Western Virginia and the American Revolution

I sometimes hear historians bemoaning the work of Ken Burns as not sufficiently academically rigorous in its content. There are merits in some of those arguments, but the joy of seeing historical subjects brought to the wider attention of the American public is one I whole-heartedly applaud.

As a historian who studies and works in the world of West Virginia's history, I was absolutely thrilled to see Burns discuss in Episode 1 of The American Revolution the fact that western Virginia was front and center of the events that preceded the war for American Independence. Burns harkens back to work of historians like Warren Hofstra, who challenged the idea that western Virginians were ever a people living on an isolated frontier. The 18th century was full of global expansion and clashes of empire - and the resource-rich lands west of the Appalachians were hotly contested.

As you continue to enjoy The American Revolution, keep in mind that the Mountain State has been central to the idea of American freedom from the earliest of days.