The original post: /r/television by /u/CrashingoutCitizen on 2025-11-23 05:35:02+00:00.
This is part of the reason I like watching a good documentary. I’m only 2 episodes in currently, but I just had to get my thoughts out. This show does such a good job of expanding upon the curriculum that is taught in the American public school system. As I was watching the documentary, it’s just so fascinating to see all of these events that are taught in school, but there’s a lot more context given to them.
In the first episode they begin to detail the different reasons that all contribute and propel the colonies to revolt against the Crown. They tie all of the reasons together as like a collective and growing reason for dissatisfaction that eventually leads to the start of the revolution. They also give insight into what the British were thinking and why they felt it was so important to try and contain this revolt.
From what I recall in school, it was taught that each one of the reasons for revolting were kind of separate and somewhat disconnected. They taught about how the French Indian War debts, the Proclamation of 1763, Stamp Act, and the tea act, but they taught each of these topics kind of separately. The school system didn’t really explain these as a kind of snowball effect like the documentary does. They don’t teach how the British thought that if the colonies revolted it would lead to revolts across their multiples of other colonies. Or another one was how there was the question of human rights/considerations of people of color and women when it came to drafting the Declaration of Independence. And how there were Native American units and African-Americans that served in the Continental Army (and not just a few like its portrayed in school).
TL;DR: I know that was alot, I just really liked how well done this documentary was and how much of a refresher/new things I learned from watching this!