I’ve vowed not to touch this stuff anymore, and I really am basically through, but I do think people should understand something: cancel culture founded this country. The American Revolution was built upon mob activity and the often violent suppression of dissent.
— Osita Nwanevu (@OsitaNwanevu) March 24, 2021
Everything that follows is from Alan Taylor’s American Revolutions. The Revolution's causes are more complex than is commonly understood, but the thing to know at the outset is that most Americans didn't actively support it. ~40% did, 40% were neutral, and 20% were Loyalists.
— Osita Nwanevu (@OsitaNwanevu) March 24, 2021
Remember John Hancock, the big signature guy? He’s a more interesting figure than that, actually. For one, he was probably a smuggler. In 1769, a printer alleged he was secretly violating the import boycott. A mob chased the guy out of the country. Hancock shut down his paper. pic.twitter.com/njUEQsvfIE
— Osita Nwanevu (@OsitaNwanevu) March 24, 2021
But needless to say, it wasn’t all or even mostly strategic. When Independence arrives in 1776, Patriots celebrate partially by attacking Anglican clergymen. pic.twitter.com/SHjpib9m2R
— Osita Nwanevu (@OsitaNwanevu) March 24, 2021
There are some interesting bits about the role of women in all this — as Patriots saw it, they helped enforce social ostracism. There’s a report from Boston that women threw pillows out their windows when mobs were tarring and feathering someone so they’d have enough feathers. pic.twitter.com/wxuQ6fcvBR
— Osita Nwanevu (@OsitaNwanevu) March 24, 2021
Bonus:
Whenever you're feeling excessively originalist and Founding Fathersy remember that Jefferson wanted to create a state called Metropotamia.
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) April 26, 2021
And:
It's Presidents Day in the US and once upon a time I read a biography of every single US president so I may as well make use of that useless knowledge. Here is a thread of the wildest tweet-sized fact I know about each president:
— Laurie Voss (@seldo) February 15, 2021