Who Won the American Revolution?: Crash Course US History #7

In which John Green teaches you about the American Revolution. And the Revolutionary War. I know we've labored the point here, but they weren't the same thing. In any case, John will teach you about the major battles of the war, and discuss the strategies on both sides. Everyone is familiar with how this war played out for the Founding Fathers; they got to become the Founding Fathers. But what did the revolution mean to the common people in the United States? For white, property-owning males, it was pretty sweet. They gained rights that were a definite step up from being British Colonial citizens. For everyone else, the short-term gains were not clear. Women's rights were unaffected, and slaves remained in slavery. As for poor white folks, they remained poor and disenfranchised. The reality is it took a long time for this whole democracy thing to get underway, and the principles of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness weren't immediately available to all these newly minted Americans.

Learn more about the American Revolution in these other Crash Course videos:

Chapters:
Introduction: The American Revolution 00:00
The Battles of the American War for Independence 1:15
Colonists and the American Revolutionary War 2:50
Slaves and the American Revolutionary War 3:41
Native Americans and the American Revolutionary War 4:32
Women and the American Revolutionary War 5:36
'Revolutionary' Ideas: Voting Rights 6:17
'Revolutionary' Ideas: Religious Freedom 6:47
How the American Revolution Affected the Economy 7:16
Mystery Document 7:44
Slavery and Hypocrisy in the American Colonies 8:54
American Ideals of Equality 11:13
Credits 12:12

Want to find Crash Course elsewhere on the internet?

[danieleaken]

Imma put that Washington had a funny voice on my DBQ

[aeroscience]

Unfortunately, there is no crash course mathematics. It would be great if you guys made one!

[liz]

All of these comments are either about Hamilton or cramming for APUSH... I love the Internet.

[arielsteinsaltz]

Yes, French aid was very helpful in the war...
LAFAYETTE!!

[helloworld]

Laurens is in south carolina, redefining bravery,
"We'll never be free until we end slavery!"

[MIASpartan]

Best thing ever is when your teacher tells you to watch crash course instead of reading books or some other things.

[BulshtMan]

The last British soldier to leave American soil, lowered the Union Jack on Staten Island, cut the halyard rope and greased the flag pole so that the Americans couldn't raise or climb the pole to put up their own flag.

[emmamueller]

john green: george washington had a funny voice
me: *looks at chris jackson*

[sarahb]

Wait so this is the guy who wrote The Fault in Our Stars?

[doc.rankin]

I thought the British were trying to take away our propane and propane accessories.

[teresaellis]

John was so happy that he won the mystery document challenge that I had to watch it multiple time. Victory is yours John Green, victory is yours.

[Wolfeson]

2:41 In all honesty, Cornwallis' decision to establish a fortified base at Yorktown wasn't stupid at the time he made it. Entrenching yourself on a peninsula is a problem if you don't control the sea, but it's great if you do...and the British had throughout the entire war up to that time, and had little reason to fear they would lose that control. Plus, the primary source of supply for the British was seaborne (as noted, their forays inland into the countryside tended to not go well), so it made perfect sense for them to establish a fortified base at a port. The British had a longstanding tradition of sea supremacy, and tended to base their campaign plans around that. The British maintained sea supremacy throughout almost the entire war...except for that one brief period where they didn't, which turned out to be the important part. Yorktown only became a debacle for the British because of their naval defeat at The Chesapeake, which happened after Cornwallis' decision to retreat there, and was due to the failure of the naval commanders, not Cornwallis himself.

[PaintstheAdmin]

Who else here is watching these to binge study for a history exam?

[alyssajean]

41 more videos till i will be kinda prepared to take my APUSH Exam! WE CAN DO IT

[captainstarfish]

One reason I love Crash Course is because they always try to be non-biased. I hate how in some textbook stories and stuff people intentionally try to lighten up one side and antagonize others, or simply omit or exaggerate some information in order to make the story more dramatic and patriotic.

My favorite line from this video: "Well, Americans like to think that we all pitched in together and got rid of British tyranny, and lived happily ever after. Also that the Continental Army was the bravest, most loyal, and most effective fighting force in human history thanks to the leadership of George Washington. But actually– Well, yeah, let's go to the Thought Bubble."

Sorry if I offended you. It's just that I'm really offended by bias.

[gwynethcloa]

5:24
LIFE, LIBERTY, AND THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS
WE FOUGHT FOR THESE IDEALS WE SHOULDN'T SETTLE FOR LESS
THESE ARE WISE WORDS, ENTERPRISIN MEN QUOTE 'EM
DON'T ACT SURPRISED YOU GUYS CAUSE I WROTE 'EM

[ruler_riley]

There is a horrible lack of Alexander Hamilton in this episode

[_roen]

I got really upset when he didn't mention anything about hamilton....

Every other founding fathers story gets told every other founding father get to grow old *cries*

[timbuktu]

If it weren't for the French, we'd be speaking English today.

[hollyr]

"Don't put that on your AP test!"
*sweating surrounded by notes and textbooks 2 days before the test*
HE KNOWS