Hillsdale Dialogues Podcast

Episode: The Road to the American Revolution, Part Six

Date: October 7, 2025
Guests: Hugh Hewitt (host), Dr. Matt Spalding (Dean, Graduate School of Statesmanship, Hillsdale College, D.C.), brief remarks from Scott Bertram

Episode Overview

This episode continues the Hillsdale Dialogues’ in-depth exploration of the march toward the American Revolution, focusing on the pivotal period after the Battle of Bunker Hill (June 1775) and leading up to the spring of 1776. Dr. Matt Spalding and Hugh Hewitt discuss Washington’s military and moral leadership, organizational challenges facing the Continental Army, Congress’s complex political maneuvering, and the momentous shift from hopes for reconciliation to a state of open rebellion. The episode also includes insights into the philosophical interplay between the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, and a preview of Dr. Spalding’s forthcoming book, The Making of the American Mind.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Dr. Matt Spalding’s New Book: The Making of the American Mind

• Overview and intent

  • Spalding describes the book as a detailed commentary on the Declaration of Independence, guiding readers paragraph by paragraph, and sometimes word by word, through its meaning and historical context (03:08).
  • “It’s really intended to get us into and to know the Declaration in some depth as to its own meaning and history.”
    — Matt Spalding (03:08)
  • The book aims to help Americans understand and appreciate the philosophical and historical underpinnings of the nation, echoing Lincoln's view that the Declaration is central to American identity.

• Book cover

  • The cover features a unique 19th-century French painting depicting debates over the Declaration, now part of the White House collection (02:20).

2. The Declaration vs. The Constitution: Foundational Insights

• Philosophical relationship

  • Spalding argues that the Declaration and Constitution are “two sides of a coin” (05:11), fundamentally connected, though not interchangeable.
  • The Declaration serves as the philosophical preamble to the legal framework of the Constitution.
  • “You need to put them together to get a true original understanding of the Founders’ intentions.”
    — Matt Spalding (06:43)
  • Debate discussed: Some legalists relegate the Declaration to a lesser role, but Spalding urges that both documents are complementary.

• Practical connections

  • Many constitutional grievances echo the complaints in the Declaration.
  • The Declaration informs, but does not override, the Constitution’s text.
  • “A lot in the Declaration can flow directly into the Constitution,” e.g., concepts of consent, legislative authority, and rights (07:35).

3. Washington’s Appointment and the State of the Army

• Washington’s experience

  • Washington’s prior military service in the French and Indian War made him the only serious choice for commander-in-chief (11:17).
  • He signaled his readiness by wearing his military uniform to the Continental Congress.

• Chronology of command

  • Congress formed the Continental Army before Bunker Hill; Washington was appointed commander shortly after the battle:

    • Army created: June 14, 1775
    • Washington selected: June 15
    • Bunker Hill: June 17
    • Commission received: June 19
    • Washington leaves for Boston: June 23
    • Assumes command: July 3 (13:43)

  • “He receives his commission on the 19th… rushes on June 23rd to get to Boston because that’s now an active military theater.”
    — Matt Spalding (13:43)

• State of the army

  • Washington inherited a “rabble”—a loose association of militias, mostly from Massachusetts, lacking discipline, supplies, or centralized command.
  • Transforming these militias into a functional army was a monumental challenge:
    • “They’re militia, which means they’re just showing up. Each company has its own leader... Massachusetts militia in particular, Washington writes in some of his letters, they don’t like to take leadership from nobody. They’re extremely independent.” (16:08)

4. Geopolitical & Logistical Challenges in Boston

• Boston geography

  • 18th-century Boston was effectively an island, connected to the mainland only by the Boston Neck.
  • High ground positions (Bunker/Breed’s Hill to the north, Dorchester Heights to the south) held strategic value (16:08).

• Army reorganization and hardships

  • Washington faced rampant disorder: lax discipline, lack of logistics, and poor sanitation.
  • “He just needed to get sanitation and he needed gunpowder, and he had to stop dueling. He had to stop people firing their guns close to the camp. It was a mob, sort of in Cambridge.”
    — Hugh Hewitt (21:54)
  • Washington initiated the creation of a professional officer corps, moving away from militias simply electing their officers.

5. Washington’s Strategic Vision & Fabian Tactics

• A pragmatic approach

  • Despite his aggressiveness and desire to directly confront the British, Washington recognized the need for restraint and persistence.
  • Fabian tactics—named after the Roman general Fabius—became the hallmark of Washington’s long war strategy:
    • “He knows he can’t win… so he basically, through a battle of maneuver, refuses to give open war, open battle to them, but essentially fights a lot of things around.”
      — Matt Spalding (26:30)

• Necessity of artillery and the quest for cannons

  • The Americans lacked cannons to threaten British positions, especially at Dorchester Heights.
  • In a remarkable feat, Henry Knox transported captured cannon from Fort Ticonderoga (NY) to Boston—59 pieces, totaling 60 tons—over 300 miles in midwinter.
  • “It’s just an amazing story based on the sheer need, because you can’t put cannons on Dorchester height, you can’t threaten the British. If you can’t threaten the British, you can’t get them out of Boston. If you can’t get out of Boston, you can’t win the war.”
    — Matt Spalding (29:46)

6. Continental Congress: Between War and Reconciliation

• The Olive Branch Petition

  • Congress sent the Olive Branch Petition in a final attempt at reconciliation (June–July 1775), even as it officially recognized the army and sent Washington to Boston.
  • John Dickinson remained a leading moderate, clinging to hopes of peace.

• British obstinance and escalation

  • King George III refused even to receive the petition; in August 1775, he issued a proclamation of rebellion.
  • Parliament’s Prohibitory Act (late 1775) authorized British forces to treat American ships and sailors as enemy combatants, effectively declaring war (34:16).
  • Hiring of Hessian mercenaries — German soldiers known for their severe tactics — “really turns the events. Once those things become known by the Continental Congress, they slowly start to get out, Washington receiving intelligence over the fall into the spring of 76. That changes the whole situation.”
    — Matt Spalding (36:02)

• No path back to compromise

  • The British actions, especially the Prohibitory Act and hiring of mercenaries, convinced even moderates that reconciliation was impossible (35:26).
  • “In December of 1775, there’s no going back because they’ve begun to seize American citizens, make them go to work on British ships, destroy American businesses and basically declare war on us.”
    — Hugh Hewitt (35:26)
  • “The only British ‘negotiators’ they sent over were the Hessians.”
    — Matt Spalding (36:02)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “My driving idea is that, like Augustine said a long time ago, you can’t really love something unless you know it. We need to know the Declaration.”
  — Matt Spalding (03:08)
• “The Declaration is what the ancients used to call the preambles of the law … the thing that puts the marker down, that lays the philosophical grounding of the law. And then the Constitution is the law, the highest law in the land.”
  — Matt Spalding (05:52)
• “There are two people in Maine who saved the Union on two different occasions: Henry Knox by getting the cannon from Fort Ticonderoga to Dorchester Heights, and then Joshua Chamberlain… on Little Round Top. … Henry Knox’s home is a place of pilgrimage in Maine.”
  — Hugh Hewitt (29:10)
• “The combination of things and then the fact that George III negotiated first with Russia and then goes to the German states to send over 30 or 40,000 Hessians … really turns the events.”
  — Matt Spalding (36:02)
• “He [Washington] really has a commanding presence.”
  — Matt Spalding (20:50)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• [03:08] – Spalding explains the purpose and structure of The Making of the American Mind
• [05:11 - 07:35] – Debate over the philosophical and legal relationship of the Declaration and Constitution
• [11:17 - 13:43] – George Washington’s military credentials and appointment as commander-in-chief
• [16:08] – Challenges of uniting the militia and the transformation into a standing army
• [20:08 - 22:29] – Washington’s arrival and the logistical/moral trials of creating an army from scratch
• [26:30] – What are Fabian tactics, and why did Washington adopt them?
• [29:46] – Henry Knox’s transport of Ticonderoga cannon to Boston
• [34:16] – Prohibitory Act and its consequences for American attitudes
• [36:02] – British hiring of Hessian troops as a tipping point to war

Tone & Language

• The episode maintains a collegial, scholarly tone with an undercurrent of narrative momentum as the hosts “march” toward the Declaration.
• Historical details and anecdotes are woven throughout, often highlighting the “improbability” and “remarkable” nature of the Revolution’s early days.
• The podcast is both accessible to non-specialists and rigorous in its citation of events and sources.

Summary Takeaway

This episode offers a sweeping yet granular look at the fraught and formative year between Bunker Hill and the Declaration of Independence. The hosts reveal the immense difficulties facing the fledgling American cause—from disorder and resource scarcity to British intransigence and evolving military strategy—while also underscoring the interplay between the nation's founding documents. Listeners are left with a deeper appreciation for Washington’s leadership and the intertwined philosophical and practical roots of the American experiment as portrayed in Dr. Spalding’s upcoming book.

For further episodes or resources: Visit Podcast.Hillsdale.edu or HughForHillsdale.com.