Ken Burns’ American Revolution: Woke Series Overemphasizes Iroquois Influence

Ihad intended to watch the new Ken Burns miniseries on the American Revolution and report on its overall portrayal of the founding of our nation. But I didn’t need to get very far in to encounter a big whopper. The problems with the first episode start early. Burns kicks off by misleading his audience about the origins of American political ideas, and adds to that a deceptive history of a key battle.

Here is the opening narration, which is preceded only by two quotations — one from Thomas Paine about the momentous nature of the struggle and one from Canasatego, spokesman for the Iroquois Six Nations, about white people wanting Native American land. Then, as Native American songs continue to play, we are told:

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Dan McLaughlin

Dan McLaughlin is a senior writer at National Review Online and a fellow at National Review Institute.

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Ihad intended to watch the new Ken Burns miniseries on the American Revolution and report on its overall portrayal of the founding of our nation. But I didn’t need to get very far in to encounter a big whopper. The problems with the first episode start early. Burns kicks off by misleading his audience about the origins of American political ideas, and adds to that a deceptive history of a key battle.

Here is the opening narration, which is preceded only by two quotations — one from Thomas Paine about the momentous nature of the struggle and one from Canasatego, spokesman for the Iroquois Six Nations, about white people wanting Native American land. Then, as Native American songs continue to play, we are told: