AMERICAN CHRISTMAS
1776 was not simply the year that the members of the Continental Congress risked their lives and fortunes to declare an independent America. However, as we honor their risk of high treason taken on July 4, let us also remember December 25, 1776, when Gen. George Washington changed the course of world history. Colonial Americans appeared divided and discouraged. Only six months following the Declaration of Independence, the cause of liberty was teetering at the precipice. Following a dreadful New York campaign and the loss of half of the Continental Army, Washington had retreated to the west bank of the Delaware River. Moreover, the military commanders and peace representatives of his Majesty George III, the brothers Gen. William Howe and Adm. Sir Richard Howe saw no further purpose in bloodshed. By their logical reckoning, the British had defeated the rebellious colonial forces. Therefore, the treasonous experiment in self-government was finished.
COMMON SENSE
Although Washington had lost the confidence of the Continental Congress and Gen. Howe ordered his regiments to stand down to New Jersey cantonments, the American experiment did not die. Starting on December 25, 1776, Washington would surprise friend and foe alike. Firstly, a succession of lightning victories began with his now legendary crossing of the Delaware. Moreover, colonial forces took British and Hessian troops by surprise. Contrary to the view of the 1619 Project, Washington’s tattered Continental Army did not flight to preserve southern plantation slavery. But it was a pamphlet, The Crisis, inspired the Americans. The Enlightenment philosopher Thomas Paine, who signed his articles with the pseudonym, Common Sense, wrote The Crisis The liberal realist gave Americans understandable and convincing reasons to support a revolution. Furthermore, Paine impacted British public opinion as well as inspiring colonial morale. Meanwhile, The Crisis appeared in The Pennsylvania Journal on December 19, 1776.
THE CRISIS
Washington’s officers read The Crisis aloud to their troops on December 23, 1776, before the Battle of Trenton. It famously began, “These are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of his country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.” Firstly, Paine’s admonition boosted colonial morale and fighting spirit. Likewise, he also shamed neutrals and loyalists. Moreover, he helped motivate the rebellious colonies at a crucial moment. But Britain had correctly concluded that the colonials were divided, and Continental Army was ready to quit. However, Paine further argued, “Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.” Therefore, the people, the soldiers and their representatives rallied behind Washington’s audacity on Christmas 1776.
THE EXCEPTIONAL ALLIANCE
In conclusion, during 2021, fellow author and American Revolution scholar Larry Kidder and my literary agent Roger Williams will publish Ten Crucial Days. The book will detail the extraordinary time from December 25, 1776, to January 3, 1777, when Washington rescued the failing cause and forever changed the world. But after winning independence, America remained bound by blood, language, principles, tradition, and mutual interest with Britain. Therefore, America and Britain would come to reconcile and form an extraordinary commercial, legal, military, moral, political, and scientific relationship. Likewise, their exceptional alliance would lead and save the world during the following two hundred years. Meanwhile, today’s Americans are faced with a persistent pandemic and fundamental challenges, not the least of which is China. However, as they move beyond a disruptive 2020 toward a better 2021, they do well to remember Christmas 1776, when America Ascendant improbably persevered.