Join CJ as he discusses:

• The increasingly influential counterrevolutionary faction among the independence leaders, as exemplified by John Adams & his essay, “Thoughts on Government”
• The largely mythical “Conway Cabal” against George Washington
• The fate of radical & guerrilla warfare advocate Gen. Charles Lee
• The impact of French & Spanish intervention
• Baron Von Steuben’s effects (for good & ill) on the Continental Army
• Benedict Arnold’s Betrayal
• The British switch to a Southern strategy, which initially goes well for them
• How the British began to get bogged down by partisan warfare and chaos in the Backcountry, and how clever American commanders such as Nathanael Greene and Daniel Morgan were able to turn the tide
• The retreat of the British Southern Army to Yorktown, VA, and their ultimate surrender to a Franco-American force in 1781, ending major military operations of the war

External Links

• John Adams’ “Thoughts on Government”
• Coincidentally, as I was finishing up recording & editing this episode (which has a fair amount of anti-Washington stuff in it), Stefan Molyneux put out a lengthy presentation called “The Truth About George Washington” that has a lot of dirt about the man from before, during, & after the War of Independence

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS | More

Join Prof CJ as he discusses:

• Thomas Paine & Common Sense
• The British evacuation of Boston
• The Declaration of Independence
• An overview of some of the military operations and battles of 1776-7, including Long Island, Trenton, Bennington, and Saratoga
• The winter of 1777-78 at Valley Forge
• A word about the 1777 British government document, “Considerations on the Great Question, What is Fit to Be Done with America?”

External Links

• The rotating-double-barreled Kentucky long rifle mentioned in this episode that came from a bit later than the Revolutionary era (this thing’s awesome!)