Is the American Revolution important? William Jones (He/Him/His)
• The American Revolution appears in our national culture mostly (and briefly) as the Fourth of July approaches and then goes by. On July 5, we box it up it for another year. Nearly a decade before the Civil War, Frederick Douglass asked (and answered) the question, “What, to the slave, is the Fourth of July?” You do not have to read his speech now, but promise me you will do so at some later date. • Instead, for this discussion, I’ll ask you a related question, and the answer is not in any speech or book: What, to you, is the American Revolution? This discussion invites you to offer your assessment of this event: Is it still important or not? But if so, why so? And if not, why not? Please answer this question with one or two thoughtful (and complete) sentences.
