Would You Have Joined the American Revolution?

Main ideas / concepts / lessons

• Core question (counterfactual): The video asks whether you personally would have joined the American Revolution, arguing that the “right answer” depends heavily on who you were in the pre–United States (1775) world.
• Why answers would differ across people:
  • In the 1770s, joining was high-risk and uncertain (you could die in combat, from sickness, or be executed for treason).
  • There was no United States yet—people were British colonists or from other nearby groups/nations.
  • Many Americans today imagine familiar revolutionary figures, but most people would have been ordinary, not elite.
• Method of analysis (implicit thought exercise): Put yourself in the “uncomfortable shoes” of an average person by social position and then evaluate what incentives or threats would shape their choices.

“Who would you have been?” — perspectives covered

The video outlines several major social categories and the likely pressures behind choices.

African American (enslaved or otherwise oppressed)

• By 1775, about 500,000 Black people lived in the 13 colonies, most enslaved, so many would have had limited legal control.
• British promise / recruitment:
  • In 1776, Lord Dunmore offered enslaved Black people freedom if they joined his troops.
  • Hundreds joined Dunmore’s forces.
  • As the war progressed, as many as 100,000 escaped, often with help from British forces.
• Washington’s stance:
  • George Washington turned down official requests from African Americans to join.
  • Reason given: in some counties enslaved Black people were 25–50% of the population, so arming them threatened the white slave-owning population (which Washington was part of).
• Reversal / later recruitment:
  • By 1778, colonists lifted the ban on Black soldiers.
  • An estimated 5,000 Black soldiers joined the colonial side.
• Lesson for this group: The “choice” often centered on which side seemed to offer the greatest potential for freedom, since the war’s outcome could change their lives.

Native American

• Participation would likely be determined by maintaining autonomy from both colonies and other powers.
• The “political landscape” is framed as separate Native nations plus “kind of” connected British colonies—not a single American nation.
• Context for siding decisions:
  • Colonist–Native interactions were often hostile (example referenced: Bacon’s Rebellion).
  • Proclamation of 1763 (after Pontiac’s revolt) restricted colonial expansion westward by forbidding land purchases beyond the Appalachian boundary.
• Choice pattern: Many nations sided with the British, but some sided with the colonists due to regional alliances, bargaining, and freedom-related goals.

Women (all backgrounds)

• Women were not officially recruited into armed combat, but played crucial roles supporting war operations.
• Responsibilities included food, clothing, and maintaining households for men fighting.
• Some women also participated directly on the battlefield.
  • Example: Prudence Cummings Wright (Pepperell, Massachusetts) formed a militia of 30–40 women to guard the town and intercept suspected Tory spies.
• Lesson for this group: Support or resistance to the revolution was tied to self-protection and autonomy, not only to whether male relatives fought.

Free, white, land-owning male

• Property ownership is presented as central to political rights and office-holding.
• Citing Howard Zinn:
  • In Maryland (1776), a white man needed:
    • 1,000 pounds of property to run for state senator
    • 5,000 pounds of property to run for governor
  • This excluded about 90% from office.
• Likely incentives:
  • Very wealthy landowners might be more inclined toward siding with the British because they benefited from the existing order (e.g., collecting taxes, being at the top).
  • Mid-level small farmers/property owners worried independence could risk losing their land either due to tax burdens, poor yields, or if rebellion failed.
• Risk/reward framing:
  • For some, it’s portrayed as high risk high reward.
  • For others (especially colonial officials), it could be high risk with little reward.

White men without property (poor or non-property owning)

• This group is described as a major source of people drawn into fighting.
• Although men of many backgrounds fought on both sides, men in this category could gain materially:
  • The Continental Army offered money and land to enlisted men.
  • Land could significantly raise political status.
• Recruitment and enthusiasm over time:
  • Citing historian John Ferling:
    • Initial response after the British marched from Boston on April 19, 1775 included messenger alerts (including Paul Revere).
    • Massachusetts quickly raised regiments; other New England colonies supplied large numbers, and the Continental Congress formed the Continental Army.
    • Over time, enthusiasm declined as danger and hardship became clear.
    • To maintain enlistments, colonies offered cash, blankets, supplies, and shorter enlistment periods.
    • Later, 3-year enlistments became standard.
    • In 1777, Congress recommended a draft; by 1778, many fighting states were conscripting because voluntary quotas weren’t met.

Overall “how it adds up” conclusion

The video concludes the answer to “Would you have joined?” is murky, because:

• stakes were enormous and outcomes uncertain (especially before France allied with the colonists),
• different groups had different incentives and existential threats,
• and real life doesn’t neatly map onto discrete categories (the “historical rubix cube” metaphor).

Methodology / instructions (explicit and implicit)

Think-exercise steps

• Imagine the world as it was in 1775 North America, when there was no United States.
• Identify the social position you would have held (e.g., enslaved African laborer, Native person, woman, free white landowner, poor white male).
• For that position, evaluate the main forces shaping the decision:
  • survival risk and uncertainty of outcomes,
  • promises of freedom or threats to existing power,
  • legal/political restrictions (especially around property and office),
  • economic incentives (money/land) and recruitment practices,
  • regional alliances and prior conflicts (for Native nations),
  • and autonomy/self-protection needs (for women and marginalized groups).
• Decide whether you would join and compare how that decision changes by identity category.

Audience prompt

• The host asks viewers to answer and debate in the comments: whether you would have joined, and how your answer depends on the role you imagine yourself in.

Speakers / sources featured

• PBS Digital Studios (program/source framing)
• Host/Presenter: unnamed in the subtitles (first-person narration, appears as the main speaker)
• Danielle Allen (mentioned in CuriosityStream promo; narrator of “America’s Declaration”)
• CuriosityStream (sponsor)
• Lord Dunmore (historical figure)
• George Washington (historical figure)
• Ottawa chief Pontiac (historical figure, referenced in connection with Pontiac’s revolt)
• Howard Zinn (author of A People’s History of the United States, cited)
• John Ferling (historian, cited)
• Paul Revere (messenger referenced)
• Prudence Cummings Wright (historical person referenced)
• Debra Newman (professor, research cited)
• Catherine Allgor (professor, research cited)
• Marsha Vania (audience commenter referenced)
• Diane Dorbin (audience commenter referenced)
• Gibran Smith (audience commenter referenced)
• Spencer Morran (audience commenter referenced)