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Up next, another story from our series about us. The Story of America. Here to tell the story is Hillsdale College professor Bill McClay, author of the terrific book, Land of Hope. If you know or have young people in your life, Check out his remarkable young reader's edition too. After the Declaration of Independence was signed, the question became, what's next?
Let's get into the story. Take it away, Bill. Declaration of Independence was a massive, amazing. World changing achievement. But in a way it was the easy part.
It did not take a miracle. To produce ringing words celebrating the cause of independence. It wasn't hard to have a few scattered Military victories against an enemy that wasn't fully prepared for war and that had the bulk of its power across the seas. But the admonitions of people like John Dickinson began almost immediately to have some resonance. Dickinson said the the Declaration was a skiff made of paper.
It was not destined. to sail for long.
So It's the morning after, a sort of a Hollywood moment where the camera moves through the crowd and everyone's cheering and bumping their fists in the air and feeling great inspiration. But at the same time, the very day on which the Continental Congress voted on independence. The British landed a force. with no resistance on Staten Island. By August, they had in place a force of 30,000.
This all happened immediately after the declaration. And remember, the colonists were divided in their sentiments. You had a lot of people who were loyalists, wanted to stick with the king. Obviously, the bitterness. between the Patriot cause and the Loyalist cause was only bound to grow.
So many disadvantages that the Americans had coming into this. the lack of armed forces, the lack of Trained armed forces. The lack of funds to provide for a reasonable and competent, let alone formidable armed forces to prosecute a war. All of these things were lacking. throwing a shadow of doubt.
over the whole enterprise.
Now, it's also true that Americans had, they were playing with a home field advantage. A big dispersed homefield. The British couldn't be everywhere at once. we were perhaps more motivated. The British regulars were supplemented by mercenaries.
German-speaking mercenaries, the Hessians, and others that were basically soldiers for hire. They didn't have the passionate commitment to the cause. that the columnists, the former columnists, had.
So there was motivation, there was home field advantage. Another advantage was that the British were the. Chief Power of the World, Chief Power Bureau. The French in particular We're still. Kind of Rubbing their wounds over the loss of their North American Empire to the British.
What fun it would be! to come in on the side of the rebellious colonists. and deal a blow to dethrone them. From their dominance, almost all of the other countries of Europe, particularly those with imperial aspirations. would love to see Britain taken down several notches.
So if France could be persuaded to join in, that would even the odds of it. That would compensate.
So playing for French alliance, support, whatever could be had, was always in the minds of the revolutionaries. And indeed, I think the Declaration of Independence was certainly written the places where you can almost see the appeal to the French popping out of the tech. And the Americans had one other great advantage. George Washington. You know, there's a lot of efforts to debunk the founders.
George Washington is just undebunkable. He was a truly great man. The more you know about him, the more you admire him. Just a fine character. A Patriot?
He strongly supported the patriot cause, opposed the British Parliament. He would have loved to retire to his beautiful estate in Mount Vernon. Beautiful place. Beautiful, restful place. But time and again, he came back into public life in trying situations, sort of do or die situations.
And gave his blood, sweat, and tears for the sake of the national prospect and the national honor. He was virtually incorruptible. Natural leader. Big guy, tall, muscular, big shoulders. He looked like a leap.
And everybody respected him. The revolution was full of intrigue and backbiting, the things you always have in human affairs. It's nothing out of the ordinary. Without a leader that everyone could agree on, everyone could look to. Everyone could trust.
Regard with a sense of his dignity bordering on awe. Without all of those things, It's hard to see that it would have all held together, particularly during the very, very difficult times.
So without Washington's leadership, it's very hard to see. How success could have occurred. One of the things he had to do was to raise an army. and hold it together. And that was a constantly shifting phenomenon.
he didn't know from day to day how many soldiers he had. in August of seventeen seventy six. He had 28,000 men. under his command. a considerable number.
By December of that year. He had three thousands. desertions That's the feeds. Alicia Bennu just went home. He faced this all the time.
When the army's morale went down, the army's numbers went down. Washington had to master the art. Of keeping people involved, keeping them on board, promising a better tomorrow. inspiring lip with the sense of To suffer without griping and complaining and moaning in rebellion for the sake of a cause higher than yourself. was what it was to be a man.
Uh He was very influenced by the Great Romans, particularly. You know, Cicero, Cato. Cincinnatus, it may not actually have existed, but Cincinnatus was a citizen who was brought out of his private life as a farmer to be the dictator of Rome during a period. To deal with a sticky situation and lead the military, which he did, and then he went back to his plan. Back to his farm, he did not choose to use the tremendous power at his disposal.
to install himself as a permanent leader. Anyway, Washington was often called the American Cincinnatus because he continually returned to his plow whenever he could. Cato the Younger Opposed the tyranny of Julius Caesar and represented the Republic. was also a hero of Washington. A play based on a famous play by Joseph Addison called Cato: a Tragedy.
He had it performed for the Troops. He used it to inspire his own troops to take the proud of nobility and self-sacrifice for a cause greater than oneself.
So, we couldn't have done better. We Americans could not have done better than to have Washington as our president. And in addition to all that I've said, he was a pretty darn good military leader. And when we return, more of this remarkable story, and it is so true, without George Washington. The indispensable man, as so many historians call him, Absolutely none of this is possible.
The story continues with Bill McClay. Here on Our American Stories. And we return to the story of us. The Story of America series here on Our American Stories with Hillsdale College Professor Bill McClay. When we left off, Bill was telling us about George Washington in the early days of the American Revolution.
Let's return to the story. Here again is Bill McClay. The winter of 1776-77 was maybe the low point of the whole enterprise. It's just a matter of months. after that glorious fist bumping, cheering, triumphant Declaration of Independence.
he faced this gloomy valley of despond. and what came to his rescue. was Thomas Paine. Thomas Paine wrote another document. in some ways even better than common sense.
This was called the crisis. It was a call to action. These are the times that try men's souls. But if Beautiful sentence that is. It's poetry.
These are the times. that try men's souls. There's so much there. One of the implications is that men Will encounter times in which their souls will be tried. They'll be going through a trial.
They With the possibility of defeat. These are the times that try men's souls. We are in one of those times. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will in this crisis shrink from the service of their country. But he that stands by it now deserves a love and thanks.
of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered, yet we have this consolation with us. That the harder the conflict the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly. It is dearness only that gives everything its value.
Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods. And it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as freedom should not be highly rated. Britain, with an army to enforce her tyrannies, declared she has a right not only to tax, but to bind us in all cases whatsoever. And if being bound in that matter is not slavery, then there is not such a thing as slavery upon earth. This rhetoric Is much more powerful, much more incendiary, much more down to earth.
The words are much more direct. These are the times to try men's souls. That's wow, that's a powerful phrase. Tyranny like hell is not easily conquered. Very punchy, powerful prosy.
Kane then goes on to address any self-doubt the columnists might have been feeling about the battle of ahead and make sure we're feeling it. Look at all those desertions. I have as little superstition in me as any man living, but my secret opinion has ever been. and still is. That God Almighty will not give up a people to military destruction or leave them unsupportedly to perish.
who have so earnestly and so repeatedly sought to avoid the calamities of war. by every decent method Which wisdom could invent. Neither have I so much of the infidel in me. as to suppose Then he, God, has relinquished the government of the world and given us up. The care of devils.
And as I do not I cannot see. On what grounds? The king of Britain. can look up to heaven for help against us. Common murderer.
A highwayman or a housebreaker has as good a pretense as he. Who?
So he gives a field report. To those who were not in the field, although eventually Washington would read these words to the men in the field. Our new army at both ends of the continent is recruiting fast. and we shall be able to open the next campaign with sixty thousand men.
well armed and clothed. This is our situation and who will may know it. By perseverance and fortitude, we have the prospect of a glorious issue. My cowardice and submission the sad choice of a variety of evils. a ravaged country.
a depopulated city. Our homes turn into barracks and body houses for Hessians. Look on this picture and weep over it. And that there yet remains one thoughtless wretch who believes it not. Let him suffer.
It. Unlamented.
So this was a Great. Gift to the colonial cause. And the timing could not have been better because on Christmas night in 1776. Washington struck back. And he led a force across the icy Delaware and surprised at dawn a sleeping force of Hessians, mercenaries.
At Trenton. A week later, he had a similar triumph in Princeton. These were two small victories. but they were a token of a more hopeful future. Maybe there would be a big victory to solidify the colonial cause and maybe induce the French.
to support the Colonists. And indeed they got that victory. The British general Johnny Burgoyne had a plan to slice New England off from the rest of the colonies, New England being the biggest troublemakers, of course. coming down from Canada towards Albany, New York. American forces came in and surrounded him.
He got bogged down in the woods because of his immense baggage train, with thirty carts carrying clothing and supplies of champagne. They called him Gentleman Johnny, not for nothing. And he was surrounded forced to surrender on October 17th. 5,700 British troops. were taken prisoner.
This was a big, big win. It was an indication the Americans, they were up to the fight in short. and that the French would not be backing a losing cause if they backed the Americans. Yeah. and concluded a treaty of alliance.
More immediately, the winter of 1776 to 78. loomed ahead. And this was arguably the lowest point. of Washington's Army. They were encamped at Valley Forge.
exposed to disease, to the elements, ill supplied, Ill-fed. Il Kleinad. The fate of the army hung like a thread. 2,500 soldiers died, another thousand deserted, another 7,000 were too ill for duty. Washington's army was decimated.
This indeed was a time that tried men's souls. But things started to improve. A Prussian general drawn to the colonial cause arrived and started training the army. made them into a competent military force? And the Continental Army was restored.
By summer of 1778, Washington's force was strong enough to go after the British forces in New Jersey. Things were going well. They didn't go so well in the American South until. with the help of the friendship. British General Charles Cornwall.
Made the mistake of bringing his force of 7,200 men down the peninsula. leading to your tent. He thought he'd be safe because the Americans didn't have a Navy. Heh. French Admiral Comte de Grasse.
Came up from the Caribbean. Blockaded the coast?
Meanwhile ferrying in truths, They affected a pincer move. On Cornwallis and he had no choice but to surrender. And this was in effect the end. of the British military effort. On the day he surrendered, it's said the British military band played a song familiar to the English titled The World Turned Upside Down.
We don't know for sure. But it makes It makes a good story because it conveys how Cornwallis and his men must have felt. This surrender meant that this war was over. The world had turned upside down. The colonists Had the w had become Not subjects anymore, but citizens of their own self-governing entity.
This was all in seventeen eighty one. It took a couple of years. to sign the Treaty of Paris, which confirmed American independence. The independence that had been declared in 1776 and had been fought for. in the ensuing seven years of struggle.
So now The greatest struggle of all remained: the struggle of making American independence into an effectual. Facts. a country that could stand Among the nations of the world. And a terrific job on the production, storytelling, and editing by our own Monty Montgomery. himself a Hillsdale graduate.
And a special thanks. To Bill McClay, professor of history at Hillsdale College, author of the fantastic book Land of Hope. The story of us. The STORY OF AmERICA. Here on Our American Story.
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Now it's all led to this. In Scream 7, Sidney Prescott thought she'd finally escaped the nightmare of Ghostface, raising her family in a quiet town far away from the horrors of Woodsboro. She was wrong. And this time, the target isn't just her. It's her teenage daughter, Tatum, who's the same age Sidney was when the terror began.
Nev Campbell returns in her iconic final girl role as Sidney Prescott, facing the most brutal and psychological ghostface yet. Joined by franchise favorites Courtney Cox, Jasmine Savoy Brown, and Mason Gooding, alongside terrifying New Blood, including Isabel May, McKenny Grace, Asa German, and more. Directed by franchise creator Kevin Williamson in his directorial debut, Scream 7 is packed with edge-of-your-seat scares and shocks for everyone, with references and callbacks for Scream fans everywhere. Ghostface is the terrifying horror icon alongside Freddie Jason and Michael Myers. And after 30 years, the mask still means one thing.
No one is safe. See Scream 7 in theaters February 27th because screams are always better when you hear them together. This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed human. Mm-hmm.
