and it was volatile by its very nature of being a representative, meritocratic organ of gov't

you could think it was a matter of time before they overthrew an ineffective or unpopular king

but how would you have it any other way?

which episode is this?

the first 15 or so

I think I'll start on it tomorrow

sounds interesting

and a lot more relevant than Roman history

I think roman history is relevant too

in a general sense

Not in the sense that you can relate to modern politics though

you begin with a state that had the political strength to survive the loss of 200,000 of its strongest, bravest men

and still come out on top

produce leaders like cincinnatus, construct a navy from scratch, produce an innovative system of gov't that worked for 400 years

not as relevant compared to Revolutions

only to degenerate into nigger tier coups, extralegal exceptions, street fighting, and civil wars

like the podcast lol

idk

I think it's very relevant given that Rome was a republic for half of its history

and I think that all republics have to deal with authority, distribution of power, constitutionality, and the rise/decline of the institutions over time

Well for sure, the lessons that Rome taught were incredibly important

Yeah but the details are nowhere near as important

yeah the details are only there to inspire general theory

But you can say the English Civil War was directly influential to America's founding

but I don't think it makes it any less important if you're really trying to understand politics

oh absolutely

what do you think inspired Locke to write his two treatises of gov't?

people really underestimate how influential locke was to the American colonists, also how disproportionately influential he was

That's one thing they get right in school

there was all sorts of thinkers at the time, with all sorts of works of varying popularity circulating the colonies, but for such an age of enlightenment, people weren't really as well read as the period is often portrayed

I remember looking at some primary documents about harvard students in the 1700s

a dorm burned down and the school was filing claims to restore property to the students

so you could see what every student claimed as his property, including the books that they had

lots of bible

lots of random textbooks

some john locke

everything else in very small quantities

honestly, it's kind of like today

in a sense

though replace the bible with some random social media bullshit or maybe the hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy lol

people like james madison, benjamin franklin, alexander hamilton, and james madison were one out of a thousand

You have any book recommendations on European history?

Or should I just get a textbook for something like that?

I have a good recommendation of a "textbook"

Patrick O'Brien's World History Atlas

Alright fellas, what should we set this week's topic for?

Whatever you want

Should we follow a podcast or book?

Alright, because we are Amfirst, we'll do the American Revolutionary War as our very first topic.

The war was between American Rebels, and the British Empire lasting from Apr 19, 1775 – Sep 3, 1783, get to chatting fellas!

Do you think it was more miraculous that America won its independence, or was it inevitable?

Horatio Gates - big gay, or giga faggot?

@Deleted User Don't know enough about the fellow.

Seems like a queer from what little I'm reading of him.

If you looked at the political climate of the time period with the age of enlightenment it wasn't too amazing

But the if it weren't for the Seven Years War it would not have happened

But I mean militarily, do you think it was any amount of difficult or unlikely?

I hold the personal belief that we were very, very fortunate.

Militarily I'd say it was pretty miraculous

yeah which battle was the turning point? Trenton?

I'm not too well versed in specific battle of the revolution. I know quite a few from the civil war,

but I need to brush up on my revolutionary history.

Thankfully we have the History-Server™

I'll read up

But im clocking out fellas

The official slogan of the History-Server™

I'm not sure of the revolution was inevitable--I think that if the British were more open about sharing representation with the United States and allowing more free trade, then the colonies would have eventually fallen in line

The UK gov't was a lot more liberal than, let's say the Spanish gov't

Though if the UK didn't budge in the long-term, the American Revolution would have happened again

If not during the 1770s, then during the Napoleonic Wars

Also, has anyone heard of a hypothesis that the founders also took influence from Pre-Norman England?

and it could have been far more brutal

Washington almost died about 3 times in the Revolutionary War

HH VIN

@Solipsistic Vinarchy

HH

DIVINE INTERVENTION

GOD WILLS IT

AMERICA WILL BE

FREEEEE

http://youtu.be/GT0eD92u1Xs

http://youtu.be/xfxUMrhmX4w

http://youtu.be/8ICcH-mLt3c

Fellas

Is larping as a continental army soldier good or bad optics

larping in general is bad optics

Larping is fine for military reenactments

That's about it

http://youtu.be/7OjMuuk0W5Q

when he looks at the bust of pompey

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TiqO2h9hFJA HEY YOU CHEEKY YANKERS HAVEN'T PAID YOUR BLOODY BUTTERKNIFE TAX

Imagine a government that literally makes it illegal to carry plastic eating utensils in public because they view it as dangerous.

Holy shit I'm so glad we rebelled...

I imagine if we didn't rebel and stuck with the crown there is a fair chance we would be like modern Canada

Maybe worse

Not that our situation is any better

we should own canada by now