Celebrate America 250 with Stories of the American Revolution! In our inaugural episode of Who Else Loves History?, we focus on stories of the American Revolution that you probably didn’t grow up learning in school–fascinating bits of history that we love and hope you do too.

Stories featured in the episode are:

1. Historian Nathaniel Philbrick, author of “Valiant Ambition: George Washington, Benedict Arnold, and the Fate of the American Revolution,” reveals WHY Benedict Arnold decided to turn traitor and the intriguing impact of Arnold’s new wife on making that happen.
2. Best-selling author Brad Meltzer takes us inside a revolutionary conspiracy–the plot to assassinate George Washington.
3. Curator Cassie Brands from Washington University in St. Louis takes us on a tour of the Southwick Broadside, a revolutionary war artifact that announced the issuance of the Declaration of Independence.
4. Historian H.W. Brands shares how Native Americans and enslaved Americans were drawn into the conflict and forced to deal with realities not of their own making.
5. We travel back in time to the frontier settlement of St. Louis on May 26, 1780 and re-live a revolutionary war battle most people have never heard of, the Battle of St. Louis, that saved the Mississippi River valley for future American expansion.
6. And for our final story, curator Chris Gordon from the Missouri Historical Society, describes how America celebrated the 4th of July in the early years of our country.

We invite you to join us to discover, explore, and celebrate fascinating stories of America’s founding.

Time Codes for Episode Segments:

• 0:00 to 01:56–Introduction
• 01:57 to 08:50–WHY Benedict Arnold Turned Traitor
• 08:51 to 17:01–The Plot to Assassinate George Washington
• 17:02 to 20:13–See the Southwick Broadside that Declared America’s Independence
• 20:14 to 25:43–The Revolution’s Impact on Enslaved and Native Americans
• 25:44 to 42:37–The Battle of St. Louis
• 42:38 to 44:36–Early 4th of July Celebrations
• 44:37 to 45:19–Closing and Credits

Quick Ideas for Using the Video with Students:

1. Use the video as a whole or in parts as your students study the American Revolution. Before viewing the episode, ask them what they know about the following topics that are covered: the treachery of Benedict Arnold, the revolutionary military command of George Washington, the publication of the Declaration of Independence, the role of Native Americans and enslaved Americans in the revolution, the American Revolution in America’s West, and how they think early Americans might have celebrated the first 50 years of the 4th of July. Then, after viewing the video, have students discuss new information they learned and how that information has impacted their understanding of how the revolution occurred.
2. Have students discuss the question: What does Benedict Arnold’s act of betrayal say about his character and the political nature of military action?
3. Based on what they learn about the conspiracy to kill George Washington and additional research of their own, have students go back in time and write their own letter about the events to a relative of their own.
4. Using the section on the Battle of St. Louis as a guide, have students (working in groups or independently) create a video of their own telling the story of a revolutionary war battle of their choosing.
5. Have students engage in a “thinking like an historian” activity that has them seeking to discover other events of the revolution that had a definite impact on the war but are not well known and then create a way to describe one of those events to a public audience.