How Do They Teach the American Revolution in Britain?

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Sources:

Fagerstrom, D. (1954). Scottish Opinion and the American Revolution. The William and Mary Quarterly, 11(2), 252-275

[nroke]

The UK is the world’s largest supplier of independence days.

[secretmilo]

UK: Who are you?
US: We declared independence and revolted against your tyranny!
UK: Do you have the slightest idea how little that narrows it down?

[williammccoy]

For Americans, it was the single most important date in the history of our nation. For the British, it was Tuesday...

[mikekeefer]

I have British friends who have very little knowledge of the American Revolution and the War of 1812. When they have visited the US I have taken them to several battlefields and monuments. They say they have never heard of these battles. They tell me that the British have fought so many wars that it is difficult to keep them straight.
I am a huge history buff, so when I have visited Great Britain, my friends have taken me to Blenheim Palace, Trafalgar Square, and the HMS Victory, to name just a few places. I find British history very fascinating.

[justsomeperson]

When your first wife leaves you, maybe it's her, maybe it's you. When your fourth wife leaves you, it's probably you? When your 62nd wife leaves you... Yeah. It's you. It's definitely you.

[AcmeWingbaby]

So, basically... “For you it was the most important day in your life. For me, it was Tuesday.”

[walsh]

I'm British. The way I look at it is, the American Revolution is a massive part of Americas hundreds of years of history, and a relatively small part of Britain's thousands of years of history

[haroldinio]

Simply put, British history is substantially longer then American history and so British schools can't give the same level as detail on the American Revolution as America can

[ViscidBeltUSA]

Unlike many countries that got independence from Great Britain, the American independence was unique. It was literally Englishmen vs the descendants of Englishmen living in a new continent. The American Colonists literally revolted against the country of their ancestry.

[metalman]

Americans fighting for independence:”go ahead, try to take our muskets”
Irish fighting for independence:”go ahead, try to start your car”

[captainbean]

I grew up in London, and was actually taught in decent detail about the revolution. The big difference between my American schooling and my person experience in the UK was that my British history-lessons bounced all over the globe. We learned about Egypt, Greece, China, Rome, England, Germany, France, and yes, America. We didn’t cover it in great detail, but I don’t recall their being much beating-around-the-bush. It was pretty much “king George was rebelled against for taxation and religious persecution”. Because that was all true lol.

[matlabninja]

My ex-mother-in-law is British, and described her education on the American Revolution as "Ungrateful colonists were'nt worth the effort to keep in line."

[CautionCU]

As an American, I can confirm we are disappointed that we are not trapped in your thoughts forever.

[samkf]

“History started on July 4th 1776, anything that happened before then was an accident.” - Ron Swanson.

[juliapigworthy]

I think the British view American independence the way parents privately admire their kids when they decide they've had enough of mum and dad's house rules and move out to build a future on their own terms.

[thesultanofsaltines]

I am an American and a bit of a history buff. Many years ago a friend of mine and I went to Cowpens South Carolina to see the famous Revolutionary War battlefield there. We didn't even realize till we arrived there that it was the anniversary of the battle and was quite an affair. There was a contingent of elderly British gentlemen that flew all the way from Great Britain to take part in the anniversary and to pay their respects to the British dead from the battle. They had uniforms on and were obviously British military veterans themselves, they even had a group of bagpipe players with them. I was always impressed with that, they were such charming old fellows to have a meet and greet with but you really had to admire their love of country and dedication, and how they came so far to a place even most Americans don't know much of anything about to pay their respects in rural South Carolina.

The American Revolution is as much British history as it is American. Not long before hostilities broke out most of the Colonists considered themselves loyalists to the Crown. That war was a very complicated one from a political stand point. Perhaps it is a bit of an over simplification to say that when it started you had roughly 1/3 of the Colonists were pro independence where as another 1/3 remained loyal to the Crown and yet the other 1/3 really didn't give a shit either way but as the war dragged on the majority of that last 1/3 had to pick a side eventually. It became a combination of a Revolution a world war a rebellion and a civil war all in one and it was nasty. But even the most ardent of the seperatists that took up arms against the British in that conflict often considered themselves loyal to the crown at one point. This is why it is as much British history as it is American history as much as anything and I would argue that perhaps this is a possible reason why American Independence from Great Britain is often passed over in British history classes.

[kpounders]

As an American, I'd love to hear a Today I Found Out about Brexit.

[jlsgarage]

Americans in the late 1700s: hey England can we have less taxes and freedom?
England: yeah, from our cold dead hands
Americans: *your terms are acceptable*

[lafleurRddl]

I’m not surprised that it’s not a major focus in Britain. You’ve got thousands of years of history to cover.

P.S. thanks Britain for the Magna Carta

[TheCrystonian]

This has been both a great video overall and an informative one. It is interesting to see what other nations teach historically about my home country. It does make sense for a country as old as the UK that something minor as a revolution and separation would be a footnote.