WEBVTT

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So we are now post midterm.

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We've gotten past the midterm,
which is excellent.

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And what I want--the lecture
I'm going to give today is

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actually titled "Heroes and
Villains,"

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and I'm going to explain what
that means in just a few

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minutes.

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I'm going to segue,
so I'm just touching on one or

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two of the things that I talked
about at the end of the last

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lecture,
segueing right in to this

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lecture.

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And hopefully you remember that
right before the midterm,

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the last lecture I gave,
I was talking about the process

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of organizing a war.

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And I talked about some of the
problems that the Continental

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Congress had in dealing with the
Continental Army,

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and I at least referred to some
of the ways in which these

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problems hinted at larger
problems with unity between the

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newly created American states.

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So for example,
I talked about regionalism,

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and I talked about some of the
ways in which regionalism

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complicated the task of
organizing the Continental Army,

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for example things like
considering how to balance

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positions of military command
between Northerners and

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Southerners,
or getting units from one

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region of the country to deal
with units from another region

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of the country,
or getting soldiers from

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different regions as well as
individual soldiers to agree to

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sacrifice for the common good
throughout the entire

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confederation of states instead
of thinking about their own

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state or their own locality
above all else.

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And I also talked about a
related problem,

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and I called that the problem
of localism,

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and I talked about how a
localized view of the world,

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or certainly a localized view
of the new states,

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worked against centralized
control.

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So localities of all sorts had
difficulty surrendering local

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control to some kind of a
central organization like the

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Continental Congress,
which obviously had to equip

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the army,
and thus that raised all kinds

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of other complications and
problems.

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Each state wanted to maintain
control, for example,

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of its own militia.

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And then finally,
at the very end of the lecture

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I mentioned that many people who
would end up being strong

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nationalists in the 1780s and in
the 1790s--

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people who were going to end up
being at the forefront of the

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movement to strengthen the
Articles of Confederation--

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many of these people gained
their political beliefs and the

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need for some kind of a stronger
centralized national government

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from their experiences during
the Revolution,

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from their experiences with
what often felt like what

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Alexander Hamilton called an
imbecilic centralized

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government.

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That was his word that he
applied to the Continental

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Congress, "imbecilic."

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So basically,
looking at the army and then

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looking at Congress,
we see regionalism and localism

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both working against centralized
control and coordination.

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We see a lack of precedent for
centralized governance of this

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kind, which led to some
confusion.

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And certainly that made it
possible for any important

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decision that had to do with
centralized power having

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seemingly enough importance to
make it earth-shaking--

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and thus seemingly trivial
things ended up seeming to have

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huge importance because they
might set a precedent,

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again all of this working
against effectiveness.

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So all of these things
complicated the creation not

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just of a Continental Army,
but also of first,

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colonial unity,
and then American unity and--

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as we're going to see in weeks
to come--

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ultimately constitutional unity.

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And we're going to see this
sort of concern and confusion

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and these complications of
centralized power coming up

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again and again this semester,
particularly at the beginning

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of April when we begin to talk
about the Articles of

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Confederation and people really
debating about what's the best

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form of government for these new
states to unite under.

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So these ideas--things like
regionalism and things like

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localism and how they
complicated the army,

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and also centralized
power--those things are actually

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going to come up in today's
lecture which,

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as I said, I titled
"Heroes and Villains."

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And what I'm really going to be
doing in today's lecture--It's a

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different kind of lecture from
ones that I've given before.

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Happily for you,
it's a lecture that will

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probably require you to take
less notes than you typically

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take in lecture for this course,
because what I'm going to do is

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kind of use a case study to look
up close at just a handful of

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people and a series of events as
a way of exploring some of the

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ideas that we've been talking
about generally--

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ideas about the Congress,
ideas about the army,

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and how they actually played
out in a few individual lives.

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So what we're going to see in
the course of today's lecture,

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which in a way is one big
story, is some of the

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complications inherent in how
the Continental Congress handled

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the Continental Army.

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We're going to see a very
specific example of that.

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We're going to see regionalism
making trouble in the

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Continental Army.

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We're going to see how serving
in the army affected--in the

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case of today's lecture--several
people's lives in a really

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direct way.

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And then on a broader scale,
by looking at this one story--

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which is intertwined with the
actions of the Continental Army

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and what it meant to this
handful of lives--

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we're also going to see some
broader truths about American

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society at the time.

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So we're going to see for
example how the army was an

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outlet for personal ambition,
how people maybe tried to use

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service in the army as a way to
promote themselves,

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something that I've mentioned
before.

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We're going to see how living
at a time of war opened paths

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for people that might not
otherwise have existed.

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We're going to see the
sometimes slippery status of

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women during a time of war,
and we're going to see how many

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Americans still revered some
British cultural ideals even in

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the midst of war against
Britain.

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And the story that I'm going to
use today,

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the sort of case study that's
going to help us delve into all

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of these things,
is the story of Benedict

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Arnold, Peggy Shippen Arnold,
and John Andre.

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All of these people--All three
of these people,

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in one way or another,
attempted to use the war and

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its armies to make,
or I guess maybe more

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accurately to unmake,
themselves and their

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reputations.

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In one way or another,
all of them were trying to

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better themselves through the
opportunities of warfare.

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Now before we launch into that
case study,

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I just want to talk for a
moment about why warfare created

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such opportunities for
potentially raising a person's

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social status,
and thus why some people were

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actually eager for war.

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Now in some of the early
lectures for this course,

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I discussed social status in
the colonies and I talked a

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little bit about how society in
the colonies,

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while it certainly did have an
elite sort of gentlemanly rank

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of people,
that overall American society

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tended to be more middling than
English society,

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which did have an entrenched
aristocratic class.

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In America, if you wanted to
have gentlemanly status--

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and in a sense it was more
difficult to be born into it in

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the way that you could have in a
European nation--

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there were actually a limited
number of pathways that were

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open to you to achieve that kind
of a status.

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Basically, there were a handful
of professions that were assumed

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in this period to be
gentlemanly.

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These included medicine,
the law, the ministry,

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the church, perhaps being a
merchant that was wealthy enough

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that you didn't seem to be
grubbing for money--

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that you seemed to be living
happily off of your vast sums of

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money,
maybe someone who owned a

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really sizable plantation,
or serving as an officer in an

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army.

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And I was sort of unsure what
to do with college professors,

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near and dear to my heart.

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I decided I would not
officially put them on the list,

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although many college
professors in this period would

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have been in the clergy,
certainly some of them would

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have been lawyers,
so I think they would have

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generally fallen into the
gentlemanly ranks,

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but I'm being unbiased here so
I'm leaving college professors

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over here somewhere.

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Okay.

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So of all of those positions
that I've just named,

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being a military officer,
serving as an officer during--

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in an army but particularly
during a time of war,

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offered the greatest chance for
instant glory,

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instant status,
instant rank through bravery

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and displays of valor on the
battlefield.

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For the very ambitious or for
people who had a problematic

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social rank for one reason or
another,

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a war could be a great
opportunity for you to improve

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your place in the world,
particularly in a place like

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America.

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And one extreme example of this
is actually Alexander Hamilton,

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who was born illegitimate in
the West Indies--

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and it's really clear from the
absolute first letter of his

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that we know of,
which was written when he was

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fourteen years old,
that he absolutely thought that

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his only ticket off of the
island of St.

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Croix was through military
glory in a war.

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That was really the way that he
saw that he was going to make

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something of himself,
get himself off of St.

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Croix, earn a name,
get status, get reputation,

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and start the process of making
something of himself in the

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world.

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So as he says in this letter,
and it's written when he's

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fourteen, "my Ambition is
prevalent....

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I wish there was a War."

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Okay.

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[laughs]
As a historian,

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you're so happy--
again, I said this before--when

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your historical subjects say the
thing you want them to say that

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you can then quote forever
after.

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'Hi.

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I am ambitious and I want a war
so I can promote myself.'

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Thank you, Alexander Hamilton,
very much.

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Okay.

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Now in a sense Hamilton was
extreme,

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because he was very
underprivileged,

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he was extremely ambitious and
very determined,

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but in a sense his entire
generation of young men saw the

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Revolution as a chance for
glory,

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status, rank, self-promotion.

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And I talked about a similar
idea last week when I mentioned

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that there were a number of
Europeans who came to America

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during the Revolution,
sometimes because they figured

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that they could probably impress
Americans,

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or certainly impress the
Continental Congress with their

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experience in formal European
warfare,

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and then they could get a
position as an officer easier

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than they might have been able
to obtain it or purchase it back

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home,
and--so that there were a

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number of Europeans coming to
this country for that purpose.

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And I mentioned at the time
that actually Hamilton,

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trying to do something really
similar,

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said that watching these
Europeans come and get promoted

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by the Congress above his head
gave him what he called

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"pigmy-feelings,"
made him feel really puny,

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really small in comparison with
these sort of grand Europeans

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coming and sort of getting
everything that he wanted and he

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wasn't getting because he was
just a puny,

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little American.

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So in a sense,
in a world where there were a

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limited number of pathways to
gentlemanly status,

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serving as an officer during a
time of war could be kind of an

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escalator of rank,
offering the chance to get

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ahead at a rapid pace.

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So being an officer in the
Continental Army could have

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seemed particularly attractive
to highly ambitious men who were

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looking for some kind of a big
chance,

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and Benedict Arnold was one of
those men.

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Now I think when most Americans
think about the American

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Revolution--And I remember I
started out this course sort of

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talking about the same idea.

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I assumed that maybe people
know Washington led the army,

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that Paul Revere rode around on
a horse saying something about

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the British,
that Jefferson had something to

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do with the Declaration of
Independence,

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and I'll add to that list,
most people know Benedict

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Arnold was a traitor.

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They don't know why,
they don't know how,

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but you assume the name
Benedict Arnold goes along with

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the word "traitor."

12:19.870 --> 12:23.170
John Adams was pretty much
right on the money when he

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predicted how future generations
were going to see the American

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Revolution,
and it's right in line with

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what I just said.

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And he actually wrote in 1790
to Benjamin Rush,

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"The History of our
Revolution will be one continued

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lie from one end to the other.

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The essence of the whole will
be that Dr. Franklin's

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electrical Rod smote the Earth
and out sprung General

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Washington.

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[laughter]
That Franklin electrified him

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with his Rod--
[laughs]

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and henceforth these two
conducted all the Policy,

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Negotiations,
Legislatures and War."

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Okay.

12:58.837 --> 13:01.917
So Adams is actually probably
coming pretty close to reality.

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People are going to look back
and they're going to say,

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'Yeah, yeah.

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Franklin, Washington,
and the war.

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That was the Revolution.'

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Now I always--I knew that quote.

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I've known it for a long time.

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I love that quote,
which is why I found a reason

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to sort of wind it into today's
lecture,

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but when I went back to look it
up today,

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for the first time I actually
read the whole letter that it

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comes from.

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And I found another sentence
which I actually hadn't focused

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on before,
and it made me so happy that I

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offer it to you,
even though it isn't directly

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related to the point I'm making,
but I kind of couldn't believe

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he wrote it in his letter.

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So he offers that quote and
then he adds and says,

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"If this Letter should be
preserved and read an hundred

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years hence--".

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Okay.

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First of all,
I love the fact that that comes

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up in his mind.

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Well, a hundred years from now
when people are reading my

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letter,
"if this letter should be

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preserved and read an hundred
years hence,

13:44.350 --> 13:47.090
the Reader will say,
'the envy of this John Adams

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could not bear to think of the
Truth!'"

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So in other words,
a hundred years from now if

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people read this letter they're
going to say,

13:52.440 --> 13:52.740
'Yeah.

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Well, the fact is Adams knew he
wouldn't be remembered.

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He doesn't deserve to be
remembered anyway.'

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So it's like first there's the
letter where he's like:

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'oh,
no one's going to know the

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truth about the Revolution and
they're never going to give me

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any credit.

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[laughter]
I love the weird self-awareness

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of John Adams.

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I just--I couldn't believe that
he added that into the letter.

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So anyway, I think he certainly
knew what he was talking about

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when he talked about the weird,
general sort of hero-way in

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which people were going to be
thinking about the American

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Revolution.

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So many Americans know
certainly Benedict Arnold equals

14:24.676 --> 14:25.346
traitor.

14:25.350 --> 14:28.850
Obviously, it's--I'm going to
be talking about it today--

14:28.850 --> 14:31.110
his story is a lot more complex
than that,

14:31.110 --> 14:33.750
and it's mixed in with these
other two stories,

14:33.750 --> 14:36.760
that of Peggy Shippen,
who eventually becomes his

14:36.758 --> 14:40.508
wife,
and John Andre who is a young

14:40.513 --> 14:42.423
British officer.

14:42.418 --> 14:46.338
Now Arnold started out life in
many ways a sort of typical

14:46.336 --> 14:48.846
member of a modest,
respectable family,

14:48.846 --> 14:51.626
and at the opening of the
American Revolution he was a

14:51.628 --> 14:54.228
book-seller and a pharmacist,
or what they would have called

14:54.225 --> 14:56.725
a druggist,
in New Haven, Connecticut.

14:56.730 --> 14:58.900
So he's a local boy,
Benedict Arnold.

14:58.899 --> 15:01.139
He was struggling to better
himself.

15:01.139 --> 15:04.179
How many of you knew actually
that Benedict Arnold was a local

15:04.179 --> 15:04.479
guy?

15:04.480 --> 15:06.300
A couple people did.

15:06.298 --> 15:07.988
That was another one of those
things that--I never know when I

15:07.985 --> 15:08.865
say something about New Haven.

15:08.870 --> 15:11.170
Is it like, 'We all know this
about New Haven,

15:11.174 --> 15:12.204
Professor Freeman.

15:12.200 --> 15:13.450
You are the clueless person.'

15:13.451 --> 15:15.431
[laughter]
So anyway, he was a local boy.

15:15.428 --> 15:19.708
So book-seller,
druggist, New Haven local boy

15:19.707 --> 15:24.107
struggling to better himself,
and part of the way in which

15:24.107 --> 15:26.687
he's struggling to better
himself is to certainly display

15:26.686 --> 15:29.536
himself to the world as someone
who's really up and coming.

15:29.538 --> 15:31.108
So among the things that he was
doing was,

15:31.110 --> 15:33.930
he apparently was building an
enormous mansion for himself on

15:33.928 --> 15:36.138
Water Street,
wearing very expensive

15:36.142 --> 15:40.132
clothing, taking big risks in
business to try and get himself

15:40.129 --> 15:41.259
ahead quickly.

15:41.259 --> 15:45.819
He was also a captain in the
local New Haven militia and so

15:45.815 --> 15:50.365
he was really active drilling at
the opening of the war.

15:50.370 --> 15:53.990
Now when gunplay broke out at
Lexington and Concord,

15:53.990 --> 15:56.720
the New Haven town meeting
apparently decided that they

15:56.721 --> 15:59.811
wanted to maintain neutrality,
which in and of itself was kind

15:59.813 --> 16:00.553
of interesting.

16:00.548 --> 16:00.818
Right?

16:00.822 --> 16:01.142
'Uh oh.

16:01.139 --> 16:02.409
Something bad's happening.

16:02.408 --> 16:04.418
I think for now we want to be
neutral.'

16:04.418 --> 16:07.168
Connecticut's always a very
conservative place so this is

16:07.166 --> 16:10.056
yet another conservative moment
in Connecticut's history.

16:10.058 --> 16:12.598
So they form a committee--The
town meeting forms a committee

16:12.601 --> 16:14.241
to preserve neutrality in New
Haven.

16:14.240 --> 16:17.290
Arnold was not really excited
about this concept of

16:17.285 --> 16:20.225
neutrality,
so apparently he stormed in to

16:20.234 --> 16:24.034
this neutrality committee,
demanded the keys to the

16:24.028 --> 16:26.848
ammunition shed,
and when his superior in the

16:26.851 --> 16:29.841
Connecticut militia told him the
town had legally voted for

16:29.836 --> 16:32.166
neutrality,
Arnold threatened to break down

16:32.167 --> 16:35.227
the ammunition shed door with
his men if they didn't hand over

16:35.231 --> 16:38.001
the keys so he could get
ammunition and take his men and

16:37.995 --> 16:38.895
do something.

16:38.899 --> 16:42.739
And the committee released the
keys and Arnold took them and

16:42.735 --> 16:45.485
armed his men,
and ultimately he and his

16:45.488 --> 16:48.258
militia unit joined the
Continental Army in

16:48.258 --> 16:49.378
Massachusetts.

16:49.379 --> 16:52.359
So this is someone who clearly
is eager to fight.

16:52.360 --> 16:52.740
Right?

16:52.738 --> 16:54.628
He sort of forced his way in.

16:54.629 --> 16:57.909
So he ends up in Massachusetts
with his men.

16:57.908 --> 17:01.868
He's soon promoted to be a
colonel by the Massachusetts

17:01.871 --> 17:05.561
Committee of Safety,
which assigned him to be part

17:05.558 --> 17:09.688
of a group that was going to go
help capture Fort Ticonderoga

17:09.694 --> 17:12.534
and he was--
Arnold was part of that

17:12.528 --> 17:15.188
successful effort in May of
1775.

17:15.190 --> 17:19.840
And by October of 1776,
he was a brigadier general.

17:19.838 --> 17:24.118
Now at this point the very
hierarchical system of military

17:24.119 --> 17:28.399
rank that Arnold was using to
try and raise himself in the

17:28.401 --> 17:32.871
world began to work against him,
because a number of his equals

17:32.869 --> 17:36.749
were promoted to major general,
but Arnold wasn't.

17:36.750 --> 17:38.610
And as I'm going to explain in
a moment,

17:38.608 --> 17:42.488
the reason why he didn't get a
promotion has more to do with

17:42.491 --> 17:46.701
things like regionalism and fear
of centralized authority than it

17:46.703 --> 17:50.853
actually does have anything to
do with Arnold specifically.

17:50.848 --> 17:53.178
So basically,
many of the more radical

17:53.183 --> 17:56.463
members of the Continental
Congress at this time were

17:56.464 --> 18:00.194
afraid that if everyone was
promoted in the Continental Army

18:00.186 --> 18:03.846
just according to seniority of
rank that the army would get

18:03.846 --> 18:07.566
detached from the legislature
and then it would be seniority

18:07.568 --> 18:11.668
and not Congress that would be
determining promotions,

18:11.670 --> 18:15.680
so Congress might end up being
powerless over the army.

18:15.680 --> 18:18.770
And so the result that they
feared would be maybe a military

18:18.770 --> 18:21.470
dictatorship,
an aristocracy based on high

18:21.473 --> 18:23.543
military rank--
that somehow or other,

18:23.535 --> 18:26.065
if the army had control of
promotion everything was going

18:26.068 --> 18:28.738
to spin out of control and
Congress would have no power.

18:28.740 --> 18:32.040
So, afraid of this,
Congress debated and ultimately

18:32.038 --> 18:36.128
decided that officers should be
appointed not just according to

18:36.130 --> 18:38.790
seniority,
but almost more important,

18:38.788 --> 18:42.448
on the basis of balancing out
the numbers of officers from

18:42.445 --> 18:43.725
different states.

18:43.730 --> 18:43.960
Okay.

18:43.957 --> 18:46.367
So they figure we're going to
have regional balance.

18:46.368 --> 18:49.628
We're going to maintain control
of the promotion process and

18:49.634 --> 18:52.684
maintain regional balance in the
numbers of officers.

18:52.680 --> 18:57.540
So essentially in the interest
of preserving a national

18:57.538 --> 19:02.038
confederation of some kind,
regional balance in the

19:02.038 --> 19:04.918
military was given priority.

19:04.920 --> 19:07.990
As Washington--George
Washington explained to Arnold

19:07.990 --> 19:10.400
when Arnold was denied his
promotion,

19:10.400 --> 19:14.010
"as Connecticut had
already two major-generals,

19:14.009 --> 19:16.249
it was their full share."

19:16.250 --> 19:16.460
Okay.

19:16.457 --> 19:18.487
That's got to be really sour
grapes, like 'What?

19:18.490 --> 19:20.720
[laughs]
Connecticut doesn't deserve any

19:20.715 --> 19:23.565
more major generals so I don't
get a promotion?'

19:23.568 --> 19:25.808
"I confess this is a
strange mode of reasoning;

19:25.808 --> 19:28.388
but it may serve to show you,
that the promotion,

19:28.387 --> 19:31.657
that was due to your seniority,
was not overlooked for want of

19:31.663 --> 19:32.903
merit in you."

19:32.900 --> 19:34.270
So he's trying to make Arnold
feel better.

19:34.269 --> 19:35.699
'Well, you actually--I know you
deserved it but I'm sorry.

19:35.700 --> 19:39.440
You really can't have it,
because Connecticut doesn't get

19:39.438 --> 19:41.038
any more for a while.'

19:41.038 --> 19:41.428
Okay.

19:41.434 --> 19:45.474
Arnold did not get his
promotion, did not get it for

19:45.472 --> 19:46.822
want of merit.

19:46.819 --> 19:49.099
This did not make him happy.

19:49.098 --> 19:52.588
Washington's trying to explain
that there are larger principles

19:52.589 --> 19:54.869
at play,
principles that show how

19:54.871 --> 19:58.681
fearful people were of
centralized power in any form,

19:58.680 --> 20:01.810
and in this case they're afraid
of some kind of powerful

20:01.810 --> 20:04.450
standing army,
and they're using regional

20:04.446 --> 20:08.546
balance as a priority to sort of
balance out fears of centralized

20:08.551 --> 20:12.081
power wherever they're afraid
it's going to crop up.

20:12.078 --> 20:14.508
As one congressman wrote at the
time,

20:14.509 --> 20:17.339
Arnold's promotion was blocked
because it raised,

20:17.338 --> 20:20.308
quote, "a question of
monarchical or republican

20:20.311 --> 20:22.761
principles at a most crucial
time."

20:22.759 --> 20:26.219
So you could see even this one
guy's promotion is being tied

20:26.222 --> 20:28.632
into these much larger fears and
ideas.

20:28.630 --> 20:32.810
Congress felt compelled to
establish its promotion policy

20:32.808 --> 20:37.358
based on fears of an independent
standing army that might take

20:37.362 --> 20:38.932
power for itself.

20:38.930 --> 20:41.640
They're trying to keep control
of military promotion--

20:41.640 --> 20:44.230
so here you see fear of a
standing army,

20:44.230 --> 20:48.810
fear of centralized power and
regionalism all stirred up and

20:48.814 --> 20:50.994
all at play in full force.

20:50.990 --> 20:54.890
Now luckily for Arnold at this
point, there was a military

20:54.894 --> 20:56.544
action in Connecticut.

20:56.538 --> 20:59.508
Arnold proved himself
militarily--yet again he ends up

20:59.508 --> 21:01.578
getting promoted to major
general--

21:01.578 --> 21:05.358
but now his rank is beneath
those who had been his equals

21:05.362 --> 21:05.972
before.

21:05.970 --> 21:06.290
Right?

21:06.285 --> 21:09.595
They had been promoted ahead of
him so they still have seniority

21:09.597 --> 21:10.227
over him.

21:10.230 --> 21:15.270
Arnold really wants equal rank,
equal seniority with the men he

21:15.270 --> 21:17.630
had formerly been equal to.

21:17.630 --> 21:21.610
He also felt that Congress owed
him money because he had been

21:21.608 --> 21:24.858
using his personal funds to
supply his troops,

21:24.858 --> 21:28.118
and obviously he's already
living well beyond his means,

21:28.118 --> 21:31.278
so this question of whether or
not he's actually owed money by

21:31.278 --> 21:34.178
Congress and whether or not
Congress is actually going to

21:34.178 --> 21:37.168
pay him back--
for him, that's a serious

21:37.173 --> 21:38.003
question.

21:38.000 --> 21:42.870
The more that Arnold demanded
that he be promoted to the level

21:42.865 --> 21:47.055
of his former equals,
the stronger Congress dug in

21:47.056 --> 21:51.556
its heels and refused to comply,
so that the whole idea clearly

21:51.564 --> 21:55.004
is becoming now a matter of
principle in which the honor and

21:54.996 --> 21:58.186
authority of the Continental
Congress is at stake now in

21:58.194 --> 22:01.224
addition to whatever larger
issues are at play.

22:01.220 --> 22:04.240
And this might sound a little
familiar if you think back to

22:04.240 --> 22:07.050
some of the logic deployed by
the British Parliament as

22:07.054 --> 22:09.924
problems were growing out of
questions of taxation.

22:09.920 --> 22:13.160
In addition to all of the
larger problems and concerns

22:13.163 --> 22:17.023
mixed up in that question,
part of what was at play was

22:17.021 --> 22:20.631
that Parliament ultimately,
at some point down the road of

22:20.631 --> 22:23.161
that controversy,
didn't want to lose face by

22:23.159 --> 22:26.019
seeming to surrender the issue
to its colonies.

22:26.019 --> 22:28.879
So the honor of Parliament is
involved in that issue,

22:28.876 --> 22:31.346
here the honor of the
Continental Congress.

22:31.348 --> 22:33.928
They feel like that's at issue
and they can't just back down

22:33.934 --> 22:36.744
because Arnold is being really
persistent about what he wants.

22:36.740 --> 22:40.290
As South Carolina Congressman
Henry Laurens put it at the

22:40.291 --> 22:42.131
time,
his colleagues' behavior in

22:42.130 --> 22:44.690
Congress was,
quote, "disgusting."

22:44.690 --> 22:48.190
Arnold was refused "not
because he was deficient in

22:48.194 --> 22:51.964
merit or that his demand was not
well founded but because he

22:51.955 --> 22:54.435
asked for it &
that granting at such

22:54.442 --> 22:58.842
insistence would be derogatory
to the honour of Congress."

22:58.838 --> 23:01.808
Now that's Laurens' point of
view.

23:01.808 --> 23:04.428
Another congressman with
different politics and another

23:04.430 --> 23:07.240
point of view came up with a
whole different way of looking

23:07.244 --> 23:09.864
at this whole controversy--
drew very different

23:09.863 --> 23:13.263
conclusions--and said that
denying Arnold his promotion was

23:13.261 --> 23:15.491
a triumph of republican
principles.

23:15.490 --> 23:19.730
Military rank would stay in
control of the legislature;

23:19.730 --> 23:24.440
the army wouldn't become
independent and aristocratic.

23:24.440 --> 23:27.180
So you can see even again
something that is seemingly not

23:27.179 --> 23:29.629
that important,
which is the promotion of one

23:29.633 --> 23:32.673
guy, stirs up all of these
larger issues for all kinds of

23:32.671 --> 23:34.191
people in different ways.

23:34.190 --> 23:36.140
People aren't even united about
what it means.

23:36.140 --> 23:39.800
Now it was at roughly this
moment--

23:39.798 --> 23:43.058
when Arnold is frustrated--he
wants promotion--

23:43.058 --> 23:45.048
he doesn't see a way to get
it--he keeps getting turned

23:45.054 --> 23:47.404
down--
he feels like he's owed money

23:47.400 --> 23:50.670
in some way--
he just feels basically stymied

23:50.673 --> 23:53.123
in every way--
his reputation now he also

23:53.121 --> 23:55.861
feels is being attacked simply
because he's asking for

23:55.856 --> 23:58.216
promotion--
this is roughly the time when

23:58.219 --> 24:01.229
he met Peggy Shippen,
who was the daughter of a

24:01.227 --> 24:03.547
wealthy merchant in
Philadelphia.

24:03.548 --> 24:06.528
Now the Shippens,
along with any number of

24:06.528 --> 24:09.868
Philadelphia's other sort of
best families,

24:09.868 --> 24:13.488
mingled freely with British
officers when the British were

24:13.486 --> 24:17.016
in occupation of Philadelphia--
when the British were not

24:17.016 --> 24:19.656
there, mingled freely with
American officers.

24:19.660 --> 24:23.010
When the British had possession
of Philadelphia apparently there

24:23.009 --> 24:26.519
were elaborate dances and great
sorts of theatrical productions.

24:26.519 --> 24:29.539
It was a grand social scene
when the British were there.

24:29.538 --> 24:32.008
When the British were not
there, Americans also had

24:32.009 --> 24:32.849
entertainments.

24:32.848 --> 24:35.948
They weren't quite as
extravagant, but still enough to

24:35.945 --> 24:39.275
encourage the participation of
all of the best families of

24:39.276 --> 24:40.266
Philadelphia.

24:40.269 --> 24:43.739
Peggy Shippen was certainly in
the midst of all of this

24:43.736 --> 24:46.266
socializing,
enjoying whatever socializing

24:46.271 --> 24:48.171
was going on with whatever
group,

24:48.170 --> 24:50.990
and apparently she was very
popular.

24:50.990 --> 24:53.560
She was sort of the literal
belle of the ball,

24:53.561 --> 24:56.711
one of the more attractive and
noteworthy young women in

24:56.707 --> 24:59.277
Philadelphia's social scene at
that time.

24:59.279 --> 25:02.379
Now this suggests a few things
about Peggy Shippen,

25:02.377 --> 25:05.907
one or two of which are
significant for our story here.

25:05.910 --> 25:08.820
For one obvious thing,
it suggests that she certainly

25:08.819 --> 25:11.059
was dressed at the height of
fashion,

25:11.058 --> 25:13.738
that she was skilled at
flirtation,

25:13.740 --> 25:15.920
that she was aggressive in
social circles,

25:15.920 --> 25:19.290
but what that adds up to as far
as our story is concerned,

25:19.288 --> 25:22.578
is that she was displaying
ambition on one of the few

25:22.577 --> 25:25.737
stages where women could display
open ambition,

25:25.740 --> 25:28.330
and that's social events,
social functions,

25:28.329 --> 25:30.709
in a sense the private world.

25:30.710 --> 25:32.890
But certainly on the social
stage,

25:32.890 --> 25:35.640
that's a place where women
could successfully display and

25:35.638 --> 25:38.428
exercise ambition,
and it certainly suggests that

25:38.429 --> 25:41.709
Peggy Shippen was perfectly
comfortable doing that on the

25:41.712 --> 25:43.592
social scene of Philadelphia.

25:43.588 --> 25:49.248
So Peggy married Benedict
Arnold in April of 1779.

25:49.250 --> 25:52.990
He already was someone who was
spending extravagantly.

25:52.990 --> 25:55.340
This just encouraged him to
increase his spending,

25:55.342 --> 25:57.842
because now he had a wife to
spend on, in addition to

25:57.838 --> 25:59.758
whatever he was spending on
himself.

25:59.759 --> 26:01.779
And it was shortly after his
marriage,

26:01.778 --> 26:04.628
when he still remained
frustrated in his military

26:04.625 --> 26:06.645
hopes,
his expenses are rising and

26:06.646 --> 26:09.916
rising all the time,
this is the moment where he

26:09.916 --> 26:14.106
began to ponder the possibility
of aiding the British.

26:14.108 --> 26:17.588
And apparently in his mind he
justified his actions by

26:17.589 --> 26:21.529
assuming the British were
inevitably going to win anyway,

26:21.528 --> 26:24.128
that the British--that the
likelihood that the colonies

26:24.125 --> 26:26.525
were going to be victorious
against the empire,

26:26.529 --> 26:28.079
in his mind, is unlikely.

26:28.078 --> 26:31.548
So given that the British are
inevitably going to win,

26:31.548 --> 26:34.938
his helping them win the war is
going to end bloodshed as

26:34.944 --> 26:37.714
quickly as possible,
so he's doing a good thing by

26:37.713 --> 26:39.093
somehow helping the British.

26:39.088 --> 26:41.248
Now clearly that's a sort of
self-serving way of looking at

26:41.252 --> 26:41.442
it.

26:41.440 --> 26:44.960
He has other motives too,
but that was part of his logic.

26:44.960 --> 26:48.930
So in May of 1779,
he and Peggy decided to ask a

26:48.930 --> 26:53.240
local man in Philadelphia who
they knew had Loyalist

26:53.239 --> 26:58.309
sympathies and who was a poet to
act as a go-between with the

26:58.308 --> 27:03.968
British so they could at least
open a conversation with them.

27:03.970 --> 27:06.440
And this man,
whose name was Joseph

27:06.440 --> 27:10.000
Stansbury, later described
Arnold's invitation.

27:10.000 --> 27:12.240
He described what Arnold said
to him at this moment:

27:12.240 --> 27:15.440
"General Arnold sent for
me and,

27:15.440 --> 27:17.140
after some general
conversation,

27:17.138 --> 27:20.478
opened his political sentiments
respecting the war carrying on

27:20.481 --> 27:22.621
between Great Britain and
America,

27:22.618 --> 27:25.248
declaring his abhorrence of a
separation of the latter from

27:25.250 --> 27:27.790
the former as a measure that
would be ruinous to both.

27:27.788 --> 27:30.788
General Arnold then
communicated to me,

27:30.788 --> 27:33.248
under a solemn obligation of
secrecy,

27:33.250 --> 27:35.830
his intention of offering his
services to the

27:35.830 --> 27:39.060
Commander-in-Chief of the
British forces in any way that

27:39.057 --> 27:42.277
would most effectually restore
the former government and

27:42.284 --> 27:45.574
destroy the [then]
usurped authority of Congress,

27:45.568 --> 27:49.188
either by immediately joining
the British Army or cooperating

27:49.190 --> 27:52.510
on some concerted plan with Sir
Henry Clinton"--

27:52.509 --> 27:55.049
(who is the British commander
in chief).

27:55.048 --> 27:55.348
Yeah.

27:55.347 --> 27:57.617
That's quite some conversation
there.

27:57.618 --> 28:01.398
Now the person who ultimately
ended up facilitating

28:01.396 --> 28:06.006
communication between Arnold and
Sir Henry Clinton was a young

28:06.005 --> 28:09.325
British officer named Major John
Andre,

28:09.328 --> 28:11.668
who was a sort of favorite of
Henry Clinton,

28:11.670 --> 28:13.270
was sort of his right-hand man.

28:13.269 --> 28:15.789
Apparently, Peggy Shippen knew
him.

28:15.788 --> 28:18.668
They had met when the British
had been in Philadelphia,

28:18.670 --> 28:20.920
and in fact they'd been a
little bit flirtatious when the

28:20.922 --> 28:24.112
British were in Philadelphia,
so they knew each other.

28:24.108 --> 28:28.088
To most people who knew
Andre--and as we're going to see

28:28.086 --> 28:30.826
later on in this story,
particularly to

28:30.833 --> 28:34.813
Americans--Andre was the very
ideal of a gentleman.

28:34.809 --> 28:36.339
He was charming.

28:36.339 --> 28:38.139
He was well educated.

28:38.140 --> 28:39.610
He wrote poetry.

28:39.609 --> 28:41.129
He wrote plays.

28:41.130 --> 28:43.020
He was flirtatious.

28:43.019 --> 28:46.559
He drew portraits to amuse the
ladies and his fellow officers.

28:46.558 --> 28:48.098
He's supposedly very
good-looking.

28:48.098 --> 28:50.758
So basically in a sense,
Andre is sort of this

28:50.759 --> 28:53.419
gentlemanly ideal,
and then he's also this gallant

28:53.421 --> 28:55.561
soldier,
so you add it all up and it's

28:55.564 --> 28:58.764
just a package of sort of
"ideal gentleman."

28:58.759 --> 29:01.839
Like Arnold,
Andre had used the army as a

29:01.836 --> 29:05.676
way to better his station,
although his station was

29:05.682 --> 29:07.992
already somewhat elevated.

29:07.990 --> 29:10.970
So Andre's father was a wealthy
merchant.

29:10.970 --> 29:14.640
Andre thought that trade was a
little bit disreputable so he

29:14.643 --> 29:18.133
decided that the army was a
better way for him to advance

29:18.130 --> 29:20.380
himself,
exercise his ambition,

29:20.380 --> 29:24.710
and achieve fame and glory,
again not that unlike Arnold.

29:24.710 --> 29:29.470
So Andre ends up being at the
center of Arnold's plans with

29:29.469 --> 29:32.519
the British,
and basically the plan was the

29:32.519 --> 29:35.249
Arnolds would send messages to
the British,

29:35.250 --> 29:38.730
but they would be written by
Peggy Arnold and then sent to

29:38.730 --> 29:42.340
Andre through Joseph Stansbury
who would pick up the letters

29:42.336 --> 29:45.286
and deliver them,
crossing back and forth between

29:45.286 --> 29:48.796
American and British lines,
and then Andre could go on and

29:48.798 --> 29:50.938
speak to Henry Clinton himself.

29:50.940 --> 29:53.300
Now Stansbury,
hoping to make things a little

29:53.297 --> 29:56.917
less risky for himself,
got another poet that he knew

29:56.916 --> 30:01.366
behind British lines to carry
the messages from his hand to

30:01.371 --> 30:02.601
Andre's hand.

30:02.598 --> 30:05.588
So Benedict Arnold's
negotiations with the British

30:05.594 --> 30:08.854
would be written out by Peggy;
she'd give her letters to

30:08.847 --> 30:10.787
Stansbury;
Stansbury would give them to

30:10.786 --> 30:12.906
another poet;
the poet would give them to

30:12.914 --> 30:14.944
Andre;
Andre would take them to

30:14.940 --> 30:15.560
Clinton.

30:15.558 --> 30:15.798
Okay.

30:15.796 --> 30:18.586
That's a long chain of people,
but what's really interesting

30:18.586 --> 30:21.186
about that chain of people is
that when you think of the

30:21.188 --> 30:23.788
pieces and the assumptions
underlying the pieces,

30:23.788 --> 30:27.978
it revealed a lot about society
and some of its assumptions at

30:27.982 --> 30:28.742
the time.

30:28.740 --> 30:32.100
It was actually Andre who
suggested that the letters

30:32.102 --> 30:35.602
should at least seem to be
written by Peggy Arnold and

30:35.596 --> 30:38.606
addressed to Andre,
because Andre knew that

30:38.605 --> 30:42.195
something written by a woman
would never be assumed to have

30:42.202 --> 30:44.622
anything to do with politics or
war.

30:44.618 --> 30:47.158
A letter from a woman is going
to assume to be private and

30:47.159 --> 30:47.649
personal.

30:47.650 --> 30:49.980
Women were basically a
nonentity in public life,

30:49.980 --> 30:52.340
they didn't exist as public
figures,

30:52.338 --> 30:55.358
so, as Andre explained in a
note to the Arnolds,

30:55.358 --> 30:57.508
"The Lady,"
meaning Peggy,

30:57.509 --> 30:59.299
"might write to me...

30:59.298 --> 31:02.638
This will come by a flag of
truce, every messenger remaining

31:02.644 --> 31:05.314
ignorant of what they are
charged with."

31:05.308 --> 31:06.968
These will seem like private
letters.

31:06.970 --> 31:08.140
They can kind of write in code.

31:08.140 --> 31:09.150
It'll come from a woman.

31:09.150 --> 31:12.280
No one will know what they are,
and under a flag of truce,

31:12.278 --> 31:14.648
messengers will help deliver
these messages and no one will

31:14.650 --> 31:17.370
know what they are,
because they're written by a

31:17.365 --> 31:17.815
woman.

31:17.818 --> 31:21.818
So their letters to each other
could seem to talk about things

31:21.816 --> 31:25.476
like parties and dances and what
Andre termed "other

31:25.484 --> 31:26.734
nonsense."

31:26.730 --> 31:26.970
Right?

31:26.967 --> 31:29.337
They can pretend to be talking
about whatever they're talking

31:29.337 --> 31:31.667
about but they're going to
actually send coded messages.

31:31.670 --> 31:35.130
And these letters would be
passed through both the American

31:35.128 --> 31:38.828
and British lines because they
would supposedly have nothing to

31:38.827 --> 31:42.407
do with the war,
because they were from or to a

31:42.414 --> 31:42.964
woman.

31:42.960 --> 31:43.320
Okay.

31:43.317 --> 31:47.457
So part of this whole plan of
espionage is built around the

31:47.463 --> 31:51.543
simple fact that women were
invisible in public life,

31:51.538 --> 31:55.088
so they were very useful agents
of espionage.

31:55.088 --> 31:59.878
It's also interesting to note
that both the Arnolds' chosen

31:59.876 --> 32:02.056
messenger,
Stansbury, and

32:02.056 --> 32:06.006
Stanbury--Stansbury's chosen
messenger to Andre,

32:06.009 --> 32:09.419
both of them were poets,
and in a sense poets were also

32:09.421 --> 32:13.091
people who would not necessarily
be assumed to be centrally

32:13.085 --> 32:15.165
involved with fighting a war.

32:15.170 --> 32:19.490
It could have been quite
natural for American and British

32:19.490 --> 32:23.270
men of letters to chat,
to meet, to correspond.

32:23.269 --> 32:27.509
Cultural bonds--for example an
interest in the art of poetry--

32:27.509 --> 32:30.359
could easily cross political
boundaries,

32:30.358 --> 32:33.088
and Andre himself was a poet of
sorts,

32:33.088 --> 32:36.858
so that too showed something
interesting about society at the

32:36.864 --> 32:40.324
time: this assumption that
common cultural bonds between

32:40.323 --> 32:43.973
American and British men of
letters and literature could be

32:43.971 --> 32:46.741
assumed to be above politics and
war,

32:46.740 --> 32:50.020
above national bonds enough
that it might help them pass

32:50.019 --> 32:53.119
back and forth between American
and British lines.

32:53.118 --> 32:53.528
Okay.

32:53.529 --> 32:56.719
So using this whole string of
people,

32:56.720 --> 32:59.780
this string of poets,
Arnold and the British

32:59.776 --> 33:03.826
negotiated for a time and then
stopped because the British

33:03.827 --> 33:08.157
would not promise to give Arnold
the huge sum of money that he

33:08.164 --> 33:10.444
demanded for his services.

33:10.440 --> 33:14.070
A year later in 1780,
negotiations began again,

33:14.074 --> 33:18.504
this time focused on a specific
demand by the British.

33:18.500 --> 33:22.560
The British specifically asked
Arnold for his help in getting

33:22.557 --> 33:25.807
control of West Point,
and Arnold felt that he could

33:25.808 --> 33:28.818
probably get command of West
Point and then find a way to

33:28.819 --> 33:30.379
deliver it to the British.

33:30.380 --> 33:34.160
And in exchange for this
mission Arnold wanted 30,000

33:34.162 --> 33:37.582
pounds sterling,
which is a vast sum of money at

33:37.580 --> 33:38.600
this time.

33:38.598 --> 33:42.738
I think--sterling to dollar I
can't translate,

33:42.740 --> 33:46.260
but just to give you a sense--I
believe that when the government

33:46.262 --> 33:49.862
gets under way,
George Washington is making a

33:49.855 --> 33:54.935
salary of $25,000 a year and
that's a big blob of money.

33:54.940 --> 33:58.370
I think Secretary of State,
Secretary of the Treasury were

33:58.373 --> 34:00.123
making $5,000 a year maybe.

34:00.118 --> 34:03.228
So 30,000 pounds sterling is a
lot of money.

34:03.230 --> 34:05.240
Plus, he wanted payment of all
of his debts.

34:05.240 --> 34:07.590
So he's not being modest.

34:07.588 --> 34:10.298
But General
Clinton--communicating through

34:10.304 --> 34:14.284
Andre--refused to commit any
money to Arnold until Arnold had

34:14.275 --> 34:16.655
actually accomplished something.

34:16.659 --> 34:16.909
Right?

34:16.907 --> 34:19.307
He doesn't at this point even
have command of West Point.

34:19.309 --> 34:22.819
So at this point with their
plan almost foiled,

34:22.824 --> 34:26.954
things go perhaps one step
worse when George Washington

34:26.949 --> 34:30.539
asks to see Arnold and tries to
reward him.

34:30.539 --> 34:31.509
Right? He still feels bad.

34:31.510 --> 34:33.300
The guy didn't get the
promotion he wanted.

34:33.300 --> 34:36.360
Washington says he's going to
try to reward him by giving him

34:36.356 --> 34:38.136
a better command than West
Point.

34:38.139 --> 34:38.349
Right?

34:38.353 --> 34:40.323
West Point's not really in the
center of the fighting.

34:40.320 --> 34:42.190
Washington basically says,
'You don't really want West

34:42.188 --> 34:42.468
Point.

34:42.469 --> 34:45.259
I'll give you something better
than West Point,' and,

34:45.255 --> 34:48.355
as Washington later recorded,
Arnold had a strange reaction

34:48.364 --> 34:49.334
to this offer.

34:49.329 --> 34:52.279
Quote: "Upon this
information his countenance

34:52.275 --> 34:54.975
changed and he appeared to be
quite fallen;

34:54.980 --> 34:57.740
and, instead of thanking me,
or expressing any pleasure at

34:57.739 --> 35:00.399
the appointment,
never opened his mouth"--

35:00.400 --> 35:03.370
okay, because he--Arnold's
like, 'uh oh,

35:03.369 --> 35:06.469
[laughs]
this is not what I expected.'

35:06.469 --> 35:06.819
Right?

35:06.822 --> 35:10.182
Peggy Arnold when informed in
Philadelphia that Arnold had

35:10.175 --> 35:13.815
been promised a better command
than West Point apparently burst

35:13.824 --> 35:17.304
into hysterics and then after
regaining herself said she was

35:17.295 --> 35:21.175
sobbing because of the danger
that this put her husband in.

35:21.179 --> 35:21.479
Okay.

35:21.478 --> 35:24.638
She's really sobbing because
their plan is about to be

35:24.643 --> 35:26.973
foiled,
but her explanation again sort

35:26.974 --> 35:29.604
of took advantage of stereotypes
about women,

35:29.599 --> 35:32.569
in this case capitalizing on
the assumption that women were

35:32.574 --> 35:35.194
not involved in such things as
military commands;

35:35.190 --> 35:37.720
they would just be worried
about their husbands' welfare.

35:37.719 --> 35:39.529
So that's the excuse she comes
up with,

35:39.530 --> 35:42.390
and we're going to see her
deploy this really successfully

35:42.394 --> 35:45.264
in just a few minutes at the
sort of penultimate moment of

35:45.260 --> 35:47.120
crisis in this whole
controversy.

35:47.119 --> 35:50.379
Ultimately, that offer of
another command for Arnold fell

35:50.378 --> 35:53.228
through and he was given command
of West Point.

35:53.230 --> 35:57.120
And through that whole chain of
letter exchanges it was quickly

35:57.123 --> 36:00.833
established that Arnold and
Andre and Clinton were now ready

36:00.831 --> 36:02.591
to actually do business.

36:02.590 --> 36:07.270
But now at this crucial point
someone had to speak with Arnold

36:07.268 --> 36:10.258
in person to make final
arrangements.

36:10.260 --> 36:14.160
And here we get yet another
example of how important it was

36:14.159 --> 36:17.119
for young men to gain status in
the army--

36:17.119 --> 36:20.079
and actually young men of all
kinds to gain status in the

36:20.077 --> 36:22.237
army--
and how useful the army could

36:22.235 --> 36:25.225
be for promoting your own status
and reputation,

36:25.230 --> 36:28.700
even for people who already had
some social status--

36:28.699 --> 36:33.139
because in this case Andre's
commander in chief and friend,

36:33.139 --> 36:35.849
General Clinton,
said the mission was too

36:35.847 --> 36:38.617
dangerous for his favorite
right-hand man.

36:38.623 --> 36:39.303
Right?

36:39.300 --> 36:40.900
He says to Andre,
'This is not for you.

36:40.900 --> 36:44.300
This is too dangerous,' but
Andre actually insisted on being

36:44.295 --> 36:47.745
the communicator between Clinton
and Arnold because he really

36:47.748 --> 36:51.198
desperately wanted a chance to
earn a promotion and he really

36:51.202 --> 36:54.832
thought that this moment of
potential glory could be it,

36:54.829 --> 36:56.249
could be his big chance.

36:56.250 --> 36:59.570
So Andre and Arnold met;
they talked.

36:59.570 --> 37:02.740
Throughout his trip to meet
with Arnold and during the

37:02.740 --> 37:05.380
visit,
Andre claimed to be a merchant

37:05.380 --> 37:08.270
named John Anderson--
right?--and he wore this sort

37:08.268 --> 37:10.728
of cloak,
but it's important to note that

37:10.728 --> 37:13.998
underneath his cloak he had on
his British uniform.

37:14.000 --> 37:17.350
And this was important because
if he was captured in his

37:17.351 --> 37:21.011
official uniform,
he would be a prisoner of war

37:21.005 --> 37:24.705
and thus protected,
even possibly traded back to

37:24.708 --> 37:29.068
the British in exchange for a
high-ranking American prisoner,

37:29.070 --> 37:32.900
but if he was in plain clothes
he would be a lowly spy,

37:32.900 --> 37:35.820
and a spy had only one fate
waiting for him and that was

37:35.820 --> 37:36.830
death by hanging.

37:36.829 --> 37:40.499
So he's cloaked but he does
have on his British uniform.

37:40.500 --> 37:40.830
Okay.

37:40.827 --> 37:44.627
Complications naturally arose
when a friend of Arnold's saw

37:44.632 --> 37:46.472
Andre with the cloak off.

37:46.469 --> 37:46.749
Right?

37:46.750 --> 37:48.430
So the friend of Arnold says,
'Wow.

37:48.429 --> 37:49.949
You're chatting with a British
officer.

37:49.949 --> 37:52.169
[laughter] What does that mean?'

37:52.170 --> 37:52.420
Okay.

37:52.418 --> 37:55.248
So forced to come up with some
kind of an explanation--you

37:55.248 --> 37:58.338
could imagine that moment;
that's a big sort of "uh

37:58.344 --> 37:59.144
oh,
[laughs]

37:59.144 --> 38:01.984
I'm chatting with a British
officer"--

38:01.980 --> 38:05.440
Arnold said that Andre was a
merchant who had put on a

38:05.440 --> 38:08.640
British uniform to sneak through
British lines.

38:08.639 --> 38:08.949
Right?

38:08.952 --> 38:11.922
Quick thinking on Arnold's
part, but Arnold's friend said:

38:11.922 --> 38:12.602
'Oh, okay.

38:12.599 --> 38:15.319
Well, given that'--he says to
Andre--

38:15.320 --> 38:18.210
'You'd be much safer now just
to dress in plain clothes,

38:18.210 --> 38:21.300
because now that you're past
British lines you shouldn't be

38:21.302 --> 38:22.852
wearing a British uniform.'

38:22.849 --> 38:23.109
Okay.

38:23.105 --> 38:26.175
There's not a lot that Andre
can say to that logic so he puts

38:26.175 --> 38:27.195
on plain clothes.

38:27.199 --> 38:30.019
He's carrying papers from
Arnold about their plot and

38:30.023 --> 38:33.783
shoves them into his boot,
and Andre then set off to head

38:33.780 --> 38:37.470
back to General Clinton,
had just about made his way

38:37.469 --> 38:41.139
back to British-claimed
territory when he was stopped by

38:41.139 --> 38:44.719
three men who questioned him,
searched his clothing,

38:44.719 --> 38:47.539
and eventually found the papers
in his boot.

38:47.539 --> 38:51.789
And the three men brought Andre
to American authorities.

38:51.789 --> 38:55.649
Now, even now Andre thought
that maybe he could claim to be

38:55.648 --> 38:58.108
a secret agent in Arnold's
service.

38:58.110 --> 38:58.360
Right?

38:58.364 --> 39:00.284
He's--Actually,
he's wearing plain clothes and

39:00.275 --> 39:02.285
he has papers from Arnold,
so he's thinking:

39:02.291 --> 39:04.691
'well, there's not actually
anything to link me with the

39:04.693 --> 39:05.833
British at this moment.

39:05.829 --> 39:09.899
I could just be a lowly spy
doing something for Arnold so

39:09.902 --> 39:11.652
maybe I'm still okay.'

39:11.650 --> 39:16.050
However, the officer who he was
taken to became suspicious when

39:16.047 --> 39:20.767
Andre was given clean clothes,
and the ribbon that he removed

39:20.766 --> 39:23.776
from his hair was dusted with
powder.

39:23.780 --> 39:26.240
Okay, the sneaky powder.

39:26.239 --> 39:29.189
What that meant was that he
clearly was a gentleman who

39:29.188 --> 39:30.278
powdered his hair.

39:30.280 --> 39:32.130
He was not a lowly spy.

39:32.130 --> 39:33.970
So whoever this observant
person was,

39:33.969 --> 39:36.339
he saw the ribbon,
he saw that it was dusted with

39:36.344 --> 39:37.754
powder,
and he thought:

39:37.748 --> 39:40.898
'I don't think you're some
pseudo lowly spy person.

39:40.900 --> 39:43.570
I think you must be someone
more important.

39:43.570 --> 39:45.400
Something fishy is going on
here.'

39:45.400 --> 39:49.390
So now, this American officer
sent the captured papers on to

39:49.394 --> 39:50.754
George Washington.

39:50.750 --> 39:54.910
Washington, as luck would have
it, was on his way to West Point

39:54.909 --> 39:56.989
to meet with Benedict Arnold.

39:56.989 --> 39:57.859
[laughter]
Right?

39:57.856 --> 39:59.966
Talk about your sort of lucky
strike.

39:59.969 --> 40:00.359
Right?

40:00.360 --> 40:03.480
So he's riding off,
heading to West Point to meet

40:03.480 --> 40:06.940
with Arnold as a friend,
see how West Point is going,

40:06.942 --> 40:10.462
and now this letter from Andre
is winging its way to Arnold's

40:10.460 --> 40:12.220
headquarters at West Point.

40:12.219 --> 40:15.489
When it became obvious that he
was now being really held

40:15.485 --> 40:17.615
suspect,
Andre confessed who he was,

40:17.617 --> 40:20.677
and he did so at this early
point so that he could reveal

40:20.682 --> 40:24.022
that he wasn't a lowly spy but
actually was a gentleman and an

40:24.023 --> 40:25.833
officer who had been caught.

40:25.829 --> 40:28.019
And to him this really made a
difference.

40:28.018 --> 40:31.628
As he explained to Washington,
he wasn't revealing his true

40:31.632 --> 40:34.312
identity for his own safety and
security.

40:34.309 --> 40:36.069
As he put it,
he wasn't trying to

40:36.070 --> 40:39.260
"rescue himself from an
imputation of having assumed a

40:39.260 --> 40:41.510
mean character for treacherous
purposes or

40:41.514 --> 40:44.324
self-interest"--
so he says, 'I'm not revealing

40:44.320 --> 40:46.390
this because I'm hoping to plead
for my life.'

40:46.389 --> 40:48.939
Rather, he was revealing his
true identity,

40:48.936 --> 40:52.386
quote, "to vindicate my
fame" from any suspicion

40:52.391 --> 40:54.091
that he was a lowly spy.

40:54.090 --> 40:57.350
So basically he's revealing who
he is because he wants to be

40:57.351 --> 40:59.731
recognized as an officer and a
gentleman.

40:59.730 --> 41:02.770
And that letter--also sent on
to the headquarters at West

41:02.768 --> 41:06.078
Point to wait for Washington
when he arrives at West Point.

41:06.079 --> 41:08.859
Boy, Washington's going to have
fun when he arrives at West

41:08.856 --> 41:09.236
Point.

41:09.239 --> 41:11.609
Washington has not yet gotten
to Arnold's house.

41:11.610 --> 41:17.070
He sent two of his aides ahead
to prepare for his arrival.

41:17.070 --> 41:19.380
They were actually eating
breakfast with Benedict Arnold

41:19.376 --> 41:21.346
when letters began to arrive at
headquarters.

41:21.349 --> 41:24.409
Realizing that something bad
was unfolding as one after

41:24.413 --> 41:27.993
another sort of dispatch came in
with these frantic letters that

41:27.987 --> 41:31.417
had to get to Washington,
Arnold ran upstairs.

41:31.420 --> 41:35.370
Washington--Washington's aides
later said he looked oddly

41:35.373 --> 41:36.153
agitated.

41:36.150 --> 41:39.090
He told Peggy that they'd been
caught.

41:39.090 --> 41:40.750
He ran downstairs.

41:40.750 --> 41:43.030
He told Washington that--and
his aides actually,

41:43.025 --> 41:43.845
not Washington.

41:43.849 --> 41:46.719
He's not there yet--he told
Washington's aides that he had

41:46.717 --> 41:48.927
to go prepare for a reception
for Washington,

41:48.931 --> 41:50.241
and fled on horseback.

41:50.239 --> 41:51.489
"Poof," he's gone.

41:51.489 --> 41:54.329
And eventually he was taken
aboard a British ship in the

41:54.333 --> 41:54.803
harbor.

41:54.800 --> 41:57.920
Washington arrived shortly
after this moment,

41:57.920 --> 42:01.080
reads all of these letters and
messages that are waiting for

42:01.083 --> 42:02.963
him,
and at this moment Peggy,

42:02.961 --> 42:06.451
who now knows that things are
really exploding and she's in

42:06.447 --> 42:09.027
big trouble,
erupts into hysterics,

42:09.025 --> 42:12.325
entirely flustering all of the
men present--

42:12.329 --> 42:13.999
because she's at this point
surrounded by men--

42:14.000 --> 42:15.740
right?--her husband's aides,
George Washington,

42:15.739 --> 42:17.229
George Washington's aides.

42:17.230 --> 42:20.350
She erupts into hysterics and
one of Arnold's aides said,

42:20.349 --> 42:23.689
"I heard a shriek to me
and sprang from my bed,

42:23.690 --> 42:26.050
ran upstairs,
and there met the miserable

42:26.047 --> 42:28.437
lady,
raving, distracted ...

42:28.440 --> 42:30.710
with her hair disheveled and
flowing about her neck.

42:30.710 --> 42:34.320
Her morning gown,
with few other clothes,

42:34.320 --> 42:36.180
[laughter]
remained on her,

42:36.182 --> 42:39.842
too few to be seen by a
gentleman of the family,

42:39.840 --> 42:41.360
much less by many
strangers."

42:41.360 --> 42:45.200
Okay, the semi-nude Peggy
Arnold.

42:45.199 --> 42:49.279
"She seized me by the hand
with this, to me distressing,

42:49.280 --> 42:52.000
address, and a wild look,
'Colonel ...

42:52.000 --> 42:54.290
have you ordered my child to be
killed?'"

42:54.293 --> 42:54.653
Okay.

42:54.650 --> 42:58.130
Peggy raving,
'You're going to kill my baby.'

42:58.130 --> 43:00.380
She raved apparently for
several days.

43:00.380 --> 43:02.940
Generally speaking,
she could have sincerely been

43:02.936 --> 43:03.626
distressed.

43:03.630 --> 43:03.910
Right?

43:03.907 --> 43:06.077
Her husband just ran off,
things are in trouble,

43:06.077 --> 43:07.597
Washington's there,
the jig is up,

43:07.601 --> 43:09.081
people know about the plot.

43:09.079 --> 43:12.769
Her seeming insanity,
raving about a murdered baby,

43:12.773 --> 43:16.323
maybe not so sincere,
and Washington's aides were

43:16.318 --> 43:19.198
entirely sucked in to her
distress.

43:19.199 --> 43:21.889
As Alexander Hamilton put it,
and he was really sucked right

43:21.891 --> 43:23.671
in there, "one moment she
raved;

43:23.670 --> 43:26.120
another she melted into tears...

43:26.119 --> 43:29.289
in a manner that would have
pierced insensibility itself....

43:29.289 --> 43:32.779
It was the most affecting scene
I ever was witness to"

43:32.780 --> 43:35.490
[laughter]--that's on the part
of Hamilton.

43:35.489 --> 43:35.749
Okay.

43:35.748 --> 43:38.638
So here again is Peggy using
prevailing assumptions about

43:38.637 --> 43:39.977
women to her advantage.

43:39.980 --> 43:40.720
She's raving.

43:40.719 --> 43:41.719
She's hysterical.

43:41.719 --> 43:43.139
She's talking about her baby.

43:43.139 --> 43:46.219
She's not wearing very much
clothing, [laughter]

43:46.217 --> 43:47.067
apparently.

43:47.070 --> 43:50.530
There were many reasons for the
men who were present not to

43:50.525 --> 43:54.215
suspect that she's actually
involved in the treasonous plot.

43:54.219 --> 43:56.459
So Arnold is fleeing to a
British ship,

43:56.461 --> 44:00.001
Andre is an American prisoner,
and Peggy is being doted on by

44:00.003 --> 44:02.073
half a dozen American officers.

44:02.070 --> 44:05.740
[laughter]
By prolonging her hysteria,

44:05.739 --> 44:08.879
she was playing on what she
knew would be their sense of

44:08.880 --> 44:12.280
gallantry to help her,
and their emotional response to

44:12.275 --> 44:15.315
a distraught woman who's sobbing
and semi-nude.

44:15.320 --> 44:18.840
So eventually she went home to
her family in Philadelphia.

44:18.840 --> 44:20.690
Andre's fate was still up for
grabs.

44:20.690 --> 44:24.160
He assumed that a gentleman and
officer of his rank would never

44:24.161 --> 44:27.691
be accused of being a lowly spy
and he would be exchanged for an

44:27.688 --> 44:29.478
equivalent American officer.

44:29.480 --> 44:30.740
But this was not to be.

44:30.739 --> 44:33.909
But interestingly,
while he was in captivity,

44:33.909 --> 44:37.169
Andre became much more than a
British spy to the American

44:37.166 --> 44:39.606
officers who were holding him
prisoner,

44:39.610 --> 44:42.990
because during his captivity
Washington and his aides spent a

44:42.992 --> 44:46.492
lot of time with him and came to
consider him as the very model

44:46.487 --> 44:49.247
of what a gentleman and an
officer should be.

44:49.250 --> 44:53.180
All of Washington's aides
literally wanted to be Andre.

44:53.179 --> 44:55.809
Some of them actually said that
in writing: 'I wish I were

44:55.809 --> 44:56.179
Andre.

44:56.179 --> 44:57.889
[laughter] He's so gallant.

44:57.889 --> 44:58.629
He's so brave.

44:58.630 --> 45:00.030
He's so--' Yeah.

45:00.030 --> 45:02.430
So Andre really is this ideal.

45:02.429 --> 45:04.319
He's handsome.

45:04.320 --> 45:05.970
He's aristocratically genteel.

45:05.969 --> 45:08.639
He's stoic in the face of
imminent death.

45:08.639 --> 45:11.049
He's willingly sacrificing his
life for his country,

45:11.047 --> 45:13.407
even if that country is England
and not America.

45:13.409 --> 45:17.069
Even Washington was taken with
Andre and called him a gallant

45:17.072 --> 45:18.722
and accomplished officer.

45:18.719 --> 45:22.049
Despite such respect for Andre,
his request to be shot as an

45:22.054 --> 45:25.734
officer and a gentleman rather
than hanged as a spy was denied.

45:25.730 --> 45:29.030
Washington couldn't grant that
request without raising doubts

45:29.032 --> 45:30.742
about Andre's guilt as a spy.

45:30.739 --> 45:33.959
So October 1,1780,
was named as the day of Andre's

45:33.960 --> 45:34.750
execution.

45:34.750 --> 45:37.530
On that day Andre dressed with
extreme care.

45:37.530 --> 45:40.850
He went out of his way to show
his calm fortitude and his

45:40.847 --> 45:43.747
gentility and his dignity in the
face of death.

45:43.750 --> 45:46.860
He was a true British officer
to the last,

45:46.860 --> 45:50.340
because apparently as he walked
to the scaffold he said,

45:50.340 --> 45:52.750
quote, "I am very much
surprised to find your troops

45:52.746 --> 45:54.246
under such good
discipline."

45:54.250 --> 45:56.910
[laughter] Can you imagine?

45:56.909 --> 45:57.719
'I'm about to die.

45:57.719 --> 46:00.259
My, you Americans are quite
disciplined, aren't you?'

46:00.260 --> 46:01.760
[laughter]
Thank you, John Andre.

46:01.760 --> 46:03.510
"And your music is
excellent,"

46:03.514 --> 46:04.014
he added.

46:04.010 --> 46:06.720
[laughter] Thank you very much.

46:06.719 --> 46:09.399
He was supposedly taken aback
for a moment when he saw the

46:09.396 --> 46:11.976
gallows, because up until that
moment he really had been

46:11.978 --> 46:13.338
expecting a firing squad.

46:13.340 --> 46:15.300
He asked if he had to die in
this manner.

46:15.300 --> 46:17.870
Told he would,
he replied in a loud voice,

46:17.869 --> 46:20.279
which was remembered later by
lots of people in their diaries

46:20.284 --> 46:22.534
and in letters,
"I am reconciled to my

46:22.532 --> 46:24.342
fate but not to the mode."

46:24.340 --> 46:24.680
Right?

46:24.677 --> 46:27.377
So the audience was like:
'oh, this is moving.'

46:27.380 --> 46:29.560
[laughter]
When asked if he had last words

46:29.563 --> 46:31.053
he said,
"I have nothing more to

46:31.054 --> 46:32.054
say,
gentleman"--boy,

46:32.045 --> 46:33.745
you better practice last words
in this age--

46:33.750 --> 46:36.190
"I have nothing more to
say, gentleman,

46:36.193 --> 46:39.433
but this: you all bear me
witness that I meet my fate as a

46:39.432 --> 46:40.572
brave man."

46:40.570 --> 46:42.980
At this, the crowd began to
sob, [laughter]

46:42.978 --> 46:46.248
and then the trapdoor was
released and that was the end of

46:46.246 --> 46:47.446
Major John Andre.

46:47.449 --> 46:51.239
Now his death inspired
engravings, songs,

46:51.242 --> 46:54.562
poems, plays for years
afterward.

46:54.559 --> 46:57.059
To many Americans,
he remained a sort of ideal

46:57.061 --> 47:00.011
gentleman and officer,
this noble and sensitive youth,

47:00.005 --> 47:01.725
this sort of romantic hero.

47:01.730 --> 47:04.690
He was beloved by young
American officers who thought he

47:04.688 --> 47:07.108
was this superior,
genteel, sophisticated,

47:07.106 --> 47:10.236
cultured individual in a way
that they didn't necessarily

47:10.237 --> 47:11.857
consider themselves to be.

47:11.860 --> 47:15.590
He somehow seemed better than
them, and to many this was

47:15.590 --> 47:19.320
inextricably tied up with the
fact that he was a British

47:19.322 --> 47:21.902
gentleman, the best of that
breed.

47:21.900 --> 47:25.210
The extreme adoration of Andre
in America shows how Americans

47:25.208 --> 47:28.518
still suffered from a little bit
of an inferiority complex in

47:28.516 --> 47:31.326
relation to the British who
still represented--

47:31.329 --> 47:35.339
at least partly in their
mind--the height of culture and

47:35.340 --> 47:36.580
sophistication.

47:36.579 --> 47:40.199
Even now, in a time of war,
they're responding to Andre in

47:40.201 --> 47:40.901
this way.

47:40.900 --> 47:43.490
Peggy eventually joined her
husband in England,

47:43.489 --> 47:46.889
successfully playing her cards
as a woman throughout to protect

47:46.885 --> 47:49.835
herself from the hatred that
certainly was shown to her

47:49.842 --> 47:50.502
husband.

47:50.500 --> 47:53.320
And Arnold of all of them was
really cursed forever,

47:53.320 --> 47:56.690
eternally hated largely of
course because of his treason,

47:56.690 --> 47:58.730
his betrayal of the American
cause,

47:58.730 --> 48:02.510
but partly in a sense also
because in some ways his actions

48:02.505 --> 48:05.625
were understandable to some
people in America.

48:05.630 --> 48:09.190
He was someone who was
ambitious and tried to raise his

48:09.186 --> 48:09.776
status.

48:09.780 --> 48:12.500
He was someone who spent too
much money, took too many risks

48:12.501 --> 48:13.471
to advance himself.

48:13.469 --> 48:16.559
He was someone who was seduced
by all that the British had to

48:16.557 --> 48:16.967
offer.

48:16.969 --> 48:19.909
In a sense, he was a kind of
everyman gone wrong,

48:19.911 --> 48:23.101
an example of the worst that
was possible in this new

48:23.101 --> 48:25.861
somewhat more egalitarian
American world.

48:25.860 --> 48:29.870
So part of the reason why
Americans hated Arnold with such

48:29.871 --> 48:33.811
passion is that partly they
understood that in some ways,

48:33.811 --> 48:35.221
Arnold was them.

48:35.219 --> 48:36.269
Wow. That was just in time.

48:36.268 --> 48:36.568
Okay.

48:36.568 --> 48:38.718
That is the end of today's
lecture.

48:38.719 --> 48:43.899
We move on in the coming weeks
to war,

48:43.900 --> 48:46.020
to Washington,
to sort of looking at how

48:46.021 --> 48:48.471
things are playing out on the
battlefield,

48:48.469 --> 48:51.529
and then we will work our way
towards Articles of

48:51.527 --> 48:55.157
Confederation and an actual
Constitution by the end of the

48:55.161 --> 48:55.991
semester.

48:55.989 --> 48:56.749
We will make it there.

48:56.750 --> 48:58.020
See you on Thursday.

48:58.019 --> 49:03.999