Like any historical event, the American Revolution is remembered in broad strokes but was lived out one day at a time, in an era no less fractious, complex and contradictory than our own.
Ahead of the 250th birthday of the U.S. in 2026, on Sunday, Nov. 16, PBS premieres The American Revolution, a six-part, 12-hour survey of what its venerable filmmaker Ken Burns calls "most important event since the birth of Christ."
Burns' Florentine Films has already covered baseball, jazz, the Civil War, the Vietnam War, Leonardo da Vinci, and many other subjects. But now it wades into what has, in recent years, become a contentious topic -- how the British colonies in North America threw off the British crown and formed a new nation.
Along with airing nightly on PBS stations, the full series will also be available to stream on Nov. 16 at PBS.org and on the PBS App.
Take a look:
Hearing From Ken Burns in Person
In July, I went to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, to see a lengthy preview of The American Revolution, and to hear from Burns, producer Sarah Botstein, and featured historian Christopher Brown.
Doing a Documentary Without the Usual Archival Media
Burns began his remarks by addressing one of the chief difficulties of a documentarian in bringing the Revolution to life -- the lack of film and video.
He said:
I think the whole thing was to sense that we accept the violence of our Civil War and the 20th Century wars. But because this [war] is without photographs, without newsreels, they're dressed in their tights and breeches and have powdered wigs, that somehow we've lost touch with it.
And our American Revolution, which I think is the most important event since the birth of Christ, is sort of smothered with the barnacles, encrusted with the barnacles of sentimentality and nostalgia. And that it is important to find a way to do this.
Breathing Life Into the Famous
Burns emphasized the importance of fleshing out notable figures but also the myriad other people that
formal history didn't make famous.
Washington, we wanted to make him human so that you could appreciate just how central his contribution is. I hope one of the clips that we showed there really... We're speaking Spanish or French or British English if he's not around. It's that simple.
How spectacular his role in this was. And many of the others, we'd also introduce you to dozens of other characters, women, Native Americans, children, soldiers, loyalists. So, we're not saying, "Oh, these are the bad guys."
Friend vs. Friend
At the same time, while the Revolution is cast as Americans vs. Brits, it was as often Americans vs. each other. Said Burns:
In fact, one of the most poignant moments in the film [is when] loyalist that we follow through most of the episodes named John Peters is at the Battle of Bennington. He's going to lose this battle.
And he hears this voice say, "Peters, you damn Tory," as someone sticks a bayonet in him. And it's deflected by the ribcage. He recognizes it as his boyhood best friend, Jeremiah Post, who then Peters says, "I was obliged to destroy."
Nothing But the Truth Now -- and That's Fine
Whether out of ignorance or in service of a social or political agenda, many today exhibit shock to discover that the Founders weren't actually made of marble, and that they were as flawed and faltering at times as any other human.
Yet, as Burns explains, these ordinary men rose to the occasion and did an extraordinary thing. They also asked extraordinary things of those around them ... and still ask them of us.
Said Burns:
Now, I think that we're fearful that if we get into the real nitty-gritty of the Revolution, it will diminish to big ideas. In fact, the big ideas are made even better and more inspirational by understanding exactly what went on, how difficult it was, how bad the odds are.
And that, our Founders, in their extraordinary genius, helped us to understand that we were creating something new in the world, citizen as opposed to subjects. And that citizens would require an effort. Subjects are just under authoritarian rule. Citizens have to invest in life-long learning. That's the [goal], to be more virtuous.
If there's a word that shows up throughout our founding, it's virtue, virtue, virtue. All the time.
They're borrowing from antiquity and they're trying to instill in this new system, the idea of our obligation. That this was the highest office. It's an amazing story. It's taken us 10 years and the help of all the scholars like Chris on this to help wrestle it to the ground.
Putting Humans Back Into History
While not without controversy of their own, the PBS films produced by Burns and his collaborators do a great service by taking deep dives into their subjects, focusing especially on the experiences and testimony of (often unknown) individuals.
As are the origins of most important things and events, the American Revolution has been deeply mythologized and, to a large degree, sanitized for our protection. It's absurd to think that the Founders, the fighters, and the citizenry were any more or less human than we are -- but that's how many regard them.
It does no good to either put people on pedestals or cast them as inhuman villains. Neither serves the truths of human nature nor history.
Adapted with permission from Kate O'Hare's Pax Culturati blog at Patheos.com.
Image: Adobe Stock/Kate O'Hare
Kate O’Hare, a longtime entertainment journalist, is Social Media Content Manager and Blog Editor at Family Theater Productions.
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