This is CBSI in the world. I'm John Batchel with Professor Joseph Ellis.

The cause is the book, The American Revolution and its discontent, 1773 to 1783.

It is now 83, December of 83. Washington departs from Francis Tavern and then from the Congress in Maryland.

Washington's off the stage.

So, looking around at the remains of the day, let us begin in London.

Several generals are looking at each other.

Who to blame?

Gage in Boston?

How, at the Battle of Long Island,

Bergoin, who was not reinforced at Saratoga, Clinton, who obeyed his orders and stayed in

Philadelphia and New York, Cornwallis, who was trapped at Yorktown?

Who do we blame, Professor?

Was there one man more than any other?

Well, when you lose a war, and this is something I think we can see in American history quite

frequently, the first instinct is to search for scapegoats.

And scapegoats are effective because if you identify a single person or persons, you don't

have to rethink the fundamental issues that

got you into the war in the first place. In this case, they try to blame the generals. If you wanted

to find somebody who is really more than a scapego, you'd have to point to George III. But you

can't accuse George III within British politics, because that is to accuse the George III. But you can't accuse George the Third within British politics because that is to

accuse the British Empire itself.

And that is avoided.

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