Join CJ as he discusses:

• Some thoughts on Great Man historical narratives
• An overview of what was happening in terms of rising tensions in late-1774 and early-1775, much of which related to British attempts to limit colonists’ access to weapons and gunpowder
• A fairly detailed account of the Battle of Lexington & Concord on April 19, 1775
• The actions of the Continental Congress, including the appointment of George Washington as Commander of the new Continental Army, and its consequences for the war and the future of America
• Ethan Allen & his Green Mountain Boys
• Some other early battles
• The situation as of the close of 1775

External Links

• Map of Lexington & Concord
• Charleston Law Review article “How the British Gun Control Program Precipitated the American Revolution” by David B. Kopel

Since this April is the 240th anniversary of the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, CJ has decided to do a multi-part Dangerous History Podcast series on this conflict, trying to focus as much as possible on the dangerous parts of the story, and the deeper implications of it, that the Man would rather omit from the narrative.

Join CJ as he discusses:

•  The state of affairs in the aftermath of the Seven Years War (aka French & Indian War)
• The various ways the British government attempted to increase their tax revenues from the North American colonies, and the resulting resistance from some of the colonists
• A look at the average, grassroots insurgents, including who they were and what motivated them
• The little-known False Alarm incident of September 1774, in which a rumor spread throughout the northeastern colonies that the British Navy had destroyed Boston, and the resulting spontaneous mobilization of thousands of New Englanders to get revenge, which was aborted when the rumor proved false, but which showed how quickly ordinary people could and would mobilize