Written by Gerard Hoefling

Posted July 4, 2024

As we Americans navigate a difficult political landscape while gathering to celebrate the Fourth of July and the birth of our nation and Democracy, it may be useful to consider how our nation came into being. Such an exercise may be of value as we chart the course before us.

Let us begin by first addressing a commonly held misconception. The Revolution was not won as the result of armed citizen farmers, who, armed only with their powder horns and trusty muskets took on and defeated the single greatest military power of the day. Surely, such citizen farmers did play a role, but had that been the only force arrayed against the Crown, the Revolution would have very quickly been suppressed.

To better understand the success of our Revolution we need to better understand who contributed. Aside from the citizen farmers, other citizens from every conceivable walk of life also contributed (and many also remained loyal to the Crown). It is also important of remember that citizenship at the time of the Revolution was much more limited than it is today. Nevertheless, legions of non-citizens also played important roles including but not limited to, women, freed slaves, slaves, and indigenous people who allied themselves with the revolutionaries versus the Crown. For example, the first American casualty of the Revolution was a multiracial (believed to be of African-American and Indigenous descent) escaped slave and sailor (one of few trades open to people of color) named Crispus Attucks. He died at the Boston Massacre.

Beyond our horizon, the Revolution also benefited greatly from the contributions of immigrants both as common combatants and also as military leaders. After leaving leaving Prussia as a result of never-substantiated allegations of homosexuality, Baron Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben, arrived in America three years into the Revolution; a revolution at a very low ebb. Arriving at Valley Forge von Steuben used his gifts to raise morale and transform the army from ill-disciplined militias, into a true force. Poles also took an active role, from the Polish-Jew Haym Salamon who had a hand in financing the Revolution but also was able to ensure the Yorktown campaign by raising and providing demanded back-pay for the troops. Count Casimir Pulaski, “Father of the American Calvary” sacrificed his life to the cause. The talented Tadeusz Kosciuszko successfully raised the standards of military engineering, and he remained dedicated to American Revolutionary principles until his death. Marquis de Lafayette, a French nobleman also contributed and became a general in the Continental Army at the age of 20! He remained a friend of Washington and other revolutionaries throughout their lives. These are but a few of those of other lands and nationalities that came to these shores and sacrificed much in the cause of Liberty.

Finally, it must be noted that America did not win the Revolution by standing alone but succeeded because of forged alliances with both France and Spain. These powerful allies did much to ensure victory through funds, munitions, naval forces, ground troops, and other resources.

So, as you enjoy that cold beer and cheeseburger before settling in for the annual light-show, take a moment and remember not just the citizen farmers, but that very diverse body of men, women, races, nations of origin, religions, social-statuses, and alliances, that helped create the American nation and continue to enrich it to this moment. And as you remember, consider your obligation to protect and preserve this Democracy from those forces now arrayed against it.