Ken Burns Says His New Documentary Forced Him to Revisit Everything He Thought He Knew About the American Revolution

Smithsonian Magazine ^ | November 13, 2025 | Vanessa Armstrong

[ProgressingAmerica]

The American Revolution is shrouded in myth. But the war that created the United States was much more than the oft-told tales of the founding fathers. It was a bloody, gritty affair, a tragic civil war and a global conflict as much as it was a war for independence.

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TOPICS:
KEYWORDS: americanhistory; pbs

[ProgressingAmerica]

The left wing historians are all giddy and excited for this upcoming mockumentary - that means the safe assumption is that they are going to continue to get the American Story incorrect because they have historical fiefdoms to protect.

The topics they cover I am sure they will likely get many of them correct.

The problems will mostly surround the topics they do not cover. Omission is the gold card of journalists and left wing historians alike in order to control the narrative and thus, control reality.

[sauropod]

Bkmk

[ClearCase_guy]

I’ve watched a fair amount of Ken Burns’ stuff, but certainly not all of it. It seems to me that he has a real fetish for black men. I’m guessing that while the Founding Fathers get a lot of press, Ken will explain to us that the real driving force of the American Revolution was strong noble black men.

[dfwgator]

The Old Negro Space Program
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6xJzAYYrX8

This was the perfect parody of every Ken Burns Documentary

[jroehl]

Pictures with music and voiceovers. It is just a Powerpoint presentation.

[V_TWIN]

And I’m sure slavery will be prominently covered.

My city was named for the 7th American president.....a revolutionary war era figure, he owned as many as 300 slaves in his lifetime.

I’ve always found it more than a little humorous that city leaders have always turned a blind eye to that fact. Lol!

[Bayard]

If its just that, is been eclipsed long ago by Internet media.

[31R1O]

I liked his country music series.

[kiryandil]

It seems to me that he has a real fetish for black men.

Ken Burns, coal burner. Going to prism to "sample the goods" is on his bucket list...

[j.havenfarm]

Ive visited most of the major revolutionary war sites in the northern theater. Picking up Freeman’s Farm next year.

Admittedly I ended up scanning much of this ponderous article. I’m not seeing any indication that there’s anything really new. Anyone who doesn’t realize that in the south the war was a bloody civil war with many atrocities we would would call war crimes, and the egregious suffering of the troops at Trenton, Valley Forge, in prison ships and other locations , etc, doesn’t really know anything about the war. Per your comment, I expect endless rehashing of slavery

[RckyRaCoCo]

The Rainbow Revolutionaries...the minutenonbionary

[teeman8r]

the latest Ken Burns Film was released this summer

Ocean City Vacation Daze: A Ken Burns Film
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amq4ZM-118w&list=PLggMX-jN11cjhmDxa4Th4eOH8g_D9sy65

it is getting rave reviews.

t( i’m the guy in the hawaiin shirt)

[Frank Drebin]

This clown catapulted to fame primarily on the back of Shelby Foote’s amazing Civil War series. Judging by the trailer this latest work will be exactly what we all fear it will be. I hope this is the period to his and PBS’ fading careers.

[ProgressingAmerica]

"Per your comment, I expect endless rehashing of slavery"

Yeah, that is my primary concern - it will be (I think) a further embedding of The 1619 Project narrative where we are once again treated to the idea that the U.S. is at fault for slavery when the U.S. didn't even exist.

......... with a special topping of omission with regard to so many of the Founding Fathers both anti-slavery if not outright abolitionist attitudes.

Progressives desperately need the idea to live on that abolitionism was invented in the 1830s as a lead up to the Civil War. Possibly Americans did this after looking at the British doing some abolitionist stuff.

A simple calendar is the best tool for debunking much of what the progressive historians claim, but they'll keep right on claiming it anyways. Fools.

[Skooz]

Ken Burns. Expect hours of slavery and the hypocrisy of the founding fathers penning words about independence and freedom while slavery was legal.

The Revolution will be presented as a bad thing, spawning the worst nation ever, full of racism, homophobia, sexism and patriarchy. Expect much 1619 project BS.

[RWGinger]

? Wasn’t Jackson 7th potus? When did he serve in Revolutionary War? He was born in 1767.
Don’t you mean war of 1812.

[JSM_Liberty]

“Anyone who doesn’t realize that in the south the war was a bloody civil war with many atrocities we would would call war crimes, and the egregious suffering of the troops at Trenton, Valley Forge, in prison ships and other locations , etc, doesn’t really know anything about the war.”

That is probably the least discussed part of the war. It is mostly presented as Americans vs British, some references to foreign mercenaries and just touching on the existence of loyalists who didn’t want idependence.

[bigbob]

And the famous Ken Burns zooming and panning that makes liberals gasp and write checks to PBS.

[BenLurkin]

WHO forced him?

[Skwor]

More revisionist history designed to tear America down, promoting wokeism and racial division.

Hard PASS!