this fine documentary, three deserve mention.
The first takeaway is the superb character and leadership of George Washington. It may strike the modern American population as trite and dated to call him the father of our country. The title may be wholly inadequate to do justice to his unmatched service to the nation. As commander of the Continental Army, he constantly struggled with a lack of resources, a shortage of trained soldiers, feuding generals, and a disjointed assembly of states.
Battlefield conditions always seemed to favor the British. Even in disastrous defeats such as Brooklyn and Brandywine, Washington persevered and sustained the army. While not the finest tactical commander, his true genius was realizing that he did not have to win. He just had to avoid losing. Consequently, he was a master of husbanding his army to fight another day. Burns rightly points out that the Americans could live with a draw and perhaps win, but the British could not.
It’s not an exaggeration to state that because of Washington, we have a country today. No other figure of the times could have done what he did.
Revered as he was by the entire American population, he gave up power when he could have become a dictator. Even King George III recognized this amazing fact. When told that Washington was relinquishing power, the King said, “If he does that, he will be the greatest man in the world.”
The second takeaway from The American Revolution is an appreciation for the resilience and perseverance of the Continental Army and the common foot soldiers who sustained it.
Rarely paid, meagerly fed and equipped, they faced the world’s most professional and well-trained army. They absorbed bloody defeats and they fought under staggering conditions in an unforgiving North American climate.
When Continental soldiers marched in freezing and snowy weather to surprise the German troops at Trenton, the conditions were so brutal that the only two Continental soldiers to die in the action, froze to death.
As the British wintered in Philadelphia and New York, the unspeakable winter at Valley Forge almost eliminated the army as a fighting force but somehow the Continental soldiers persevered until Spring.
The sheer stamina and fortitude of the American soldiers, a diverse mix of races, nationalities, and languages, is a message that rings loud and clear in Ken Burns’ film.
The third takeaway is implied in Burns’ final episode: Americans need to be worthy of the risks and sacrifices made by those who secured our independence. Not knowing how events would turn out, the Americans of the Revolution risked everything, including their fortunes, families, and lives, to secure freedom.
The outcome was never guaranteed. Their sacrifices cannot be taken for granted by those who have inherited the legacy of freedom and independence. Current and future generations of Americans have a sacred duty to ensure “a more perfect union.”
No matter what background viewers may have in history— from novice to expert, they are sure to learn much from this well-crafted march through the founding of America. Ken Burns has produced a historical gem and a lasting tribute to our country. It shouldn’t be missed.
About the Author
Bill Knightly retired from the U.S. Army after a career of 30 years. His service worldwide spanned 23 different countries, including multiple tours with units assigned to NATO. Among these assignments was a three-year stint as chief of the war plans division for the U.S. Army V Corps in Frankfurt, Germany, during the height of the Cold War. Bill is a graduate of the U.S Army Command and General Staff College, the U.S. Army School of Advanced Military Studies, and the U.S. Army War College Advanced Operational Fellowship Program.
After retiring from the Army as a Colonel, Bill worked as a civilian for the United States Southern Command (Miami, FL), where his duties took him throughout Central and South America and the Caribbean basin. He has also worked in the private sector and run his own small business. He now lives in Delaware, where he lectures, writes, and delivers podcasts on the history of northern Delaware and the surrounding region during the American Revolution.
The views expressed by guest authors do not necessarily reflect my views, those of the Center on Law, Ethics and National Security, or Duke University. See also here.
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