, we could not have won the war at that moment and i don't think we would've lost it but yorktown istly french operation and french navy arrives just the right time and french warfare and moving up to canada and there is only one american military activity during the battle and the attack and is led by the rhode island regimen which is regimented and highly african-american soldiers. 150 of them to becomes illini combat unit in the army mostly black. they take the rest of it is a french victory and operation. and when the american expedition forces arrived in france in 1917 to the french, where the staff officers were general pershing said lafayette we have arrived. and it's our turn to pay back. >> so the battle of yorktown happens in 1781, when wallace's to praise too embarrassed to show his face at the time of the surrender so he does not do that. but the british surrender and what it takes two years to negotiate the treaty of paris what was going on and that two years. >> it does take two more years and there are scrimmages that keep going on and people are continuing to die espe

so the countryside is really barbaric but the final battle the most important battle is that yorktown where washington gets the cornwallis surrender vet the french were indispensable why are they so interested in helping the americans what do they really just take the british more than they liked us? >> it was payback time for having lost the french and indian war and it turns out by the way the press spent so much money helping us on —- the french spent so much money they go bankrupt and that's what they have to call the states general starting the revolution. but without the french in the war and especially the last battle of the war at yorktown, we could not have won the war at that moment i don't think we would have lost it but it is mostly a french operation and the french are masters and there is only one american military and its led by the rhode island regiment on almost entirely of african-american soldiers made it is the leading combat unit in the continental army. it is a punch operation. and when the expeditionary forces arrive in france in 1817 to help the french one of t

the goal is to trap an entire army and that's basically what happens at yorktown.en though it's on the coast. extraordinarily important, central in the 1780s and 90s, the 70s, it is not central. >> next call is from tuscaloosa alabama. >> i would like mr. ellis to comment on the revolution, we've heard recently claims that colonials wanted to fight the british because they thought the british wanted to take slavery away and i would like his opinion on that. >> if i couldnd add, maybe commt in general on the 1619 project. >> we in the sense that i believe slavery's america's original sin, racism is it toxic residue and that is a fact, i disagree with historians who believe or argued that they came together primarily to save slavery. in my judgment, that is historically inaccurate. they came together because they were beingacac oppressed and eventuallyse invaded by hostile army. by the time they vote for independence, you can read what they say in response, adams sends out may of 1776 every town in massachusetts, county in virginia up and down the coast tells you why

the end of the war he was as the top combat group and they played a decisive role at the battle of yorktown and what happens to them afterwards, they were freed and in terms of their service if you serve for the duration of the war, and rhode island, would be recognized as free. to the best of my knowledge, individual soldiers and what happened to them and in terms of what happened to their lives. if she wants to do it, is an open field i think. but they were free. i think to the other parts of your question, only a small percentage of the population in the male population that were eligible to serve actually did and this was a sore point for washington. washington believed that we could've had an easily an army of 60000 and he thinks demographically 8,400,000 if we had that number and they had a draft to force everybody to start that was eligible, we could've won the war in one or two years. hamilton agreed with that however, there was no draft and most of the people served one year terms and they would come and serve in the army for one year and then they would go back on the tightly lear

we wouldn't have lost it but yorktown is mostly a french raoperation. the french navy arrives just in time. the french jigare masters of trench warfare and of moving canada and there's only one american military activity during that battle that's an attack on one of the fort and it's led by therhode island regiments of the almost entirely african-american soldiers . it becomes the leading combat unit in the continental army but mostly black and they take the rest of it is a french victory, french the ation and when american expeditionary force arrived in france in 1970 to help the french give one of their staffofficers , they said to tell lafayette we have arrived. it's our time to pay you back. so the battle ofyorktown occurs in 1781 . cornwallis is too embarrassed to kind of show his face at the time of the surrender so he doesn't do that but the british surrender. why did it take two years to negotiate the treaty of paris and what was going on ? >> it's two more years and there plare scrimmages that keep going on and people are continuing to die espe

so, the battle of yorktown occurs 7081. they have the time to surrender.ake two years to know go she had the treaty of paris. what was going on? [laughter] >> it does take two more years. there are scrimmages going on. people are continuing to die. major figures in american government later on. it is also emancipation of blacks. the americans have to decide whether to sign a separate treaty with great britain because the french are being dragged down by their obligations to spain and et cetera and et cetera et cetera. thegg continental army is just north of west point and newburgh . as i think you know from the book, what do they call it, almost an insurrection by the army asking washington to lead them. they had not been paid for almost a year. they are starving. they think when the war ends they will lose any leverage to get theirig pensions.hr they threatened to exercise a coup. i will not lead you in this and i ask you, i tell you you must not do this. it is one of the first washington, later told george washington refuses to become the dictator. georg

and they at the battle of yorktown. in terms of the service should be recognized and free. the best of my knowledge what happened to themnd in terms of what happened to their lives. if she wants to do it is an open field i think. i think the first parts of your question, only a small percentage of the mail population that were eligible to serve actually did. this was a sore point for washington. washington believed we could have fielded easily an army of 60000. eighty to 100,000 briefly had that number if we had eight draft for example that forced everyone to serve that was eligible could have won the war in one or two years, hamilton agreed with that. however there was no draft. and most of the people served one year terms. by the time they learn they ffpursue fractional skills necessary to be an effective soldier they left. wanted an armyy of 60000 serving for the duration, he never got it. i would say only 20% of the army saw that for the duration. they tend to be drawn from the members of society. not go and serve in the army assert in your town and served in the militi

research trip for my last book about the american revolution, in the hurricane's i, about the year of yorktown. there was a research trip to providence, rhode island, and made my way to the john brown house. this isn't john brown the abolitionist. this is john brown the opposite, slave trade around cofounder of brown university. in the back of his magisterial home is a little annex where there is what is known as john brown's chariot and it is to our modern i tiny. i compare the forward facing seats to the backseat of the the w bug, a tiny little thing and according to family tradition when the newly inaugurated president, george washington, was visiting providence, john brown gave washington a ride in that cherry it down to the shipyard where he was building a ship named for the new president. that got me to wondering. in the book i was writing, washington visited providence several times but i had no idea he had come to providence once he was president. why? why was he there? that led me to realize he went on a series of presidential trips in an attempt to create a sense of nationhood among

began for me really during a research trip for my last book about the american revolution in the yorktown and i made my way to the john brown house. now, this isn't john brown the abolition, quite the opposite, the slave trader and cofounder of brown university and in the back of his home there's an annex as john brown chariot, i compare the single forward-facing seat to the backseat of vw bug. it's this tinily little thing and according to family tradition when the newly inaugurated president george washington was visiting providence john brown gave washington a ride in that chariot down to the shipyard where he was building a ship named for the new president. and that got me to wondering, because in the book i was writing washington visited providence several times but i had no idea he had come to providence once he was president. why, why was he there and that led me to realize, you know, he went on these series of presidential trips in an attempt to create a sense of nationhood among 13 former colonies and i was finishing up this book of straight history. it was one -- close to a doze

. >> i think it's probably refreshing to get zero credit of ushering us towards yorktown. >> which they do i hope i establish that in the book we were not winning that war without the french guys for quick we keep saying that. but no one is listening to us okay so i will turn this over, this is from joel. consider how fast everything move during the french revolution. does lafayette feel he failed france or that it was out of his control? would it be possible to emulate washington and france? rex okay, there are a couple questions in their. one of them is that it got to say by 1791 when gone through this series of debacles he's trying to be the commander of the national guard. he ends up resigning from the national guard in late 1791. by this point you really get the sense lafayette feels it's not that he failed but the people failed him. that he was doing the right thing and nay just kind of would not get on board with it. he felt like he was being treated very unfairly because he was being attacked by both the right and the left. he was playing a whack a mole with everything that was

tracy who hired me too work at the yorktown alley bookstore in tulsawnn oklahoma.creating a job for me that required me too do what i loved and did best talking about books and the pleasures of reading and notng having to do anything i was not good at which was basically everything else. crag gave me the time, space and encouragement to create the seattle read the same book program which is grown throughout the world into all of of those one city one book projects. gary luke's and editors sasquatch books here in seattle who called me one day and asked me too write a book about good books to read and named it book lust. mark apollo that i brain action figure thus immortalizing me and what i'm pretty sure is non- biodegradable plastic. sunshinera a cultural affairs officer at the u.s. embassy in sarajevo who came up with the idea of having all the teenagers in the country, whether they be muslim, croat or serb read and discuss sherman alexi's absolutely true diary of a part-time indian. and she asked me too come to boston and to work with librarians and teachers who

they hired me to work at the yorktown alley bookstore in tulsa oklahoma. craig who brought me to the seattle public library from tulsa. by creating a job for me that required me to do what i love tinted best. talking about books in the pleasures of reading and not having to do anything i was not good at which was basically everything else. craig gave me the time, space and encouragement to create the seattle book program which was grown throughout the world in to all of those one city one book projects. gary, and editor here in seattle writing a book about good books to read. mark who used me as a model for the librarian action figure, immortalizing me and what i am pretty sure is nonbiodegradable plastic, sunshine and cultural affairs officer at the u.s. embassy who came up with the idea that having all the teenagers in the country, whether they be muslim, read and discuss the absolutely true diary of a part-time indian. and she asked me to come to bosnia to work with librarians and teachers who would be discussing this book with those teens. my experienc

carriers versus five and so it's conceivable to me we still has her time on the west coast and we had yorktown as well you still could've had this midway scenario sometime five or six months down the road. >> just that this for the midway operation it is so closely linked to the threat of the american carrier basic going up and down the cliff rear of the japanese empire in the early part of the worn at those rates were happening and is a big giveaway that he really is a round of speculation. the midway operation seemed as important to the japanese in a way that would've allowed them to essentially force naval staff to improve the operation. >> it would because another one of the goals that they had course was he wanted to be able to capture this eventually because we do root bring the americans to the table, having it the bargaining chip is incredibly important and certainly those even in discussion before pearl harbor within the navy is whether or not it was feasible to invade wahoo and partly for the japanese of course the sealift capabilities zero-sum game if you're going to attack in the s

we get the hornets in there and yorktown as well. syou could potentially add a midway scenario five or six months down the road. >> my point was the impetus for the midway operation was so closely linked to the threat of the american carrier rates occurring up-and-down the periphery of the japanese empire in that early part ofthe war and if those raids weren't happening in as big a way , it really is, gets to the realm of speculation but would the midway operation have seemed as important to the japanese in a way that would have allowed yamamoto to force the naval general staff to improve the operation? >> i would argue it would because one of the goals yamamoto was you wanted to beua able to capture a law who . if we bring the americans to the bargaining table having a lawful as a bargaining chip is important. certainly there was discussion before pearl harbor as to whether it was feasible to invade a law who. unfortunately for the japanese their sealift capability is a zero-sum game and if you're going to attack in the south which

we get the hornet in there, the yorktown as well. you still could potentially had a mid way scenario sometime 5, 6 months down the line. >> of course then you have got less -- >> my point was just that the impetus for the midway operation was so closely linked to the omnipresent threat of the american carrier raids occurring down the empire of the -- and the earlier part of the war. if the rates weren't happening, or not in as big away, it really is, because of the way of speculation, would the midway operation have seemed as important to the japanese in a way that would have allowed yam otero essential to force the naval general staff to approve the operation? >> i would argue it would. another one of the goals that -- hand was that he wanted to capture oahu. having a law as a bargaining chip is incredibly important and certainly there was even discussion before pearl harbor within the navy is if it was even feasible to invade oahu. for the japanese, there see live capabilities zero sum game. if you're going to attack in the south,

yorktown heights was 100 she was a long time volunteer at her local hospital anita frank is from newances simpson, cross country travelers from north carolina they eloped a month after turning 18 years old and never looked back. the two say simply loving each other is the secret to a long and happy marriage as always if, you have a loved one celebrating a milestone or an anniversary or turning 10 1, let us know at today.com/celebrate. >> my grandma was on there a couple months ago. she said when do i get the smucker's jar? >> happy birthday to our birthdays. coming up next in our third hour, we're going to visit a massive roof top farm that is high above paris >> and later on hoda and jenna, the military veteran that is a tiktok sensation at 79 we're back after your local >>> a verdict is expected. deliberations are under way. the judge is available if they have questions. >>> in contra costa county, a surge means a change in mask rules. beginning today, everyone has to wear a mask at all indoor businesses regardless of vaccination status. >>> countdown to the winter olympics. we int