Planning is under way for the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution. There are commemoration commissions or committees at work at the federal, state, and local levels, including Albany County and the town of Guilderland.

We can expect interesting new publications, celebrations, and other public events over the next few years. But now, early in the process, here are a few things that might be of interest:

— Much of the fighting in New York was hard, including some well-known major battles but also many small skirmishes. The state bicentennial commission captured that in a 1977 film, “The Other Side of Victory,” available here: bit.ly/4jTYFYB.

The film is about a company of New York soldiers late in 1776 in southern New York, probably present-day Westchester County. It is winter, cold, snow on the ground. Leadership is weak. Supplies are lacking.

The soldiers chant: “No food, no meat, no pay, cold feet!” Their inexperienced lieutenant splits them into two groups; one is attacked and destroyed by the British. Loyalists pretending to be patriots distract them. The lieutenant rallies his troops to ambush the British but is killed in the process. 

All of the patriot soldiers’ sacrifices did not seem to have had much of an impact. But at the end, one soldier says: “It is men like us that will make the difference between winning and losing this war.” That statement captured patriotic New Yorkers’ determination.

— New York came into existence on April 20, 1777 when a special ad hoc convention finished the first State Constitution in Kingston. You can see a copy of the first page here: bit.ly/3WZ3XbI

The document declared that the convention, acting “in the name and by the authority of the good people of this State, doth ordain, determine and declare that no authority shall on any pretense whatever be exercised over the people or members of this State, but such as shall be derived from and granted by them.” In 1777, a document purporting to represent the consensus and will of “the people” was a bold departure from the past. 

There is a useful summary and analysis of the constitution here: bit.ly/4hv55Mo.

— John Jay, the lead writer of the Constitution, served as the new state’s first Chief Justice (and also, later, as the nation’s first Chief Justice and a governor of New York). In a speech addressed to New Yorkers in September 1777, he said, “The time will now never arrive when the prince of a country in another quarter of the globe will command your obedience, and hold you in vassalage. His consent has ceased to be necessary to enable you to enact laws essential to your welfare. Nor will you in future be subject to the imperious sway of rulers instructed to sacrifice your happiness whenever it might be inconsistent with the ambitious views of their royal master."

He went on to say that “the Americans are the first people whom Heaven has favored with an opportunity of deliberating upon, and choosing the forms of government under which they should live." Now it was up to the people of New York to make it work: “Your lives, your liberties, your property, will be at the disposal only of your Creator and yourselves. You will know no power but such as you will create; no authority unless derived from your grant; no laws but such as acquire all their obligation from your consent.”

You can read Jay’s speech here: bit.ly/4aTn2S9 and an analysis here: bit.ly/40R9TVm

— There were commemorations of the Revolution in 1826, 1876, 1926, and 1976. One of the most interesting was a century ago, a chance to celebrate New York’s sometimes-neglected role in the war. State Historian Alexander Flick’s 1926 The Revolution in New York (available here:  bit.ly/41k6S1j) provided a good  summary of the war in our state and suggestions for commemoration. There were several public events, including a 1927 pageant at Kingston where participants re-enacted the founding of the state: bit.ly/3QesyoU.

By the fall of 1777, New York had elected its first governor and legislature, defeated British invasions from the west (Oriskany, Aug. 6) and the north (Saratoga, Oct. 17). The British sailed up from New York City (which they occupied then) and burned Kingston on Oct. 16. The new government fled across the Hudson River and south to Poughkeepsie and resumed working. New York was here to stay! American victory was finally achieved in 1783.

The Revolution was a defining event in both national and state history, and it also had ramifications for individual communities then and insights for us today:

— The war was an against-the-odds struggle that required sacrifice and persistence.

— Precedents and models were lacking. The leaders were highly inventive, basing their work on principles of liberty and government by consent of the governed.

— The effort required compromise, putting aside individual and group advantages for the common good.

— The founders recognized that government would evolve over the years, according to the desires of the people and the needs of the hour. 

The first state constitution was a stellar document that remained largely unchanged until 1821. But it had flaws and shortcomings, which New Yorkers remedied. For instance, the legislature enacted a bill of rights in 1787 (accessible here: bit.ly/4170QRs). Laws passed in 1799 and 1817 ended slavery by 1827. The first state constitution restricted voting rights to men who met certain property holding and other qualifications. These were eliminated in the 19th century. Women finally achieved the right to vote in 1917.

— A study of the Revolution reminds us that change starts first in the minds of the people involved. John Adams, reflecting back on the Revolution, wrote to Thomas Jefferson in 1815 that “the Revolution was in the minds of the people” before the fighting actually began (bit.ly/3EuzdJ7). He meant that the change in people’s beliefs and attitudes — how they regarded British rule, what they wanted for themselves and their families, how they determined to shape their collective future — was what made the difference.

— Finally, the Revolution was, in a sense, just a first step for New York (and the rest of the nation). There are still “unfinished revolutions.” The New York State 250th Commemoration Field Guide, issued by the State Museum and the public Historians of New York (available here: bit.ly/4aVbePt) states that “by thinking about this commemoration beyond the American Revolution itself, we are able to consider the ever-evolving history of our state and nation over time … over the past 250 years, New York has been the battleground for a variety of struggles over the concepts of freedom and equality.”

Revisiting the Revolution at this time of challenges and political turmoil is useful. The story is inspirational. It is a reminder of the need to persevere in the fight for principles of democracy. It can also be a source of insights and ideas.
 

Bruce W. Dearstyne is a historian in Guilderland. His most recent book is “Progressive New York: Change and Reform in the Empire State, 1900-1920 – A Reader” (2024)