Rethinking the American Revolution and the US Founding Myth

This discussion emphasises the importance of looking at the American colonial period not as the ‘Thirteen Colonies’ but as a British America consisting of twenty-six colonies and provinces. The US founding myth has persisted in part because it is such a big part of American culture and identity that no one questions it, and because it has been reinforced by a Canadian national narrative which emphasised loyalty to King and Empire to distinguish it from the US. Drawing parallels to contemporaneous demonstrations in Britain and the existence of Stamp Act riots in Nova Scotia and the West Indies I will argue that the Stamp Act riots should not necessarily be seen as the start of a revolution, and dispute the image of Loyalists as predominately wealthy merchants and government officials.