Myths of the Revolution

In my US history course we've just finished learning about the revolution. I realized that most students, unless they're really interested in history, seem to have the American preconception of what the revolution was really like. My Professore brought up what she calls The Myths of the Revolution, meaning the facts that most Americans think of when learning about the war. This post will disprove some of those preconceptions through my research on the Revolutionary War, and what I have learned through my history class.


A painting of the Sons of Liberty, a group of
colonists, such as Samuel Adams, who were
against taxation by Britain. They planned
and executed the Boston Tea Party.



#1 The Revolution was caused by "taxation without representation".
In a mercantilist society (A society where the mother country regulates the economy of its colonies in order to benefit itself) Great Britain had the right to tax its colonies. It even reduced taxes in most of the acts that were passed. What made the colonists angry is that they were actually enforced taxes on luxuries such as tea.

The colonists argued that Britain had no right to tax them without representation. This right was promised to all British citizens in the Magna Carta. Britain explained that the colonists were represented through virtual representation and that their rights had not been violated. 

(Virtual Representation is where citizens can be represented through a member ot legislature/parliament, without the citizens voting for that representative.)


#2 All Americans were for the Revolution.
This is also not true. Most American citizens in the time before did not even imagine splitting from Britain. They were proud to be British citizens. To explain how a few prominent revolutionaries became figureheads, I have to first explain who was for and against the revolution. (This will help to explain how Francis Marion originally decided to fight for the revolution.)

For the Revolution:

smugglers: Smuggling was a big problems in the colonies. After the Navigation Acts, colonists became angry with Britain, because they could not make as much money selling goods as they could smuggling them in.
One well known smuggler from the revolution was John Hancock.

colonial legislatures: When Britain took a tighter control on the colonies, the legislatures powers were reduced. The legislatures joined the revolution to gain more power.

planters: Planters, according to my professor, were reluctant to join the revolution at first, but joined because of the money that they owed to england.

Francis Marion was a planter, as was George Washington. It may not seem as admirable, but because it was so long ago, the individual reasons of why Marion and Washington agreed to join the revolution is not known. What is important to remember is that no one is perfect. America has idolized the founding fathers so much that most hold the impression that they could do no wrong. The fact that Marion has flaws only makes me admire him more, it reminds me that he was only human, and that even with his flaws, he was a good person.

FMU

I was researching more about Francis Marion and I found a University about him. Its called Francis Marion University and was founded in the 1970s. The campus is located seven miles from Florence, SC and owns 300 acres of land. It's known for its beautiful landscaping. FMU is one of the 13 colleges that are supported by the state of South Carolina.

http://www.fmarion.edu/

The Patriot

For those who aren't interested in History, but want to learn a little more about what the Revolutionary War was like, I'd recommend watching the Patriot. It obviously isn't a true story, but it is modeled after what Francis Marion and Daniel Morgan acheived fighting in the South. I know that not everyone is interested in what may seem interesting to me, so sometimes finding another way to explain things is the best. A good way to do this is to watch movies, as most people can follow along and learn from watching movies.

The movie stars Mel Gibson and Heath Ledger, and came out in theatres in 2000. Even just reading the preview, or watching clips can help if you'd like to know more about it.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0187393/

Who is Francis Marion?

A painting of Francis Marion by Werner Willis.

To understand why someone admires another, it is important to know more about the subject. It is very hard to understand any piece of writing about a person, if you don't know anything about the person themselves. This post will explain who Francis Marion is by giving a short biography about his life. Though it may not seem the most interesting, as many fundamentals may be, it is important to learn this so that any further references may not be confusing.

Francis Marion was born in 1732 in Berkeley, South Carolina. He gained his first military experienced in the Seven Years War (French and Indian War). During the war, Marion served under a man named William Moultrie, fighting against the Cherokee. After the war, Marion began a successful career as a planter. It was during this time that he came into an inheritance, which attributed to him becoming more politically active. He continued this until 1775, when the Revolutionary War began.

Marion was a member of the South Carolina Provincial Congress, and was appointed by the congress to serve as Captain of the 2nd South Carolina Regiment under his old friend, William Moultrie. After fighting in skirmishes fir two years, Marion was appointed Commander of the South Carolina 2nd regiment.  In 1780, British reclaimed Charleston, which since 1775 had been claimed by the colonial army under Marion's command. Marion, luckily, had hurt his ankle during this time and was able to escape capture by British soldiers.

The colonial army was ordered to retreat after the recapture of Charleston. Marion, along with a few other soldiers decided to stay. He then organized a small force of men to train in guerilla warfare. (Guerilla Warfare is unexpected attacks by a military group that is trying to change the government.) Living off the men, with few supplies, Marion led his men in many attacks against the British. These attacks would be quick and hard with Marion's men swiftly retreating into the swamps afterwards. It was these tactics that gained him the nickname, The Swamp Fox.

As the war came to an end, Marion joined forces with General Nathanael Greene and together they forced General Cornwallis's retreat from South Carolina. (General Cornwallis was one of the main British General's in the Revolutionary War) By the end of the war, Marion, who had started out as a lieutenant Colonel, had achieved the rank of General.

In the Present there have been many arguments of whether or not Marion was a "hero". In the movie The Patriot, Mel Gibson plays a character that was modeled after Marion (As well as Daniel Morgan: another soldier who stayed in South Carolina).  This movie successfully portrays the American ideology of our Revolutionary Heroes. Because of the lack of documentation, little is known about what kind of man Marion really was. Even so, I still can't help but admire him.