The Hillsdale College Online Courses Podcast The Great American Story: The New Nation
Apr 8, 2026
Wilfred McClay, historian of American intellectual and cultural history, presents the Revolutionary era and the Constitution. He recounts the military struggles and strategic surprises that won independence. He traces the fragile early republic, failures under the Articles, Shays’s Rebellion, and the Constitutional convention’s balancing acts. He highlights the framers’ aims and the Constitution’s lasting mechanisms.
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Paine's Words Helped Spark Washington's Counterattack
- Tom Paine's The American Crisis boosted morale during the winter of 1776–77 with the line, These are the times that try men's souls.
- Washington ordered the pamphlets read to troops, helping inspire the Delaware crossing and victories at Trenton and Princeton.
Saratoga Won French Alliance
- The American victory at Saratoga forced Burgoyne's surrender and convinced France to ally with the United States.
- French recognition and naval support crucially offset British naval dominance and aided eventual victory.
Valley Forge Was A Turning Point Through Discipline
- Valley Forge was a near-collapse that became recovery through training under Baron von Steuben.
- Intensive drilling refashioned a dispirited army into an effective fighting force by spring 1778.
