THE REVOLUTION
By ALBERT BUSHNELL HART
Professor of Government, Harvard University
GEORGE THE THIRD
GEORGE WASHINGTON
THE MENTOR
DECEMBER 8, 1913
SERIAL No. 43
DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY
MENTOR GRAVURES
BATTLE OF LEXINGTON · BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL · WASHINGTON CROSSING THE DELAWARE · SIGNING OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE · “I HAVE NOT YET BEGUN TO FIGHT”—JOHN PAUL JONES · THE BIRTH OF THE FLAG
Words wear out after using them a thousand or a million times. “Liberty,” “The Constitution,” “The People’s Government,”—people take those terms into their minds nowadays as they take a chocolate cream, without stopping to think of its contents. So with “Revolution.” When we hear the word we feel a pleased sensation of a good, great, glorious time, intended by Providence to prepare the way for our various patriotic organizations. The Revolution? Why, yes, that was when our forefathers tied the first hard knot in the British lion’s tail! All the people were patriots, and all the patriots were as wise as college professors, and as brave as Albanians, and as great as a president. All the statesmen wore silk stockings and red velvet suits and powdered wigs. All the ladies were lovely, and spurned the offers of marriage made by British generals.