Two historians in recent essays have offered different interpretations
of the significance of the events of July 3, 1775, when Washington
assumed command of the American Army. In a 1999 article,
"The Hinge of the Revolution: George Washington Confronts
a People's Army, July 3, 1775." Massachusetts Historical
Review, 1 (1999): 21-48, Professor Fred Anderson of the
University of Colorado argues that Washington's arrival was
a hinge moment, a key turning point in the outcome of the
Revolutionary war. You can find Professor Anderson's article
in your course reader. Justin Florence, one of the teaching
fellows for this course, wrote an essay "Minutemen for
Months" which is forthcoming in the Proceedings of
the American Antiquarian Society for a seminar taught
by Professor Ulrich. Florence argues that there already was
an organized American army even before Washington's arrival.
A draft of Florence's essay is available here as an Adobe
PDF file.
You may find the following questions helfpul in comparing
the two essays. What kinds of sources do the authors rely
on? How do their different source bases shape their conclusions?
Which do you agree with more? Are they necessarily incompatible
with each other? What other kinds of evidence could be useful
in assessing the importance of Washington's arrival?
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