In my school we were taught that the French were essential in winning the American Revolutionary War.  We covered the contributions specifically of Marquis de La Fayette, François Joseph Paul de Grasse, François de Fleury, and several others.  We were taught the importance of having allies and the necessity of strategic planning and cooperation.  I don't recall any downplaying of the help we received, only the gratitude felt.  La Fayette is still regarded as an America hero.

I got a history degree in 1995 and we were taught the French saved the war.  Even in high school.

I am from the American South and born in 1966. We were taught that we could not have won the Revolutionary War without the French, primarily because the British had to commit more sailors and soldiers to fight the French than the colonists. And the British were more interested in saving the Caribbean colonies which were much more lucrative.

I still remember the confusion I caused in a fifth-grade history class in 1976 regarding the Treaty of Tordesillas—an agreement signed by Portugal and Spain on June 7, 1494, and recognized as valid by the Pope. In my history textbook, the dividing line cut across South America, and I asked the teacher how the Portuguese and Spanish could possibly divide up land that wouldn't be discovered until 1500. The teacher was flustered and couldn't explain it; I kept pressing the issue, but she finally shut the discussion down, saying my question wouldn't be on the test and I didn't need to worry about it—I just needed to know when the blasted treaty was signed. It wasn't until I was an adult that I finally learned Spain and Portugal had drawn that line because of disputes in Asia, on the other side of the world. Only after North and South America were discovered did the two nations use the treaty to settle territorial disputes in South America.

Running all these partial episodes together, without even a pause between, was rather confusing. It might have helped if segments about the same event, or time period were grouped together, but there was no organization.

This is why I love history content. You learn something, accept it as fact, then find out the story was way more complicated.

I will never understand how the colonists who rebelled against their country came to be referred to as "patriots" and not terrorists.

I kept hoping Philomena might appear and maybe we would be treated to a little Pump Up the Jam.

I remember in high school learning of the French contributions to the war. When I brought this up in a college classroom, the only person not flabbergasted was the teacher.

I was educated in NJ in the 50’s- 60’s, we were taught about the French help during the revolution.

My daughter wrote as part of a report in elementary school “If not for de Grasse we might be having tea at three”. So yes, we Americans do learn of the importance of France in our independence. It doesn’t dismiss the pluckiness of the American people however who risked all.

I was told in middle school (1979-1980) that the "let them eat cake" was fake.  In fact, I don't know anyone who was taught that in school.

The older I get, the more interesting the gap between history and the version of history we inherit becomes. Paul Revere turns into one heroic lone rider, the Revolution becomes a simple underdog story, and figures like Lincoln get compressed into a few neat sentences when the reality was far messier. That does not make the history less powerful. It makes it more human. That same urge to look underneath the familiar story is why I started my own channel exploring overlooked British places and finding the history still hiding in their streets and buildings. Once you start questioning the neat version, ordinary places become historical rabbit holes!!

An error I most correct:  There were, in fact, nearly half a million slaves outside the Confederacy at the beginning of the Civil War, who were located in the border states of Kentucky, Missouri, West Virginia, Delaware, and Maryland - and several thousand were held in the capital of the United States itself, Washington D.C. Crucially, NONE of those slaves were freed by the Emancipation Proclamation, which applied only to the eleven states that officially had seceded.

Great show, as usual.  I read that the phrase “Let them eat cake” was uttered by a French countess or princess in ignorance.  When she was told the people did not have enough bread to eat she said “Qu’ils mangent de la brioche » because she was too ignorant of the fact that the peasantry could not just choose brioche instead.

First, the reason the slave states wanted new states to be slave states was market driven. Opening up new slave markets. Second, the southern states which seceded after the election didn’t include Virginia. And Virginia had a convention to explore the issue of secession and concluded that it wasn’t allowable under the constitution. The voted in the end to secede after Lincoln called up troops following the attack on Fort Sumter in South Carolina. 2 years earlier Virginia called on federal troops to put down a violent rebellion at Harper’s Ferry.

Now in my elder years, I can appreciate how tenuous the actual truth can be. It can be very delicate and fleeting due to a very unnoble aspect of humanity.

11:00 The story of the French helping the Americans due to their wars with England is accurately told every day at Fort McHenry in Maryland, which is now a National Shrine.

Missouri was admitted as a state at the same time as Maine and was designated a southern/slave state to keep the balance. It was called the “Missouri Compromise.”

I think these documentaries are entertaining as well as important for people to understand how certain events can affect everyone. I appreciate the coverage of history in multiple places at the the particular times addressed. Sometimes history is broken down so much we dont get to to appreciate the historical effects of politics between different countries. Its also ver interesting how much the persoal lives of monarchs and people in charge affected people in other countries at a life or death level. Its good to see how people are used as scapegoats so we can make informative decisions not based on propaganda.  Its importance in understand the different people involved and investigate finances insted of taking the word of people who may be bending the truth for personal gain.

This is better than history books because its easy to follow and youth would find the dialog interesting.

Thank you. I look forward to future episodes.