Ken Bruns's The American Revolution (2025) documentary series

 

Ken Burns's The American Revolution (2025) documentary series=

“We the people.”

-The United States Constitution

“I wish the Constitution which is offered had been made more perfect. But I sincerely believe that it's the best that could be obtained at this time. And as a constitutional door is opened for amendment here after, the adoption of it is in my opinion desirable.”

- George Washington

“Our government daily acquires strength and stability. The union is complete. Nothing hinders are being a very happy and prosperous People. Provided we have wisdom rightly to estimate our blessings, and hearts to improve them.”

- Abigail Adams

There are certain moments in history that are emblazoned onto the popular consciousness. It is fascinating to me that these moments become so accepted as pivotal components of the human experience. They are monoliths that become untethered from time and obtain a mythical status. However, this untethering disallows these moments to maintain their proper context in the ever flowing river of human events.
For an American, such as myself, this is no more true than when taking the American Revolution into consideration. Perhaps, one of the major downfalls of The United States educational system is the fact that, when it comes to history, we often lose sight of the realities of life in favor of a more heroic approach to historical events Now that I'm thinking about it, this may not be altogether true nowadays. Though, if it is still an approach used in the adolescent years of education. It's certainly not the approach used in higher education? In either case, it seems to hold firm from an anecdotal standpoint. We frequently forget the truth that lies at the heart of History. True history that is. A history made up of faulty human beings, not one constructed out of marble statues or unblemished works of art.
It's difficult to say that the aforementioned heroic viewpoint of The American Revolution is false. It certainly is not. Though, that historical lens seems to consistently miss out on the context of a varied humanity, as alluded to above. In its place Americans seem to focus more on speed when it comes to information. The more information a student gets about the Revolution, the more knowledgeable they become, right? A valiant effort to be sure. However, it can be argued that that process of conveying knowledge is frequently unsuccessful in helping a person retain said knowledge. Context, on the other hand, is, I believe 90% of the battle in retaining information and growing a knowledge base.
    To think about a fact, to mull it over and attach it, in some way to our lived experience is far more important than the fact itself. It may just be me, but knowing that George Washington was a flawed human being, and yet he was still able to accomplish what he accomplished, is far more meaningful than just thinking of him as a perfect hero. His accomplishments are not out of reach. To bring it to the point, he was flawed just like you and me.
This calls to the surface, our struggle with contextualizing history in human brokenness, we seemingly don't want the responsibility of change. The responsibility of bettering ourselves as a consequence of past failures and injustices. Please don't misunderstand me here, I am certainly not saying that America's war for independence was not necessary or beneficial. However, it is worthwhile to come to terms with the fact that it was a war, fought by broken people. And these people were human beings that made revolutionary choices for the betterment of humanity; they also made tragic choices that brought humanity down to its basis of levels. That is to say, we all have more than one side to our nature. No one is perfect. The same goes for History. Though, we should still allow ourselves to cherish history's greatest accomplishments, as well as mourn its numerous tragedies.
Ken Burns's The American Revolution is a powerful exemplar of that ever present dichotomy of human nature. This 6 part 12 hour documentary series, both celebrates all the human triumphs and tries to valiantly make sense of The Revolution's most heart wrenching sorrows. Headlined by documentarian Ken Burns, this series succinctly and honestly outlines the reality of history. Beautifully conveying the truth that lies behind all great historical events. The truth is, people are the cogs that make history turn. Individuals, with all their faults, successes and inconsistencies are of course the backbone of the human cultural endeavor. To that end, directors Ken Burns, Sarah Bostein and David P. Schmidt with their many collaborators bring us back to the start of the American experiment. Hoping to discover the human truth that underpins one of the most unexpected revolutions in history.

Rated TV-14 for violence and some strong thematic material

I found Ken Burns's The American Revolution documentary series to be insightful, meaningful and thought-provoking. I hope in some way you do too.

Ken Burns's The American Revolution can be streamed on the PBS app for free. It is available to purchase as well on any digital video streaming service. It is available to purchase physically on Blu-ray disc.