Blog #4: Rethinking the Revolution
Blog #4: Rethinking the Revolution
1) Because of the weapons used during this time period, the battles fought during the Revolutionary War were at close range, commonly involving bayonet charges as well as hand-to-hand combat.
2) Many civilians died from diseases spread by both armies, and many also suffered from coastal raids by the British. Furthermore, civilians also perished from attacks on the Indian frontier, partisan warfare, and in the struggle for control of cities.
3) The best remembered figures from the American Revolution were civilian leaders, including Ben Franklin, John Adams, Patrick Henry, and John Hancock. This was a major difference from the Civil War, where the famous heroes were all on the battlefield (Generals Robert E. Lee, Ulysseus S. Grant).
4) The most popular paintings from the Revolutionary War do not depict events truly accurately. They include the signing of the Declaration of Independence, British surrenders at Yorktown/Saratoga, and Washington crossing the Delaware. None of these paintings show a battle scene. This works to downplay the losses of the war, and make people think not as many deaths occurred.
5) The great leaders of the war (including John Adams and George Washington), made sure that their reputations seemed polished and intact, without anything unflattering calling their character into question. Washington went so far as to go through his early correspondences and fix grammatical errors, so he didn't seem unrefined, and monitored/revised an authorized autobiography of himself, to present himself in the best possible light.
One of the most famous paintings from the Revolutionary War; Surrender of Lord Cornwallis
WWI (synthesis)
Losses (including American ones) from WWI were downplayed after WWII, because they were much less. This is similar to how losses from the Revolutionary War were downplayed after the more numerous deaths of the Civil War. In total, WWI had about 10 million total losses, while WWII had six times that many, with 60 million deaths. American losses reflected a similar trend in the World Wars, with many more people killed in the second war than the first, making the first seem less significant.
1) Because of the weapons used during this time period, the battles fought during the Revolutionary War were at close range, commonly involving bayonet charges as well as hand-to-hand combat.
2) Many civilians died from diseases spread by both armies, and many also suffered from coastal raids by the British. Furthermore, civilians also perished from attacks on the Indian frontier, partisan warfare, and in the struggle for control of cities.
3) The best remembered figures from the American Revolution were civilian leaders, including Ben Franklin, John Adams, Patrick Henry, and John Hancock. This was a major difference from the Civil War, where the famous heroes were all on the battlefield (Generals Robert E. Lee, Ulysseus S. Grant).
4) The most popular paintings from the Revolutionary War do not depict events truly accurately. They include the signing of the Declaration of Independence, British surrenders at Yorktown/Saratoga, and Washington crossing the Delaware. None of these paintings show a battle scene. This works to downplay the losses of the war, and make people think not as many deaths occurred.
5) The great leaders of the war (including John Adams and George Washington), made sure that their reputations seemed polished and intact, without anything unflattering calling their character into question. Washington went so far as to go through his early correspondences and fix grammatical errors, so he didn't seem unrefined, and monitored/revised an authorized autobiography of himself, to present himself in the best possible light.
One of the most famous paintings from the Revolutionary War; Surrender of Lord Cornwallis
WWI (synthesis)
Losses (including American ones) from WWI were downplayed after WWII, because they were much less. This is similar to how losses from the Revolutionary War were downplayed after the more numerous deaths of the Civil War. In total, WWI had about 10 million total losses, while WWII had six times that many, with 60 million deaths. American losses reflected a similar trend in the World Wars, with many more people killed in the second war than the first, making the first seem less significant.
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