“You don’t really believe in the king, you just believe the king is the safest bet. You need to choose between your pride and your family,” Mary Woodhull recently said in a confrontation with her father-in-law, Richard Woodhull, on AMC’s Turn, which first aired May 11, 2015.
Her lines strike at what is emerging as the heart of AMC’S Turn and what was the core of the American Revolution. Everyone had to make a choice. Some came to their decision quickly, instantly. For others, the turn or “revolution” was slow and incremental.
Below is the introduction to my published book, Stories of Faith and Courage from the Revolutionary War, which asks this simple question, revealing the “turn” within “Turn.” Enjoy.
What is a revolution?
Is it a year, the earth’s 365-day orbital jig around the sun? Every time it passes through four seasons, the earth comes back altered, aged—changed. Is a revolution a day? Can a revolution take place with a simple rotation? Ancient astronomers considered a rotation a revolution. Each time the earth rotates on its axis it makes a mini-revolution.
The Random House Unabridged Dictionary defines revolution as “a sudden, complete or marked change in something.” Whether you measure a revolution by a day or a year, something happens during a revolution—a revolution means change.
One of the American Revolution’s most esteemed patriots asked a similar question. “What do we mean by the American Revolution? Do we mean the American war?” John Adams asked in a letter to a friend nearly forty years after the war’s final shot was fired.
Adams knew the answer. He was an eyewitness to it. He understood that the American Revolution was not merely overthrowing the king’s government by force. The American Revolution began long before the first musket flared.
“The Revolution was in the minds and hearts of the people; a change in their religious sentiments, of their duties and obligations,” Adams explained.
The American Revolution was not simply a war. It was a transformation of the colonists’ hearts and souls. For a few, the change was instant, a twenty-four hour transformation.
For most, the change came more slowly, after a long-time wrestling in their hearts over their allegiances, beliefs, and capabilities. Ultimately, those who couldn’t change their allegiance escaped to England or Canada. But those who could change were forever transformed.
“This radical change in the principles, opinions, sentiments, and affections of the people was the real American Revolution,” Adams wrote.
To skeptics this radical change was merely a rebellion. Those who would rebel against one government would always rebel, no matter who was in charge. But to true believers, this was not a rebellion. It was a revolution, one that would transform a monarchy into a republic, colonies into states, English men and English women into American patriots. A nation ruled by a king emerged as a nation governed by a constitution of the people.
What does revolution mean to you? Perhaps it’s a sudden change. Maybe it’s a simple but noticeable change. Perhaps it’s a more complete change, an obvious overthrow. As you discover the stories, sparks, and spirit of the American Revolution in this book, perhaps they will ignite a revolution in your heart, one that inspires your patriotism and nurtures your soul, one rotation at a time.[i]
“Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever. The sun rises and the sun sets, and hurries back to where it rises,” (Ecclesiastes 1:4–5).
Prayer: God, revolutionize my heart as you desire, one day at a time.
[i] “Revolution.” Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House, Inc. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/revolution (accessed: May 17, 2007); and John Adams, “Letter to H. Niles, Feb. 13, 1818,” Printed from http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_adams.
Author Jane Hampton Cook is known for making history memorable and relevant to today’s news, current events, and modern-day life. A frequent guest on the Fox News Channel and other outlets, Jane is the author of eight books, including American Phoenix, America’s Star-Spangled Story, and Stories of Faith and Courage from the Revolutionary War. Jane is also a former White House webmaster. She lives with her husband and three sons in Fairfax, Virginia.