The Causes of the American Revolution on This Episode of Stories & Myths
Learn the causes and effects of the American Revolution. What ironic event of American history took place on July 4th, 1826 - the 50th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence? All this and more on this episode of Stories & Myths with Dr. Craig von Buseck and David von Buseck.
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Transcript
Good evening. Good morning.
Good afternoon. We're so glad
that you could be with us once
again for Stories and Myths. I
am your host Craig von Buseck
and I am happy to be joined
this evening. uh by another co
host and now he didn't put his
last name down below. uh in uh
down below in the in the name
place but by looking at him,
you probably could that. This
is my other son, David von
Buseck and uh I am so happy
that David is able to join me
as co host tonight. Uh first of
all, hello, David. How are you
doing? Great. Doctor von
Buseck, how are you doing
today? Oh, you can just say
dad, that would be just fine as
well. Yeah, that seems better.
Well, good, good. I'm so glad
that you could join with us and
uh John C Farrell who is the
normal co host. had some family
things arise and he was not
able to be with us this week.
He said to say hello to
everyone in the audience. Um uh
but he will hopefully be back
with us next week but that
gives me the opportunity to
introduce another member of the
family uh because as you know,
Erin, your older brother was
the co host last week and uh
but I'm kind of happy that
you're here this week because
uh the subject matter is
something that you and I both
uh enjoy. um and that is uh
we're going to be talking about
the revolutionary war. We want
to say hello to Kelly Williams
Duncan who writes in that. it's
clear that he belongs to you.
Laugh out loud. Um we almost
look like twins. So, except
I've got the gray hair. This is
what I look like in 1989. See
that doesn't track because I
don't have a perm. Well, I
didn't have a perm in my perms
stopped uh in the early 80s.
So, um happily so Well actually
I think no, that's not true. I
had a wave in 88 but that was
the last one. my last wave but
at any rate, we're going to
talk tonight about the
revolutionary war, the American
Revolution but before we do,
tell us a little bit about you
what you're doing and uh and
you uh a keen interest in
history as well. That's right.
Uh right now, I am uh working
for Regent University. I work
as an admissions evaluator just
uh helping students through the
enrollment process uh which is
a really great uh it's a really
great thing to do. I feel like
I'm really helping people along
their way uh getting moved
forward uh but yeah, no, I've
had a uh an interesting history
for as long as I remember uh
now, a lot of that does come
from the musical 1776 and we're
going to talk about tonight.
Exactly. Exactly. Uh and then
also we've been to so many uh
colonial and historic sites
around the country. Uh I
honestly couldn't even count
them if I tried Yes, Uh it has
been uh something that has been
a family I guess you would say
it's one of the things that we
love to do and maybe it's
because I love to do it and you
guys got dragged along but I
think some of that passed down
to you as an interest as well.
Yeah, that's true. I've
definitely been to Colonial
Williamsburg without you so.
Oh, it's like, it's not just
you. It's just uh you planted
that seed there Well, that's
good. So, thinking back over
the years, what were some of
the highlights of the
historical places that we
visited that an impact on you.
Obviously, Colonial
Williamsburg is one Colonial
Williamsburg. Um you know, with
living in Virginia, you also do
uh uh Jamestown, New York town.
Uh definitely the Civil War
battle sites uh are up there uh
especially like Gettysburg just
kind of being up there and
seeing that and just looking
back on like the toll that that
took uh it's just interesting
um and then for a more like
side of things. Uh Colonial
Williamsburg. Uh like I said is
it's like stepping into
history. It's not something
that uh a lot of people who
aren't familiar with it get to
do and so that's uh something
that I really appreciate the
fact that they've preserved it
the way they have and uh even
like uh I believe it was the
governor's mansion that they
had that they found blueprints
and rebuilt it like it had been
destroyed. Exactly. And so it's
not only preserving the old but
it's updating and retaining it.
Uh maintaining like the uh I
guess character educators. is
that the right term that they
use uh uh yeah, the
interpreters uh who uh maintain
those like historical
techniques for like
blacksmithing all the different
things that they craft and
create down there and it's
right they actually do. They
make the things that they're
working on and then they sell
them in the bookstores. Yeah
which I think is awesome. Yeah,
it's fantastic. Yeah. Well,
excellent. Very good. Well, um
you know, you and I both have a
love for uh 1776 and I recently
was a keynote speaker at the
Blue Ridge Christian Writers
Conference and I shared a
little bit of the debate scene
between John Adams and John
Dickinson. Now, do you remember
any of that debate scene? Uh
like specific words of it or uh
not off hand. Uh that's
actually one I've been wanting
to rewatch. How about if I give
you a little snippet? Oh yeah,
go for it because uh I was II
played uh Dickinson as I recall
when I was in ninth grade and
so uh the debate scene is
they're they're debating
whether or not to break free
from Great Britain and declare
their independence. So, uh John
Dickinson opens up by saying,
well sir, You've gotten your
way at last. The matter can now
be discussed. I confess I'm
somewhat relieved. I have a
question that I've been fairly
itching to ask you, sir, why?
And you would answer why What
mister Dickinson? why
Independence Mister Adams? For
the obvious reason, John Adams
answers that Our continued
association with Great Britain
has grown intolerable and
Dickinson. It's tolerable to
whom to you then I suggest you
set your ties immediately but
please be kind enough to leave
the rest of us where we are. We
won't, we won't go into too
much more than that but I love
it. Comes down to the point
where they're almost ready to
come to blows. They do come to
blows. They're hitting each
other with canes by the end of
the scene. Right. Right. Well,
they are almost ready to start
hitting each other with canes
and uh Dickinson says uh now
are these the acts of English
men and John Adams answers? No
sir. Americans, not Englishman
Dickinson. Americans, which
leads us which will transition
from there into our first
question which is So our first
question is going to be, what
was the cause of the American
Revolution? Well, uh there had
been uh decades and decades of
fighting between the French and
the British and the Spanish who
are the three most powerful
empires Portugal was uh lesser
power but still a power at that
time. and so over the years,
they fought for control of the
lands all around the world as
their navies would go out into
the world and so, uh we know
that the Spanish actually were
the first to establish a colony
in North America and the oldest
part of that is still intact in
Florida at Saint Augustine and
then almost around the same
time, ironically, they were
also establishing a uh uh a
fort in a church in New Mexico.
and so the Spanish had the
first foothold and then the
French and the British came in
and each one uh laid claim to a
certain amount of land. Now,
that didn't mean anything other
than that. Uh they were saying
that uh well, you know, we're
going to we're going to claim
this and if if you want to try
and claim it, you're going to
have to fight us for it and uh
we want to just say real quick.
hello. um my sister Aaron's
staff says hi again to the
other Von. So, we say hello to
her. Um so, that's what
happened is that each of these
empires started to stake out
their claim. So, the French
took the interior of what is
now the United States and then
took a large swath of what is
now Canada and the British took
the Eastern Seaboard all the
way down to Florida which
obviously was Spanish and
started to move in there both
in what is now the United
States and also up into what is
now Canada and so that was uh
where everybody kind of stake
their claims. Well, in the
meantime and in the midst of
all of this uh there was where
the Native Americans that were
living on these lands and in
some cases, the European powers
would give give them money or
some sort of a trade for land.
other cases uh they would just
fight for it and they would
take it uh although I know that
English really did try uh to to
be fair in many cases. and also
the French but in the end, uh
the French uh kind of gained
the hearts of the native
Americans and so the British
and the French have been
fighting in Europe uh and that
spilled over into the new
world. uh as they were trying
to establish where the boundary
lines would be and so the
French convinced the Native
American to fight on their
behalf and basically said,
we're going to give you your
land. We're not going to mess
with it like the English have.
So, if you fight with us, you
know, everything will be hunky
dory. So, there was a major war
that we call the French and
Indian war that took place in
the eighth in the um 1750s in
the end. Uh that war actually
spread all over the world. It
was really a World War 200
years before what we had in the
twentieth century. So, in the
eighteenth century, there was
this world war between the
French and the British that
went on for decades and uh the
estimates are that more than a
million people died in those in
those battles over all those
years which is hard to fathom
that back then that many people
could be killed in that kind of
a war but that's what happened.
It ended up costing the British
so much Um it was tremendous uh
cost in lives in materials and
in money but in the end, the
British uh one and the uh
defeated the French and they
pushed the French primarily out
of Canada and took over most of
Canada and then continued with
the colonies on the East Coast
of what is now the United
States. Well, the cost of this
was so exorbitant that it had
emptied the coffers in Great
Britain and so King George who
was a little bit nuts. Um he
was an unbalanced He was highly
intelligent but he was also
highly unbalanced and so he
pushed parliament to levy uh
what we're called uh different
stamp acts upon the colonies
and these were taxes. So, they
would put a stamp on a barrel
of wheat or flour. Uh they
would put a stamp on a barrel
of uh tobacco or whatever it
might be and every time that
that went in or out of a port,
the colon had to pay taxes on
this and to them, these were
very high taxes but they were
willing to pay for it because
they understood that. well,
this gives us protection. We
have protection of the most
powerful empire in the world.
The most powerful army in the
world. It continues trade and
that's a good thing. So, at
first, they kind of put up with
it but the taxes kept getting
more and more. They kept
getting higher and higher and
then what really bothered the
colony here in in America, the
American British columnist was
that they had no representation
to determine what taxes would
be levied upon them All of
those taxes were passed by the
parliament in Great Britain and
so uh these colonists uh they
were told that they were
English citizens but they
didn't have true representative
government. Now, they did have
it on the local and the
colonial level but they didn't
have it on federal level and
that is where they started to
chafe against uh what was
happening and it got worse and
worse uh and unfortunately,
instead of negotiating and try
to trying to find some sort of
a settlement with the most
prosperous colony that England
had by far. I mean, it was so
much bigger than England and it
produces so much more raw
materials. It's almost crazy
that the British allowed what
happened to happen. uh but it I
think a lot of it had to do
with King George and his
erratic behavior and also just
pride. I think that the
parliament said, well, we're
the parliament. You're not.
we're in charge and so we're
going to, you know, pass these
laws and uh they didn't realize
the will of the people of
America because the American
colonists by this point had
been uh on the continent for
150 years more than 150 years
Uh Generations of people having
lived, their families lived
here, their parents, their
grandparents. Exactly. This is
their turf and someone else is
basically just saying, you're
going to pay this. I do kind of
wonder how things may have gone
different if they had uh had
representation. You might be
speaking with a British accent
right now that kind of went
Irish a little bit there.
You're better at the accents
than I am. No, it's uh it is
kind of interesting. Uh II do
wonder if it's like that out of
sight out of mind mentality
that uh the British uh like
actual in England uh people had
that they're like oh yeah no
like it doesn't even come into
their mind how massive America
is because they're just focused
on what they can see and what's
immediately impacting them. I
think that there's a lot of
truth to what you're saying,
David but I also think that
colonialism as a was an
arrogant obnoxious system. Oh
yeah. And you can't come up
with a catchphrase. The sun
never sets on the British
empire. when you're about the
size of New Jersey, I want to
say, what was that? Oh, you
mean the the England? do you
mean? Yeah. Yeah. I don't I
don't know exactly uh what a
comparable thing but it would
be compared to one of our
states in the United States and
it was ruling an empire that
went all the way around the
world like you said, they're
literally under Victoria. It
got to the point where the sun
never on the British empire
which is hard to even fathom
right now. So, in the end, uh
the Americans started to rebel
They started to not pay the
tax. they started to blockade
British military ships uh and
then when the British military
started to move uh in response
especially in Massachusetts and
in Boston specifically uh the
militias started to be raised
all across the Uh to protect
the different areas against the
British and so it was
inevitable that there would be
eventually a clash and so then
the British started to raid
these uh arms depot and the
places where they were keeping
their gunpowder where the uh
malicious were keeping their
gunpowder basically trying to
disarm them and that's why uh
the founding fathers put in a
such a strong second amendment
to protect right of citizens to
bear arms to protect themselves
both personally but also
against a tyrannical government
which is why I am AA strong and
never ending proponent of the
Second Amendment because no
government should be in a place
where it does not have a
healthy fear of their people.
Meaning that they respect the
fact that the people are not
just going to be bold over and
that that's where tyranny
happens when a government has
no respect for its own people
and tyranny takes place and
that's what what was happening
and so in order to battle this,
the Sons of Liberty or the
Patriots, uh there's a reason
why New England named their
football team, the Patriots
because they were naming them
after these patriotic colonials
in Boston who stood up against
the British troops uh in a very
bold way knowing that they
could lose their lives and so
uh one of the major moves was
what was called the Boston Tea
Party uh where people like
Samuel Adams, which was John
Adams. Cousin and um other
Patriots, Paul Revere and and
others. Uh they were they went
on to British ships and they
threw British tea into the uh
into the ocean into the bay and
uh as a protest against the
British. Well, that caused a
clamp down of the British and
the tempers rows and rows until
1 day they uh militia and just
regular came to a screaming
match with a regimen of British
soldiers and the soldiers felt
fearful for their lives and
unfortunately, they opened fire
and killed several of the
colonials and that was called
the Boston massacre and uh
interestingly, uh the person
who defended those troops was
none other than John Adams.
It's an interesting position to
be in someone who believes that
Your country should be
independent but it's also that
dedicated to the law and the
justice that it's like, I
believe that these people were
in the right and defending
people who politically you're
against but morally, you would
not have said he believes
totally that they're in the
right but he believed that they
had the right to a fair trial
and they had a right to have
their uh you know, their cause
brought out in front of uh uh
of a jury of their peers Uh
However, John Adams was greatly
conflicted because he was more
and more seeing that uh
continued association with
Great Britain had grown
intolerable and so uh that is
that is how it all began and
then uh not long after that the
uh sister colonies uh decided
that they needed to get
together to discuss what was
going on and so they sent the
best and the brightest of uh
the men at that time because
women were not involved in
politics and did not have the
vote at that time and so the
best of the brightest of the
men gathered in Philadelphia
for the first Continental
Congress and one of the first
things that they did in seventy
was to appoint George
Washington who had been an
officer in the British
government or in the British
army years before and had
fought in the French and Indian
war. Uh they appointed him to
be general in chief over the
army. uh the Continental Army
many in the congress at that
point in 7075 merely did this
uh as a protection but they
were not interested in
Independence They were looking
to put out an olive branch.
They were wanting to ask King
George for reconciliation Uh
but unfortunately, the British
government came down very hard
especially in Connecticut and
Massachusetts and in New
England and then down into New
York on the colonials and uh
many in the country who had
just the year before Uh thought
there's no way that we'll ever
leave uh our association with
Great Britain as Great Britain
became more and more heavy
handed. Uh people to have a
change of heart even though um
from the standpoint of the
colonials, they did not look
like there would be much hope
for um
for you know, or for
Independence but they were
going to fight for it anyway
and their overall hope was that
they would have the
intervention of maybe Spain or
France which is over time,
many, many years went by where
the where George Washington
would hit and run, hit and run,
hit and run. um and so uh that
was how the the war began uh
just answering uh Kelly
Williams. Duncan writes, don't
tell Abigail Adams women
weren't involved in government
and politics. Uh that is Uh but
it was an unofficial capacity.
with the official capacity. It
was only men uh but Abigail
Adams who I have the greatest
respect for and had uh women
been involved. She probably
would have been our first woman
president. She was a genius and
she created uh a lineage of
Adam's geniuses uh her own son
becoming president just like
her husband, John Quincy Adams.
So, I have the greatest respect
for for Abigail Adams as well.
So, what's the next question?
Alright, so next up, if
congress voted in favor of
independence on July 2nd, 1776,
then, why do we celebrate the
birth of the nation on July
4th? Do you know the answer to
this? I do actually know the
answer to this. Well, then, I
would like to hear you answer
this question. So, July 2nd is
when they had voted but they
hadn't actually finished
signing everybody's name to it.
So, while the vote was in, they
hadn't all attached name to it
and so basically, anyone who is
going to be voting for this
needs to attach their name to
it. You know, if we're all
going to be hung, let's be hung
together, right? What what did
Franklin said Uh unless we hang
together, we will surely hang
separately. Yeah.
Yeah. Um John Adams argued
probably most of his life for a
good part of his life that the
uh date of Independence should
have been July the second
because that is when congress
voted for the passage um and it
was passed by the vote but as
you said, it wasn't officially
ratified until the majority of
congress signing their name.
Now, there were still people
that took them a while because
they were not there in
Philadelphia and they had to uh
get back to and sign it. So,
there were some who didn't sign
it but the vast majority of
congress signed the declaration
on July the fourth and that is
why we uh celebrate it to this
day. Now, why did John Hancock
do what he did? Uh he wanted
King George to be able see it
without his spectacles. So,
what is it that he did that he
uh that he did John Hancock uh
and this is where the face uh
place here. John Hancock
decided to sign the biggest
signature out of everyone on uh
the document. he put his name
Very large, very prominent in
the center of the document. at
the center of the signing area
of the document at the top.
Very good. Excellent boy. I am
impressed with your knowledge.
Oh, yeah. I've seen national
treasure. I know you're quite
your story. Very good. Alright,
what's next? Alright, so next,
uh we've got John Quincy Adams
declared during the armistice
cause before the Supreme Court.
If it means civil war, then let
it come. It may be the final
battle of the American
Revolution. Why did Lincoln
call this Civil war. A new
birth of freedom. Well, it was
during the uh just to clarify
the Amistad uh Supreme Court.
uh discussion and if you ever
watched the movie Amistad, uh
you'll know what we're talking
about and I highly recommend
that is AA very accurate film
about what happened to the
Amistad Africans in they're
trying to break free. They were
illegally taken as slaves after
the slave trade had been um
overturned and made it illegal
and that was pushed through as
as we've talked on this program
before by William Wilbur Force
Britain. And so the the nations
of the Atlantic all agreed that
they would stop the Atlantic
slave trade. Now, there were
still nations like the United
States and several Caribbean
island nations that still had
slavery but slavery had uh
pretty much been uh done away
with uh Europe Sadly, it was uh
still being held uh for many
many years in Africa and it a
multiracial slavery in Africa.
Uh so, in North Africa, the um
the Muslim Raiders would uh
attack a ship on the
Mediterranean or on the
Atlantic and uh these were
called the barbers and our
barbers and uh it was called
Barberry Coast and so they
would attack and if they won
the battle, they would take all
of the sailors and they would
become slaves and many of
slaves were slaves for the rest
of their lives in Africa. This
was also true in Turkey. Uh so,
John Smith uh who we know from
Jamestown, you had mentioned
Jamestown before, you you know,
John Smith and Pocahontas.
Well, John Smith had been
fighting in a uh crusade in
Eastern Europe uh where the
Christian armies of Western
Europe were fighting the Muslim
armies of Eastern Europe just
outside of Austria and Vienna.
They actually were very very
close to the gates of Vienna
and there was possibility that
Vienna or Austria would have
been a Muslim nation and so the
Christian um armies pushed the
Muslims back uh into Turkey
which is you know, still in
Europe but it was uh you know a
Muslim nation primarily and
during those battles, John
Smith, Captain John Smith was
taken prisoner. uh by the Turks
and he was turned into a slave
and so John Smith could have
lived his whole life as a slave
in Turkey. but 1 day, he was
out hoeing uh some fields and
the overseer was not paying
attention and you don't want to
do that with a military person.
You want to be, you know, fully
paying attention and John Smith
took his hoe and crushed the
back of the guy's skull and
took the keys and uh we don't
know exactly the route that he
took but it's believed that he
went down through um probably
the Red Sea um got on a ship
there. Yeah. Just so you know,
your video seems to be frozen.
Oh, is it? am I back yet? Uh
no. you've been frozen for a
little while now. I've been
waiting for it to circle back
around. I don't know if you can
refresh that. Yeah, I don't
know that I can. So, we'll just
hope that it comes back up
here. Uh so, if you try turning
off your camera and turning it
back on again, that may do it.
Alright, it'll be. let's try
it. Okay, my back. Oh, I lost
you. David. David, come on back
in. Uh if you would uh while
David is coming back into the
uh the room, let me just finish
up what I had. Um what I had
been saying and that was that
um so John Smith got a boat
somewhere and he um he came. So
here's David again. Hello.
Yeah. uh Daniel Wilbur. hello
to Daniel Wilbur. my my buddy
from grade school in Erie,
Pennsylvania is is with us and
he said that uh I'm not frozen.
Kelly says I'm not frozen. July
says I'm not frozen So I'm just
going to say I was just. yeah.
So, at any rate, so, John Smith
got a boat when around Africa
came back up to England and
almost immediately was asked to
be a part of the Virginia
company when across the
Atlantic and the rest is
history but he had been a slave
and so uh slavery had been had
taken place uh in a lot of the
Muslim countries in Turkey in
the Middle East in Africa but
slowly over the years uh it had
It had been eradicated but it
was still going strong in the
United States. and so, in the
Amistad case, uh they it went
all the way up to the Supreme
court because the uh government
uh Martin Van Buren had said
that they were uh actual slaves
in uh I think in Cuba uh and
the um the people in the north
in Connecticut, I believe where
they came in. They had said no
that these were Africans who
were taken illegally and it
went all the way to the Supreme
Court and uh they were able to
convince John Quincy Adams who
by this time was an old man
close to death but John Adams,
John Quincy Adams like his
father had been a very strong
proponent of abolition uh but
they were both politicians too.
So they had to walk carefully
in those times but Adam's
argued the case before the
Supreme Court and at the end of
his argument, he said, listen,
if this whole case brings us to
civil war, then let it come and
may it be finally, the final
battle of the American
Revolution and many people
including Abraham Lincoln and
actually people on both the
north and the south in the
Civil War believed that it was
a second uh Independence
especially in the south. They
call it their own second war of
independence and their patron
saint was George Washington. a
great Virginian uh but Lincoln,
he didn't necessarily call it a
war of independence but he did
call it it uh he believed it
was the last and final battle
of the war of of uh
Independence in that it was
going to give what he called in
the Gettysburg address a new
birth of freedom. Mm hmm. Uh
We've had new birth of freedom
throughout our history. So, the
civil war was a new birth of
freedom for black people and
slaves where they were given
their freedom. Now, uh they
went through another eighty to
100 years of Jim Crow racism
after that and there was a
great struggle and there
continues to be for all of us.
A great struggle with regard to
race in our country but it us
at As far as the law was
concerned, it was a birth of
freedom for them. Then, we
could say that women received a
new birth of freedom when they
were given the right to vote.
and to hold political office Um
so, there have been these
different places where there
have been in our country a new
birth of freedom and the civil
war uh really was that because
what it did is it finalized
something that the founding
fathers did not have the
political courage or to argue
and it's understandable because
they had enough on their mind.
Now, I'm not in any way saying
that they shouldn't have
addressed slavery but as frail
human beings which they all
were, I understand why that was
one thing that they didn't get
to uh and they allowed their
their sons and their daughters
over the generations to grapple
with but it took the war to
finally finalize and bring that
new birth of freedom
Alright.
Alright, next up. What ironic
event of American history took
place on July 4th 1826, The
fiftieth anniversary of the
adoption of Declaration of
Independence. Well, you know,
that's one of the fun things
about uh studying history and I
know you've seen some of these
because you like me are
interested in history but uh
every once in a while, you see
one of these things where you
just say, wow, that almost
looks providential and in this
It's hard. You know, I know
know that there are plenty
cynics and skeptics out there
who say it's just a coincidence
but for those who are people of
faith, it's hard to uh not see
something providential and what
happened on July the fourth
Independence Day in 1826, it
was the fiftieth anniversary of
the signing of the, you know,
signing of the Declaration of
Independence and on that day in
the morning, John Adams died
and his last words. Do you know
what his last words were?
Jefferson survives. That's
right. Jefferson's is ironic
because on that same day,
didn't he pass away as well? He
did. Oh, I take that back.
Jefferson was the one who died
first. He said, Adam survives.
No, he didn't say anything. He
was and out of consciousness
but uh John Adams said
Jefferson survives but in
reality, Jefferson had died
earlier that day but both the
dynamo or the engine, the drive
force behind Independence was
John Adams and The Voice at
least on paper of the of the
declaration of Independence.
Thomas Jefferson. They both
died on the same day. 50 days
or 50 years after the signing
while John Adam's son was
president of the United States.
I really can't recommend uh
1776 enough if you haven't seen
it already. Now, why would you
say that? What is it about 1776
that you that you love so much?
1776 is uh it is a musical. So,
uh fair warning. If you're not
familiar with that, it's
definitely in there uh and if
you're a fan of Boy Meets
World, you'll be happy because
mister Finney place John Adams
uh but it's interesting because
it's off William William
Daniels. Uh so, it starts off
with John Adams pushing for
independence and literally
everyone in the room is telling
him no and he uh the next day
is working with uh Benjamin
Franklin and Benjamin Franklin
is like, you know, I don't
think it's Independence. They
have a problem with it. It
seems like it's just you that
they have the problem with.
You're a disliked. Yeah. you're
obnoxious and disliked. It
can't be denied. Uh So, maybe
let someone else propose and so
of course, they get Richard Hen
Lee to uh go down to Virginia
and proposed the idea of
independence and get it Now
that the government familiar.
Yeah, it does. I feel like
there was another famously who
was involved in at least one.
There were at least cousins
right? right? The Lee's this of
old Virginia. Yes. So Richard,
she was was uh the uncle of
Robert E. Lee and the brother
of Whitehorse. Harry Lee, which
of course was Robert E. Lee's
father. and Richard Henry Lee
had been governor of Virginia
but he was also part of the
Continental Congress and he was
wasn't he asked to be service,
wasn't he asked to serve
governor after proposing Uh I
believe so. I don't know if he
had been governor before that
as well but I know that he left
to go and serve as governor in
Virginia. So the leaves were
very important and influential
family in Virginia and of
course, Robert E. Lee was part
of that family. So, anyway, I
interrupt. Oh, no, no, you're
fine. I will, I will will defer
to historical knowledge. I've
got movie knowledge but that's
not take that with a grain of
salt. You've got some good
historical knowledge. I do. I
do but uh I definitely will
defer to the the man with
several more degrees than I
have two more, two and a half
Two and a half. Two and a half.
Yeah. Uh but no and so after
it's been proposed by a
Virginian, that's when the
other states are willing to
come on board because it's not
just that was because it's not
just a New England problem
anymore, Right. It's it showed
the other uh colonies uh not
were the states at that point
where they still considered
colonies. Okay. So it shows the
colonies that it's not just oh
this is a New England thing.
They're obviously just you
know, aching about the taxes.
I've got taxes too. My taxes
are too high as well. but once
someone from a colony outside
of New England, they can't
withhold their support anymore
and so more and more people
come over to the side of
independence at least being
able to discuss Independence if
not fully pursue it because
it's something that they can't
ignore anymore. Well, and
especially because it came from
Virginia because Virginia was
considered at that time. It was
the first colony Uh you know,
we know that uh the the English
tried to plant a colony in
North Carolina um under Raleigh
uh but it was lost and if you
go to the Outer Banks, you can
go watch the play called The
Lost Colony. Um uh most people
and I think they've pretty much
have proven it with DNA now
that uh at least some of that
colony got taken into the uh
Native American tribes and then
they came down through the
generations. but they, you
know, they lost that
opportunity to play at the
colony but then uh thirty some
years later, um they try it
again in Jamestown and that
stuck uh which is why you
talked about Jamestown,
Williamsburg, and Yorktown on
the James uh Yorktown Peninsula
in Virginia. uh because that is
where uh the colonies took hold
at least the English colonies
took hold at that time and so
Virginia was They always said
the first colony of Virginia
and um even into the history of
the United States all the way
up to Woodrow Wilson. There
were several presidents that
came from Virginia. So,
Virginia had a tremendous
influence on uh early American
both pre american and American
history wasn't I believe it's
four out of the first five were
from Virginia because George
Washington, Thomas Jefferson,
John Adams wasn't uh right
Madison and Mon and then John
Quincy Adams broke that streak
again. Alright, two Adams.
Adams Hey, I'm not, I'm Ed. If
you just keep that going in
math class in high school,
Alright, if you have two
Virginians and one Adams and
then, you know, you are
Virginians, what will come
next? Another ad. It's like,
follow this pattern. Yeah.
exactly right. So, um 1776
yeah, I actually that along
with visiting Williamsburg when
I was a child, uh those were
the that set me on the course.
uh to my interest in my
lifelong interest in history
and so uh it's pretty uh pretty
interesting that you had a
similar path although I'm sure
that I influence that to a
certain degree but if you
haven't that that really makes
sense. Yeah. yeah. But if I
hated it. Yeah, exactly. Yeah
And then you would have
rejected it. Oh no and I've
I've just got that you know,
predisposition towards like the
historical sites and you know,
musical telling me history.
Yeah. Especially, you know,
1776 in Hamilton. It's nice
getting that uh continuance Uh
so many years later. isn't it
interesting? Um that Hamilton
has been such a booming success
um because a lot of people I
think most people most critics
would have said, you know, Lynn
Manuel Miranda, you're crazy.
You know, nobody is going to be
interested in this story about
the American Revolution. they
did that. It was called 1776
but it was It was an
unbelievable hit. Now, a lot of
that has to do with the amazing
songs. Yeah. And the songs, the
choreography and it has a story
that you can root for and it's
a bittersweet story and I feel
like that it's triumphant and
it continues being triumphant
even with the bittersweet
ending of his passing and so
like even after he dies, his
legacy carries on from there
and it's uh till today. it's
hopeful. Exactly. Yeah.
I also really um and I know
that in some circles, it was
controversial but I thought it
was wonderful. uh how they
allow different people of
different racial backgrounds to
play parts that were
traditionally white men and um
I think that that is wonderful
because it reflects the birth
of freedom that happened on
July 2nd and that was uh that
was ratified on July 4th and
what we This week is is this um
is this birth of freedom and
what? You know what Lincoln
said was really profound and I
don't think that we appreciate
what it was that Lincoln was
saying and and that was that
this uh thing that we call
representative democracy was a
complete experiment and there
are still large parts of our
world now that look on it as
stupid. They think It's uh
untamed. It is obnoxious. It is
out of control. Uh that you
can't really accomplish the
great things because you don't
have the control of the people.
whereas the American Viewpoint
is just the opposite and that
is when the people have
freedom. That is when there's a
whole burst of ingenuity.
There's a whole burst of
creativity. There's a whole
burst of creative and Lincoln
said that, you know, when he
was giving the uh Gettysburg
address, he really was giving
an observation. You know, there
have been um I think his name
was Bates that had done a two
and a half hour or talking
about the great battle of
Gettysburg and he's spoken that
mid nineteenth century oratory
with all the grand gestures and
all that kind of thing and
Lincoln got up there in two and
a half minutes gave the Gettys
address that totally gave the
meaning to all of that. So, and
in a much higher pitched voice.
Yeah. Yeah. Right. It's 7 years
ago or however he's he talked,
everybody said that he had a
very high pitched voice. We
have no idea what it really
sounded like but yeah, Daniel
Day Lewis did I I think a
really great job of capturing.
oh II love the performance in
the in the movie. It was but
going back to what I was
saying, Lincoln said this was
an experiment Can a people
govern themselves or is this
destined to uh blow up? Is this
civil war Uh which is a
tempest, a testing of that
principle, that concept, that
experiment Uh is it going to
last or will it be overturned
with tyranny and going back
away from freedom because
slavery goes the opposite
direction and the south was
fighting for slavery. There are
people today who want to argue
that but you can't you can't
argue with the only They
weren't fighting for state's
rights. State's rights to what
we're fighting for. Tariffs,
tariffs for what? So that we
can sell our cotton which is
provided by what slave labor.
It all goes back to slavery and
they had a desire to extend
slavery out to the West Coast
and then down through Mexico
all the way into Central
America and South America as a
massive slave holding empire
Imagine what would have
happened with the rise of
Nazism which is what Race-based
Master race in the twentieth
century. If there had been a
massive empire in the new world
that held the same beliefs and
you'd say, oh well, they only
held black slaves. Well, who's
to say that would have not
changed over time because it's
certainly changed in the minds
of the Nazis the same seeds
that brought forth race-based
slavery in America. grew into
full flower with the master
race concepts in Nazi Germany.
and so what Lincoln was saying
was we can either go that way
away from freedom or we can
eradicate slavery and truly
embrace freedom across our
United United States. The
United United United States.
Thank you. They didn't deal
with the name change to the
reunited states, the United
States, that just doesn't work
as well. Uh but thank god.
thank god that uh that the
north one that the union
prevailed that slavery was done
away with and that a United
States was there to rise up
with Great Britain and with all
of the British empire uh and
the free fighting people
against the axis powers in
World War two uh which was by
no way uh or by no means an
easy victory. It was a six-year
hard-fought millions of people
died. Victory that took place.
Uh that was yet another
worldwide rebirth of freedom at
least for a while.
So, any further questions for
today? No, I believe that's
just about everything. It's
interesting seeing how each
individual war uh effects and
like leads into the next the
French and Indian war leading
to issues that caused the
revolutionary war revolutionary
going into War of 1812 going
into the civil War. uh and then
the outcomes of those things
leading down the way until
World War one which led to
World War two. It's it's
interesting went to the Cold
War. which was exactly. It's
it's definitely interesting
seeing uh the the path that
history takes uh and along
those lines uh Dan Wilbur said
I like Ben Franklin's answer
about the congressional meeting
that we have a republic. If you
can keep it and uh Dan and and
uh Ben are absolutely right. Uh
it's something that there's a
never ending vigilance to keep
freedom Um um and to keep true
freedom because there are some
people who would want to call
some things freedom when in
reality, they're not and um so
we those who believe in
freedom, those who believe in
the concept of representative
democracy uh there's a never
ending struggle and it's one of
the reasons why I do what I do.
Uh writing the books going out
and speaking, doing this uh
stories of this program is to
say, alright, This is what
happened in history which like
you. So, um insightful pointed
out those things back then led
to where we are today and
there's a chain in life. One
generation that leads to
another one event that leads to
another and then it's our turn
to take up the banner. Exactly.
It's uh you know Russell
Crowe's line and gladiator. you
know what we do in life echoes
in eternity, right people uh
you know, small little tangent.
It's interesting like people in
like time travel movies, they
go to the past and like, oh, we
can't step on a butterfly.
We'll change the future. It's
like, that's every day of your
life right now. the things that
you're doing that is so many
things that is so good like
taking a stand against
oppression, going out and
voting, just doing your part,
those little things they ripple
out. It's like pebbles in a
pond and it's so important for
us to know what the
constitution says and what our
are uh to know that um I need
to protect the right of people
to speak that I don't agree
with because if I ever try to
shut them up, down the road
even though we might be
political opposites, they might
try to shut me up when they
come to power and so if we all
want the opportunity to have a
voice then we all need to
protect each other's right to
have a voice and right now
that's not happening. We have
We're in one of the most
dangerous places we've ever
been in our country because
freedom of speech even though
it might offend people even
though they might see it as
politically incorrect, they
should still protect the right
of people to to say what
they're saying. Uh even though
it might offend them and that
is the place of there's never
ending tension between
different rights. So right now,
there are people who are
fighting for religious freedom
against others are fighting for
freedom of certain expression.
The truth is, is that both of
them are protected under our
constitution and so what the
congress and the president and
the Supreme Court have to
decide is where do those lines
meet. So, the old, the old
adage is that we have freedom
of speech in this country but
there are limits to that
freedom and that is the freedom
but you don't have, you have
freedom of speech but you don't
have freedom from the
consequence of the speech and
you don't have to say certain
things that can cause harm in
certain places. So, the old
example from uh during World
War one uh Oliver Wendell
Holmes said uh that does not
give you the right to yell fire
in a crowded movie theater. If
you do that, you are putting
those people's lives in danger
and you therefore was like you
said, suffer the consequences
of what you're saying. You
don't have the right to libel
somebody or to I'm sorry to
slander somebody. Libel is in
print slander. It's to speech
Uh but the the uh Supreme Court
has given very wide latitude to
what slander is. So slander is
in danger or uh damaging
someone's reputation which will
cause them to have uh a
breakdown in their ability to
make their living and doing it
Uh knowing that what you're
saying is wrong and and with
the intent to damage. So all of
those things have to be met in
order for a to give a slander
uh justification and so it's
hard to get a slander or libel
ruling uh but not impossible
and that I think is the beauty
and the wisdom of our system Mm
hmm. Yeah. Uh there's an
interesting thing that I uh I
saw online. It was uh talking
about the paradox of
intolerance You know, we strive
to be a tolerant society but in
order to be at a a tolerant
society, we to be intolerant of
intolerance and so like when
Nazism rises up and they have
that society of intolerance,
you have to be intolerant of
that specifically. Yeah. In
order to maintain tolerance,
it's a tricky ground um because
there are reasons why certain
people are intolerant and they
are deeply held Um So, a good
example of that would be Te in
Fiddler on the roof. Someone
would say that Tavia is
intolerant against uh Russians
and against Christians but he's
point of view and this is where
our truths clash Tavia stands,
you know, so some people would
say that he's in a, you know,
intolerant place. He would say
that he's standing on the
traditions of the Jewish
religion as he interprets them
and so in America, both sides
have to be protected and
somebody might be really upset
and angry at the so called
intolerance while the person on
the other side is angry, that
they're angry at them for their
strongly held religious beliefs
or political beliefs or
psychological beliefs, whatever
you might have, social beliefs,
The truth of the matter is that
our founding fathers were very
wise in how they put things in
place so that buddies Beliefs
are protected as long as you're
not causing damage to the other
person. that's uh that that is
why we the the uh we talk about
striving for a more perfect
union Mm hmm. Uh it's a more
perfect union. It's not a
perfect union. There will never
be a perfect union until the
prince of peace returns uh on
earth and all sin is done away
with. So until then, We need to
find the the system that will
protect everybody's rights as
best as possible and where that
doesn't happen. that's where we
have to rise up to defend those
who are unjustly accused in
their rights are taken away.
It's a never ending battle and
that's one of the reasons we
have that amendment process in
place. You know, the first ten
amendments, the bill of rights
laid down all those, you know,
inalienable rights or
unalienable if you're John
Adams talking to the printer
Right. Right. Exactly. Right.
And why the founding fathers
made it extremely difficult to
put in a new amendment knowing
that they didn't want it to
just be some political wind
that blows through and have the
constitution changed constantly
but when it was time for
slavery to go, the amendment
passed when it was time for
women to have the vote, the
amendment passed and so um I
thank god for our founders
because I think that they uh I
believe was providential that
they were led by god uh but
they were also led by what they
had just gone through in the
recent Revolution and they
didn't want to go through that
ever again and they also saw
what happened in the French
revolution and they didn't want
to go through that as well. So,
they were trying to strike a
balance and thank god I think
that they did so well. that's
about it. Uh our time is up.
Thank you David for uh a
wonderful conversation. I'm so
glad that you were able to join
us uh tonight and for else.
Who's uh who's been with us. We
want to thank you for being
with us. Uh remember my books.
This one here is called Forward
uh the leadership principles of
Ulysses S Grant. This one here
is called Victor the Final
Battle of Ulysses S Grant.
They're available at Grant
Victor Book.com and grant
forward Book.com on Amazon.com.
Uh at my website, von
Buseck.com or wherever books
are sold and uh you can go and
see the other books that I have
available as well. We want to
thank you for being uh with
Daniel writes in. Let's
celebrate what we have here in
America. A flawed system that
is still the greatest in the
world II agree with you, Daniel
And so with that note, um we
want to remind you that we will
be back here again next week on
Thursday night 7 PM Eastern
Time in the United States,
Eastern United States time. So,
for David von Buseck for uh
John see Farrell who couldn't
be with us tonight. I'm Craig
von Buseck. We will see you
back here next week. Same bad
time, same bat channel. Have a
great night.
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