The Real McCoy said:
I have a question for our British friends. How they teach the American Revolution in schools over in the UK? I've always wondered this. What do they say about our struggle for independence and what do they say about George Washington and the rest of our founding fathers?
www.bbc.co.uk/history is a good web site. This site closely follows and supports the schools’ curriculum – teachers, parents and pupils use this site to support teaching and learning. So looking at this will give a good idea of what is taught in British schools.
Something to note is that for Americans, the American Revolution was a major event, perhaps the biggest event, of their history. For British people it is a minor historical event. It was yet another invasion/colonisation/revolution/war story. We learn about so many: the Crimean war, first world war, second world war, war of the roses, 100 years war, English civil war, Battle of Hasting, Napoleonic Wars, French revolution, Revolution of 1948, Vietnam War, Crusades, wars of Ancient Greece, wars of Ancient Rome, Boer war, 30 years war, 7 years war, opium wars in China, American Civil war, Russian revolution, peasants revolt, the glorious revolution, Jacobite rebellions, wars between Scotland and England, Ireland and England, Spain and England, the invasions, colonisation and wars of the of the Angles, Jutes, Goths, Visigoths, Ostrogoths, Vikings, Celts, Vandals, Saxons, Picts and Scots, and I’m sure there are more. Amongst all these, many of which had more impact on Britain, the American revolution doesn’t get much time.
My recollection of being taught the subject is this: British colonies worldwide; war with France that left the government without money; debate about which colonies to protect (a surprise to many Americans is that Parliament voted America the least important colony behind India and West Indies), taxation and lack of economic freedom from colonists, rebellion leading to outright revolt and war in America. The details of the war were not taught, though Boston tea part was. I don’t recall anything in particular being taught about the founding fathers except Washington, but even then just the basics. I would struggle to name any other founding father.
