By Mark Rhoads -
I was very pleased to see a new series promoted on the History Channel called Sons of Liberty. I am always encouraged to see new opportunities to teach American history to students in an interesting format. But here is the problem: In the commercial for the series, you hear a voice shouting "The British are Coming, the British are coming."
No one ever said that even though it is one of the myths about the Lexington Alarm of April 18, 1775 when Paul Revere and William Dawes rode to spread the alarm to colonial militia. What they might have shouted is "The Regulars are coming" referring to the King's regular troops who left the garrison in Boston to reach Concord and Lexington by dawn. But they could not have shouted "The British are coming," because Revere and the other real Sons of Liberty thought of themselves as British with the rights of British subjects in the colonies.
It is too bad that the makers of the new series would make a mistake that is so basic. I hope the rest of the series is not as sloppy as the commercial because accurate history about the American Revolution is needed and welcome.
