Students Explore the Revolution With Speakers Near and (Really) Far

Well, it’s been an astounding few days here at Arts High School. My classes have been busy, filled with lecture, student projects, documentaries and, of course, Skype teleconferences! Over the past five days I’ve been able to arrange three conferences with historical experts all over the globe on events concerning the American Revolution.

Arranging and conducting these teleconferences has quickly become one of the most exciting aspects of my job. Originally designed a few years ago as a ‘filler activity’ to take place the day before a long vacation, I now realize that I’ve stumbled upon the equivalent of an educational gold mine. The only regret I have is not realizing it earlier, but perhaps the technology wasn’t mature enough in year’s past. It is now.

When I was in high school, we rarely if ever had any guest speakers, and even ones that did manage to come in usually spoke about a subject only distantly related to whatever we were studying. I remember one year, perhaps I was a sophomore, when a Vietnam vet visited class to speak about the war. It was fascinating to hear his memories of the conflict, and how he found the cold nights in the mountains most insufferable. That’s something I would have never gotten from a textbook. Another time, my high school principal lectured to my history class about Mary Todd Lincoln and how stormy of a relationship she had with Abe. Though I found his talk interesting, my teacher was clearly upset that he had decided to intrude upon our study of World War II. Lincoln, of course, had nothing to do with it.

But in 2013 everything is different. Primary sources are much more widely available, and in my opinion there’s no better primary source than a living one. So I planned carefully in September and my plans and emails bore fruit when three tremendous scholars agreed to talk with my students via Skype, and on a topic directly under study.

Around Halloween, my Advanced Placement History class spoke with Dr. Joshua Newton at the Royal Maritime Museum in the U.K. Newton is an acknowledged expert on British history, especially as it pertains to the Atlantic, and he was ready for the challenge. Though he spoke for just 20 minutes, he told the students about the Revolution from a perspective they’ve rarely examined. He told the students of a Britain overconfidently stepping into conflict, only to become quickly overwhelmed as the American plan to transform the war into a global one succeeded beyond anyone’s dreams. Newton, while showing pictures and artifacts from the museum’s vast collections, reminded students of the vastness of the British Empire. The British, he stated, were spread too thin, with the French and Spanish attacking them in distant locales like the Caribbean and even off the coast of India. Students countered by asking him, in distant London, about modern-day British attitudes toward that war, and how the loss affected political life in Britain. As Newton spoke of vicious battles on the North Atlantic, I couldn’t help but be amazed at the fact that the very same cold, vast, stormy waters still stood between us, but now, communication was instant; unreal!

A day later, another class got the opportunity to discuss African-Americans in the war with Rutgers History Chair Paul Clemens in not-so-distant New Brunswick. One of the best features of these kinds of interactions is that I’m always learning something new from such expert, and this time was no different. Clemens challenged the students in their traditional notions of viewing the Revolution as a war of absolutes, of good against evil. Clemens spoke of Lord Dunmore’s Emancipation Proclamation of 1775, which was eventually extended to the entire 13 colonies. The British deal was simple: get to our lines, and you’re free, period. I knew this, but what I never considered was Clemens’ startling comment: “It makes you think…had the British won the war, in view of the proclamation, it would have been very likely that slavery would have died in North America, if not perhaps the entire New World.” Suddenly everyone’s view of the Revolution became considerably grayer, even mine.

Then there was this morning’s fascinating teleconference on John Paul Jones with yet another class. This time we took our search for naval history right to the source: to the Pentagon itself. There, at Naval Command, my class spoke with Dr. Dennis Conrad in the nexus of U.S. military power. Conrad was an animated speaker, filled with enthusiasm and gusto. He told the students about Jones’ raids on the British Isles. While not strategically impactful, he stated, psychologically the raids and the greater U.S. effort at sea probably shortened the war. Many of my students never knew how audacious the American military effort was, in that the U.S. actually took the war to the British Isles. 

Students then got the opportunity to speak with a few Navy commanders on more recent issues, particularly the “pivot” of the United States’ military efforts towards the Far East. When one student expressed worry over the risks of such a move in the face of growing Chinese and North Korean forces, one of the commanders reminded her that the mere presence of a carrier force, rather than its blatant use, is sometimes enough to preserve the peace, at least for a while. The same commander also reminded another student that the presence of war and sacrifice is not something that is beyond those working in the Pentagon, as many remember that day on September 11, 2001 when a sizable portion of that megastructure was obliterated by a hijacked jet. “The presence of that day is something that will linger here for as long as the building stands; believe me, people here don’t look at the war in Afghanistan theoretically; they take it personally.” After she said that, my students were simply speechless, but yet, filled with new learning and feeling.

Three speakers on two continents; three different sessions, but all unique…here I was able to provide my students with experiences that I could have never enjoyed back in the 1980’s. And to think, it’s only November…we still have most of the year ahead, and new people to meet from South Orange to South Carolina to South Korea…and beyond…