WEBVTT 00:00:15.603 --> 00:00:20.943 Welcome to Concealed Carry Podcast, part of the ConcealedCarry.com network, brought to you by HK. 00:00:22.313 --> 00:00:27.433 Today is actually Thursday, June 25th, 2026, as of the recording of this episode, 00:00:28.188 --> 00:00:30.330 and I am your host, Riley Bowman. 00:00:30.986 --> 00:00:32.867 Today marks a special episode. 00:00:33.563 --> 00:00:40.036 We're actually going to do a replay of an episode that Jacob and I recorded 10 years ago this week. 00:00:40.384 --> 00:00:44.916 Yes, all the way back in the last week of June 2016, 00:00:45.474 --> 00:00:50.503 where Jacob and I actually shared with the listeners about the historical context 00:00:50.503 --> 00:00:56.143 around the beginning of the war for independence for the United States of America. 00:00:56.823 --> 00:01:00.913 The first shots fired, of course, at Lexington and Concord and kind of everything 00:01:00.913 --> 00:01:05.396 that led up to that, which a lot of it was surrounding gun control. 00:01:05.965 --> 00:01:10.663 As many of you know, the British were marching their way to Concord, 00:01:10.663 --> 00:01:16.867 where one of the largest supply stores of gunpowder was located for the Patriots. 00:01:17.273 --> 00:01:23.026 And, of course, on their way there in Lexington, met a band of 200 or so 00:01:24.403 --> 00:01:29.394 Rebels at that time, Patriots, of course, that decided to meet them right there 00:01:29.661 --> 00:01:33.663 and have a little bit of a skirmish. And that's kind of where it all began. 00:01:34.603 --> 00:01:39.708 And of course, there was gun control that was attempted to be implemented in the city of Boston. 00:01:40.109 --> 00:01:43.946 And anyway, so we're going to get into that in this episode today. 00:01:44.468 --> 00:01:47.748 There was really no reason to go and re-record something like this. 00:01:48.282 --> 00:01:53.843 I thought it was a good episode to replay for you because it's no longer available 00:01:53.843 --> 00:01:55.869 in the standard podcast feed. 00:01:56.241 --> 00:02:01.256 And so I hate to see it just get lost, you know, to the ether, so to speak. So. 00:02:01.993 --> 00:02:08.199 It's a perfect opportunity in the days leading up now to our 250th birthday 00:02:08.199 --> 00:02:11.652 of our nation to go ahead and bring this episode back for you. 00:02:12.012 --> 00:02:14.683 But first, I want to share with you a couple of episode sponsors. 00:02:15.292 --> 00:02:22.577 As you are hearing this, we are preparing to launch our annual Independence Day sale. 00:02:22.746 --> 00:02:26.499 We always call it Happy Birthday America Sale. And this one is special because 00:02:26.499 --> 00:02:30.709 this is the Happy 250th Birthday America Sale. 00:02:31.005 --> 00:02:35.739 We have a big sale planned. It's not starting yet, but as I mentioned, 00:02:35.739 --> 00:02:39.882 as I'm recording this, we are preparing for that sale right away. 00:02:40.643 --> 00:02:46.007 It will be going live next week, so just before 4th of July. 00:02:46.320 --> 00:02:48.503 I'll give you a little more details on that in just a second, 00:02:49.008 --> 00:02:52.299 but you're going to want to make sure that you're watching our website, 00:02:52.299 --> 00:02:56.509 concealedcarry.com, for details about that sale. You're going to want to make 00:02:56.509 --> 00:02:58.406 sure you're also on our email list. 00:02:59.619 --> 00:03:03.509 If you're not on our email list already, you can get added to it by going to 00:03:03.509 --> 00:03:07.105 concealedcarry.com. You'll find that there's a place you can do that there. 00:03:08.097 --> 00:03:12.239 Because we will be emailing you about this sale. You're going to want all the 00:03:12.239 --> 00:03:15.919 details about this. It's a huge sale with many opportunities to save big. 00:03:16.918 --> 00:03:19.915 You're going to also want to consider joining Guardian Nation. 00:03:19.915 --> 00:03:23.225 If you haven't already, if you're not already a member, the way you're going 00:03:23.225 --> 00:03:26.345 to save the most is by being a member of Guardian Nation. 00:03:26.618 --> 00:03:33.485 Because just by default, Guardian Nation members save 10% across the board all the time. 00:03:33.758 --> 00:03:35.505 So even when we have sales, Guardian 00:03:35.505 --> 00:03:39.551 Nation members get whatever the sale price is plus another 10% off. 00:03:39.940 --> 00:03:45.025 And that 10% off is available 24-7, 365, like all the time. 00:03:45.025 --> 00:03:50.720 10% off always is available for Guardian Nation members and the biggest sales 00:03:51.284 --> 00:03:56.645 during the Happy Birthday America sale will be available to Guardian Nation members only. 00:03:56.645 --> 00:04:00.535 So you're going to want to look into that by going to guardiannation.com and 00:04:00.535 --> 00:04:05.875 signing up today so that you are a member and can save the biggest on our happy 00:04:05.875 --> 00:04:09.618 250th birthday America sale. 00:04:10.432 --> 00:04:13.695 Starting next week. In fact, so here's when the sale will kick off. 00:04:13.695 --> 00:04:19.365 On July 3rd will be when the sale starts for everybody, no matter who you are, 00:04:19.365 --> 00:04:21.339 no matter if you're a Guardian Nation member or not. 00:04:22.128 --> 00:04:27.887 But on July 2nd, the sale will be starting for Guardian Nation members only. 00:04:28.191 --> 00:04:31.365 And that's so that Guardian Nation members have the opportunity to jump in on 00:04:31.365 --> 00:04:38.175 the sale early and also buy product that maybe might not be in stock come July 3rd. 00:04:38.175 --> 00:04:41.885 So that's another reason why you want to be a Guardian Nation member so that 00:04:41.885 --> 00:04:47.735 you get the earliest access to the sale and you get the biggest discounts on the sale as well. 00:04:47.735 --> 00:04:51.785 So there you go. July 2nd is when the sale kicks off for Guardian Nation members. 00:04:51.785 --> 00:04:57.663 July 3rd for everybody else. It'll be running through July 4th and throughout the weekend as well. 00:04:58.004 --> 00:05:02.175 So that's when the sale is kicking off. Happy birthday, America. 00:05:02.175 --> 00:05:07.141 We are so excited to celebrate with all of you. 250 years. It's a remarkable 00:05:07.595 --> 00:05:12.244 milestone and I'm proud to be an American, as I'm sure you are all as well. 00:05:12.551 --> 00:05:15.135 And so we look forward to celebrating it with you. 00:05:15.640 --> 00:05:19.705 Also, it should be noted that there will be a couple of special bonuses, 00:05:19.705 --> 00:05:25.897 including a special, let's just say if you buy during the sale, 00:05:26.269 --> 00:05:29.215 there's a special gift we will be sending you as well. 00:05:29.215 --> 00:05:32.955 Really excited about this, something we've worked quite extensively on. 00:05:32.955 --> 00:05:37.095 And I think you're going to be really excited when you see what that extra little 00:05:37.095 --> 00:05:43.338 bonus is just by participating in the sale during that uh happy birthday america sale so 00:05:43.954 --> 00:05:48.695 With that i'm going to go ahead and play back now this episode that jacob and 00:05:48.695 --> 00:05:51.445 i did 10 years ago covering the history 00:05:51.445 --> 00:05:54.972 surrounding the beginning of the revolutionary or war for independence 00:05:55.633 --> 00:06:00.755 and everything leading up to it so much of it was all about gun control and 00:06:00.755 --> 00:06:04.385 you guys know how we feel about that so i'll catch on the flip side after you 00:06:04.385 --> 00:06:08.158 have the chance to listen to this episode. Where do we start, Jacob? 00:06:09.372 --> 00:06:14.692 Well, I think, you know, to give some fairness, you and I have done some research 00:06:14.692 --> 00:06:18.422 in preparation for this. I think it would be unfair to assume that we're just 00:06:18.422 --> 00:06:20.343 going to rattle this stuff off the top of our heads. 00:06:21.962 --> 00:06:27.712 That's true. Yeah, so one thing, I'm going to use an article for much of the 00:06:27.712 --> 00:06:30.037 basis of this episode today. 00:06:31.102 --> 00:06:33.451 I want to give full credit to David Koppel. 00:06:34.622 --> 00:06:37.832 The article will be in the show notes. And this article is titled, 00:06:37.832 --> 00:06:40.800 The American Revolution Against British Gun Control. 00:06:41.305 --> 00:06:44.192 And it's just a fantastic article. And really, Jacob, you were the one that 00:06:44.192 --> 00:06:46.361 first put me onto it, and I thank you for that. 00:06:47.102 --> 00:06:54.462 I have become a fan of this article. And I've seen some other writings of Dave 00:06:54.462 --> 00:06:56.949 Koppel, but this was just fantastic. 00:06:57.350 --> 00:06:59.521 I bookmarked it, saved it, everything. 00:07:00.282 --> 00:07:03.712 And originally, this article appeared in the Administrative and Regulatory Law 00:07:03.712 --> 00:07:05.866 News. Boy, that sounds really exciting. 00:07:06.266 --> 00:07:09.499 Of the American Bar Association back in 2012. 00:07:11.062 --> 00:07:14.302 Which obviously infers that our friend Dave is obviously an attorney. 00:07:14.622 --> 00:07:16.645 And here from Colorado, he's local to us. 00:07:17.104 --> 00:07:19.962 Yeah, yeah. And I didn't know that until you'd mentioned it. 00:07:19.962 --> 00:07:23.089 So that's really cool. Maybe one day we'll cross paths. 00:07:23.507 --> 00:07:26.372 Well, you know, I'd have to be careful. I don't know that he's actually an attorney. 00:07:26.372 --> 00:07:29.292 I know he teaches law at DU. 00:07:29.565 --> 00:07:31.841 Would you not be an attorney if you taught law? 00:07:32.665 --> 00:07:34.192 I assume you would. I don't know. 00:07:35.207 --> 00:07:35.969 I think he is. 00:07:35.969 --> 00:07:38.452 You don't have to own a business to teach a business course. 00:07:38.678 --> 00:07:44.279 I'm pretty sure he's an attorney. In fact, I believe he was assistant attorney 00:07:44.279 --> 00:07:47.529 general or something like that here in Colorado, I want to say. 00:07:47.849 --> 00:07:49.284 That's hardcore. 00:07:49.533 --> 00:07:51.617 Yeah, so I'm pretty sure he's an attorney. 00:07:52.969 --> 00:07:53.539 I'll take it. 00:07:54.270 --> 00:07:58.009 So, in fact, according to Wikipedia, he is an American author, 00:07:58.009 --> 00:08:01.161 attorney, political science researcher, gun rights advocate, 00:08:01.486 --> 00:08:04.081 and contributing editor to several publications. 00:08:04.729 --> 00:08:08.051 And I thought there was something else interesting, too, as I was reading about him. 00:08:09.829 --> 00:08:13.798 Currently, he's the research director of the Independence Institute in Golden, Colorado. 00:08:14.425 --> 00:08:19.690 And also on Wikipedia, it says, politically, he's a lifelong registered Democrat. 00:08:21.246 --> 00:08:23.069 There you have it. Not all Democrats are bad. 00:08:23.069 --> 00:08:30.319 But he is all gun. I mean, he is very much pro-gun. So that's pretty cool. 00:08:30.319 --> 00:08:34.474 Very interesting. that's not commonplace but it does exist 00:08:35.467 --> 00:08:35.943 That's right. 00:08:36.674 --> 00:08:42.120 So let's jump right in. You know, the events leading up to the Revolutionary 00:08:42.120 --> 00:08:45.846 War, just, you know, it was a fascinating time. 00:08:46.206 --> 00:08:48.450 I mean, here we had colonies. 00:08:49.070 --> 00:08:53.996 Originally, of course, as often is talked about, the original 13 colonies of America. 00:08:54.710 --> 00:08:58.460 And these colonies were under British control. 00:08:59.390 --> 00:09:02.942 Of course, Britain at the time was the world power. 00:09:03.337 --> 00:09:09.722 And I mean, there was really no equal to Britain at this time of history. 00:09:10.233 --> 00:09:18.981 And it's interesting to me that Britain really created its own demise. 00:09:21.268 --> 00:09:26.780 It colonized the Americas. And the Americas grew and grew and grew and got more 00:09:26.780 --> 00:09:30.979 powerful, more powerful, and ultimately, you know, led to, 00:09:31.970 --> 00:09:37.347 you know, it just, it created a beast that it couldn't harness itself anymore. 00:09:37.753 --> 00:09:44.010 And probably would have been a quiet beast, but the Brits decided to get a little, 00:09:44.690 --> 00:09:49.485 let's say, I guess, aggressive with its policies regarding the Americas. 00:09:50.367 --> 00:09:54.359 Well, Britain had just come out of a war, right? Is it the Seven Year War? 00:09:54.359 --> 00:09:56.849 Maybe I got my history right. And it was very expensive. 00:09:57.209 --> 00:10:02.529 So I think the short of, just to really simplify the story, is that they were 00:10:02.529 --> 00:10:03.639 broke and they needed money. 00:10:03.639 --> 00:10:07.379 And so they started passing a lot of taxes and things on the American colonies, 00:10:07.379 --> 00:10:12.949 which were very wealthy, to try and booster it. And that didn't go over so well, right? 00:10:13.645 --> 00:10:18.353 Yeah, a popular phrase from the time was taxation without representation, right? 00:10:18.673 --> 00:10:19.172 Right. 00:10:19.869 --> 00:10:24.116 So they were not pleased that the British government would send 00:10:25.922 --> 00:10:32.089 representatives from England, from the British government, to set up the government 00:10:32.089 --> 00:10:37.509 and to rule and also was taxing and taking money and all that money was being – or at least 00:10:38.269 --> 00:10:41.630 most of that money was being funneled back to England. 00:10:42.002 --> 00:10:43.975 And yeah, that didn't go over well at all. 00:10:44.358 --> 00:10:49.786 Yeah. So in December, 1773, we have the famous Boston Tea Party. 00:10:50.332 --> 00:10:53.728 And this was, I think, the first, I'll call it tipping point, 00:10:54.215 --> 00:10:58.267 where the colonists are kind of saying, hey, we're not going to stand for this. 00:10:58.691 --> 00:11:02.849 And I've been there, by the way, Riley, right where the Boston Tea Party took 00:11:02.849 --> 00:11:05.268 place. I've stood on that shore. Pretty intense. 00:11:05.924 --> 00:11:11.526 And so December 1773, Boston Tea Party, and that led to the Coercive Acts. 00:11:13.964 --> 00:11:21.159 Which were a series of laws or provisions that here's one thing. 00:11:21.159 --> 00:11:27.615 One of the big things that was a problem with this was that Great Britain said, 00:11:28.509 --> 00:11:34.553 hey, here's these laws, and if you guys don't abide by them, 00:11:35.180 --> 00:11:38.894 the British army is going to come and force you to do so. 00:11:40.312 --> 00:11:43.697 And that just was not cool at all. 00:11:44.454 --> 00:11:50.744 In fact, quoting from Dave Koppel's article, the Patriots of Lancaster County, 00:11:50.744 --> 00:11:52.683 Pennsylvania resolved, quote, 00:11:53.258 --> 00:11:57.464 that in the event of Great Britain attempting to force unjust laws upon us by 00:11:57.464 --> 00:12:01.832 the strength of arms, our cause we leave to heaven and our rifles, 00:12:01.994 --> 00:12:04.490 end quote. Wow, powerful. 00:12:05.232 --> 00:12:10.294 That's hot. And then a South Carolina newspaper essay that was reprinted in 00:12:10.294 --> 00:12:15.084 Virginia urged that any law that had to be enforced by the military was not 00:12:15.084 --> 00:12:18.890 – was necessarily illegitimate or was not necessarily legitimate. 00:12:19.442 --> 00:12:23.504 So they weren't happy about the idea that the British government would send 00:12:23.504 --> 00:12:27.540 troops to enforce these – what they felt were unjust laws to begin with. 00:12:28.050 --> 00:12:34.074 Yeah. I mean, of course, at this time, Great Britain or England was a very much 00:12:34.074 --> 00:12:39.753 – well, it was – crap, I lost the word. 00:12:40.107 --> 00:12:43.074 Monarchy? A new monarchy? Yes, thank you. At a parliament? 00:12:43.074 --> 00:12:45.824 I was trying to say monarchy. It was a monarchy, but I mean, 00:12:45.824 --> 00:12:51.304 the parliament was also relatively new there and that created a really interesting situation, right? 00:12:51.304 --> 00:12:58.864 Because America really was kind of requesting all this help and asking all these 00:12:58.864 --> 00:13:02.204 questions and was upset with what parliament was doing. 00:13:02.204 --> 00:13:03.554 And then eventually really King George, 00:13:03.554 --> 00:13:06.479 you know, the monarch sided with parliament and said, you know what? 00:13:06.781 --> 00:13:10.834 America is like, I could go either way on this, but I'm going to side with my 00:13:10.834 --> 00:13:12.151 new government, with the parliament. 00:13:13.009 --> 00:13:17.199 Right, right. And so my point was, you know, here we have this monarchy that, 00:13:18.079 --> 00:13:22.759 you know, has also a parliament, which today, you know, the parliament really 00:13:22.759 --> 00:13:28.240 is what, you know, rules the country or establishes law and order. 00:13:29.219 --> 00:13:34.489 The monarchy anymore is really, I mean, I guess it's there and I'm sure it has 00:13:34.489 --> 00:13:39.299 its influence, but it's not anything like it was back in the 1700s. 00:13:39.751 --> 00:13:45.417 And so – but my point was is here we had a monarchy and a parliament that instead of 00:13:47.524 --> 00:13:52.615 being a traditional – I mean they had turned into a dictatorship, 00:13:53.190 --> 00:13:57.480 right, where it is here's the laws and you are going to abide or else. 00:13:58.002 --> 00:14:04.440 And these freedom-loving people over in the Americas, that just did not work. 00:14:04.812 --> 00:14:08.010 In fact, there was a part in this article I thought was pretty interesting. 00:14:08.475 --> 00:14:12.677 Let me see if I can dig it out again. It referred to the people, 00:14:13.219 --> 00:14:19.445 the American people, giving up themselves to slavery. Oh, here it is. 00:14:20.139 --> 00:14:23.179 It's quite a bit deeper in the article, but 00:14:23.859 --> 00:14:27.999 it said, because every attempt by the Americans at peaceful reconciliation had 00:14:27.999 --> 00:14:32.759 been rebuffed, the only remaining alternatives for the Americans were to accept 00:14:32.759 --> 00:14:35.179 slavery or to take up arms. 00:14:35.179 --> 00:14:41.330 And by slavery, they're talking about the American people would be slaves to Britain. 00:14:41.991 --> 00:14:43.582 Yeah, at the end of a gun. 00:14:44.174 --> 00:14:47.339 Right, and that's exactly what it would have been. You know, 00:14:47.779 --> 00:14:52.469 and so that's, this is really, I mean, this is the core of what we're going 00:14:52.469 --> 00:14:56.359 to discuss for the next little while here in that 00:14:57.653 --> 00:15:02.849 laws are passed laws that they disagreed with, and they were going to be forced 00:15:02.988 --> 00:15:07.882 at the sword at the rifle at the gun to follow these laws. 00:15:08.892 --> 00:15:11.596 So, here's what happened next. 00:15:11.596 --> 00:15:13.325 Can I talk about Thomas Gage now? 00:15:13.801 --> 00:15:16.930 Well, that's where I was going. So, please do. 00:15:17.789 --> 00:15:20.956 So, this is a name you need to remember. If you're listening right now, 00:15:20.956 --> 00:15:24.337 remember the name General Thomas Gage. 00:15:24.912 --> 00:15:26.356 What a wonderful man. 00:15:27.089 --> 00:15:28.534 Yeah, right. We love him. 00:15:29.899 --> 00:15:35.518 So, General Thomas Gage, he was the, what was his title? The Royal Governor of Massachusetts. 00:15:35.918 --> 00:15:41.387 So this guy was put in place to rule by Britain. He was the governor of Massachusetts. 00:15:41.840 --> 00:15:47.569 And he had, up to this point, forbidden that town meetings take place more than once a year. 00:15:48.010 --> 00:15:52.226 Right? Freaking fantastic idea. Like, what kind of a dictatorship is this, right? 00:15:52.226 --> 00:15:53.490 That feels all warm and fuzzy. 00:15:53.896 --> 00:15:55.475 Yeah, that sounds great. And so, 00:15:57.616 --> 00:16:02.076 he dispatches some redcoats, some British soldiers, right, under the rule of 00:16:02.076 --> 00:16:07.585 the king, to break up an illegal, as he defined it, town meeting in Salem, Massachusetts. 00:16:08.119 --> 00:16:16.969 And this is still in 1774, after the Quoist of Acts had been passed. So we're in 1774. 00:16:17.492 --> 00:16:20.858 And so he sends these troops to go right up to this town meeting in Salem, 00:16:21.183 --> 00:16:26.832 and 3,000 armed Americans appear in response. They're like, excuse us, what? 00:16:28.376 --> 00:16:31.326 Yeah. And so the British retreat. They're like, we can't do this. 00:16:31.326 --> 00:16:39.504 And Gage is, General Gage, his aide named John Anders, he comes back to Thomas Gage and says, hey, 00:16:41.269 --> 00:16:46.356 Governor, everyone in the area, age 16 years and older, owned a gun and plenty of gunpowder. 00:16:46.356 --> 00:16:50.754 Like that was his explanation back to General Gage as to why they had to retreat. 00:16:51.549 --> 00:16:57.156 Yeah. So the people, I mean, they still had their arms. They still had their 00:16:57.156 --> 00:16:58.446 ability to defend themselves. 00:16:59.756 --> 00:17:03.336 Here was a policy they absolutely disagreed with. And, you know, 00:17:03.336 --> 00:17:06.352 they were being forced to not hold their meeting. 00:17:06.822 --> 00:17:08.529 And so they react. Well, okay. 00:17:10.478 --> 00:17:14.541 Here's quoting again, military rule would be difficult to impose on an armed 00:17:14.541 --> 00:17:18.245 populace. Gage had only 2,000 troops in Boston. 00:17:18.466 --> 00:17:23.301 Remember how many people showed up at that meeting to say, uh-uh, this isn't working? 00:17:23.685 --> 00:17:31.821 3,000. So just in this one instance, there's 150% more people that show up with 00:17:31.821 --> 00:17:38.191 arms, with guns, than what Gage has in total of troops stationed in Boston. 00:17:38.789 --> 00:17:43.221 So, and then it says, there were thousands of armed men in Boston alone and 00:17:43.221 --> 00:17:44.675 more in the surrounding area. 00:17:45.384 --> 00:17:49.970 One response to the problem was to deprive the Americans of gunpowder. 00:17:50.707 --> 00:17:53.802 So this is an interesting thing to understand about the time, right? 00:17:53.802 --> 00:17:57.702 So at this time, gunpowder is not what we're used to today. 00:17:57.702 --> 00:18:01.802 Like smokeless gunpowder that we're used to is very stable. Like it's not volatile, right? 00:18:01.802 --> 00:18:05.022 But in the 18th century, black powder was far more volatile. 00:18:05.022 --> 00:18:08.362 And so it generally was not the kind of thing you would store at your home. 00:18:08.362 --> 00:18:12.492 And so towns like Boston, for example, would have a powder house. 00:18:12.492 --> 00:18:15.692 And a powder house is generally a very reinforced brick building. 00:18:15.692 --> 00:18:21.352 And the powder house is where they would hold these reserves of the powder for use for anybody. 00:18:21.352 --> 00:18:24.002 I mean, certainly the government would keep it there. The soldiers would keep 00:18:24.002 --> 00:18:29.612 it there. But also, even individuals would store their own personal reserve 00:18:29.612 --> 00:18:32.031 of powder at the powder house. 00:18:32.772 --> 00:18:37.852 And that was just kind of the way it all worked. And it was just the nature 00:18:37.852 --> 00:18:40.942 of that beast. And so think about it. If you're Governor Gage and you're like, 00:18:40.942 --> 00:18:44.228 okay, well, I can't fight in quantity. 00:18:44.437 --> 00:18:45.905 They have more people than I do. 00:18:47.072 --> 00:18:50.892 It would seem like a relatively solution in his mind to, hey, 00:18:50.892 --> 00:18:53.318 let's just go seize all the black powder. That'll solve this problem. 00:18:53.771 --> 00:18:58.632 Yeah. Typically, families or individuals at this time would keep probably only 00:18:59.512 --> 00:19:03.727 The amount that would be held in their powder horn at home. 00:19:04.057 --> 00:19:07.872 You know, which would hold enough for a number, you know, dozens and dozens 00:19:07.872 --> 00:19:11.562 of shots, you know, but it was a relatively small quantity, you know, 00:19:11.562 --> 00:19:15.864 maybe an eighth of a pound, maybe a quarter of the pound at the most. 00:19:16.194 --> 00:19:19.192 And so, like you said, you know, the larger quantities, you know, 00:19:19.192 --> 00:19:25.256 a pound, a keg, whatever would be kept usually at a local powder house. 00:19:25.767 --> 00:19:30.192 So General Gage had this incredibly bright idea, you know, which was rather 00:19:30.192 --> 00:19:33.725 than go directly to the citizens and take their guns, 00:19:34.463 --> 00:19:39.302 you know, let's go and seize their powder houses and take all their powder. 00:19:39.302 --> 00:19:42.822 And then they can't, you know, plus there would also be, you know, 00:19:42.822 --> 00:19:47.882 guns as well, public arms that were kept in these powder houses as well for 00:19:47.882 --> 00:19:49.652 the local townspeople, the local 00:19:49.652 --> 00:19:52.870 militia or whatever, although most individuals did have their own guns. 00:19:53.149 --> 00:19:57.921 So rather than take the guns directly, let's just go to the powder house and take all this powder. 00:19:58.252 --> 00:20:01.852 And that would limit their ability to, you know, they'd probably still have 00:20:01.852 --> 00:20:05.892 some smaller amounts that would continue to allow them to hunt and provide for 00:20:05.892 --> 00:20:10.572 their families, but they wouldn't have the ability to put on a huge uprising 00:20:10.572 --> 00:20:11.369 against the government. 00:20:11.851 --> 00:20:19.612 So on September 1st, 1774, 260 of Gage's redcoats sailed up the Mystic River 00:20:19.612 --> 00:20:24.373 and seized hundreds of barrels of powder from the Charleston Powder House. 00:20:25.539 --> 00:20:30.002 And so this is interesting. Quoting still from the article, the powder alarm, 00:20:30.002 --> 00:20:32.558 as it became known, was a serious provocation. 00:20:32.963 --> 00:20:39.522 By the end of the day, 20,000 militiamen had mobilized and started marching towards Boston. 00:20:40.569 --> 00:20:43.022 How many troops did he have there? A tenth of that. 00:20:43.042 --> 00:20:44.830 In 2000. 00:20:44.986 --> 00:20:49.182 In Connecticut and Western Massachusetts, rumors quickly spread that the powder 00:20:49.182 --> 00:20:52.242 alarm had actually involved fighting in the streets of Boston. 00:20:52.579 --> 00:20:54.035 Probably not entirely true, right? 00:20:54.395 --> 00:20:58.742 But more accurate reports reached the militia companies before that militia 00:20:58.742 --> 00:21:02.312 reached Boston, and so the war did not begin in September. I mean, 00:21:02.312 --> 00:21:08.367 we had this moment right there in history where a pretty significant war could have started. 00:21:09.208 --> 00:21:14.392 The message, though, was unmistakable. If the British used violence to seize 00:21:14.392 --> 00:21:19.739 arms or powder, the Americans would treat that violent seizure as an act of war and would fight. 00:21:20.394 --> 00:21:24.023 And that is exactly what happened several months later on April 19th, 00:21:24.185 --> 00:21:28.446 1775. So that brings us to a very key moment in history. 00:21:29.369 --> 00:21:32.112 Yeah, so I want to take a pause here and just point something out. 00:21:32.112 --> 00:21:37.642 You know, I was, we had a guy recently write a comment on, we have an article 00:21:37.642 --> 00:21:41.896 on our website about, you know, is there or is there not a national registry of firearms? 00:21:42.442 --> 00:21:45.822 And he wrote a comment, I can't remember his name, but it was a really thought 00:21:45.822 --> 00:21:48.522 out comment. And he said something to the effect of, you know, 00:21:48.522 --> 00:21:53.425 how do we call up a militia if we don't have a list of gun owners? 00:21:55.659 --> 00:22:00.049 And, you know, I remember I read the comment like in my email and I was like, 00:22:00.049 --> 00:22:02.213 oh, I'm going to have to think about this before I respond. 00:22:02.486 --> 00:22:05.203 But then, you know, I started thinking about these stories. 00:22:05.900 --> 00:22:11.107 Like you're talking about 1700s, you know, like there are no phones. 00:22:12.199 --> 00:22:14.969 There are newspapers, but they're, you know, I mean, think about how they're 00:22:14.969 --> 00:22:15.936 actually getting printed. 00:22:16.899 --> 00:22:20.279 You know, there's no texting. There's no nothing, right? No TV. 00:22:21.079 --> 00:22:25.339 And all of a sudden, I mean, early in the morning, you can have 200 and something 00:22:25.339 --> 00:22:27.285 redcoats go steal some gunpowder. 00:22:27.488 --> 00:22:33.206 And by the end of the same day, 20,000 citizens with guns are mobilized and are marching. 00:22:34.076 --> 00:22:38.905 That's huge. That is incredible, is what it is. 00:22:38.905 --> 00:22:44.685 Yeah, that's the point. A militia is not an organized, as the founding fathers 00:22:44.685 --> 00:22:49.622 saw it, a militia was not like a list of troops organized and ran by the government. 00:22:50.545 --> 00:22:55.595 Our founding fathers saw the word or the idea of a militia as just people, 00:22:56.083 --> 00:22:59.135 like just citizens, like you and me and our neighbors. 00:22:59.686 --> 00:23:05.671 Well, and why would a militia exist? It would exist because at this time, 00:23:05.944 --> 00:23:10.031 I mean, the new world is still a very volatile place. 00:23:10.484 --> 00:23:16.469 I mean, at this time, at this point, it's relatively stable for the most part, but it would not be 00:23:17.865 --> 00:23:20.445 totally out of this world for 00:23:20.445 --> 00:23:25.907 some other rival nation of Great Britain to come and try to take control. 00:23:27.365 --> 00:23:35.655 And so people in the Americas were used to needing to be prepared and defend 00:23:35.655 --> 00:23:37.007 themselves if necessary. 00:23:37.239 --> 00:23:40.942 Also, I mean, there were issues from time to time with Indians as well. 00:23:41.331 --> 00:23:47.978 And so you could quickly assemble the townspeople to fight back and to defend themselves. 00:23:48.332 --> 00:23:56.169 And so this is not – you're right in that it's not an extremely well-organized entity that – 00:23:57.004 --> 00:24:02.321 Uh, but yet, you know, it could quickly become such because that was just the nature of the people. 00:24:02.791 --> 00:24:06.953 Uh, and so, yeah, there, there was no need for a list of, of people. 00:24:07.203 --> 00:24:09.571 There was no need for a list of arms or equipment. 00:24:09.896 --> 00:24:13.935 It simply was, you know, people banding together. And I kind of see this 20,000 00:24:13.935 --> 00:24:17.945 people marching towards Boston as probably starting with a dozen, 00:24:17.945 --> 00:24:19.800 you know, and they start marching their way. 00:24:20.154 --> 00:24:24.625 And as they go, every little town and community they come upon is like, 00:24:24.625 --> 00:24:26.745 you know, where are you going? 00:24:27.085 --> 00:24:31.485 We're going to Boston. This is what happened over here. Join up with us now. Okay. 00:24:32.245 --> 00:24:36.345 Drop your plows and your shovels and whatnot and grab your guns. 00:24:38.933 --> 00:24:42.685 I'm sure it started relatively small and just it grew and grew and grew as they 00:24:42.685 --> 00:24:43.751 made their way towards the town. 00:24:44.059 --> 00:24:48.595 And then, of course, how did word get around? Well, it got around by people 00:24:48.595 --> 00:24:51.379 on horses like Paul Revere. 00:24:51.692 --> 00:24:52.499 Right. 00:24:52.749 --> 00:24:59.435 So it's a fascinating thing, though. I mean, it's rare that you see masses of 00:24:59.435 --> 00:25:04.035 people to that extent assemble so rapidly. 00:25:04.035 --> 00:25:12.085 I mean, like, you know, in the morning, General Gage's Redcoats sees the powder 00:25:12.085 --> 00:25:17.645 horse there at a powder house at Charleston and by, or Charlestown, 00:25:17.645 --> 00:25:19.003 excuse me, by the end of the day, 00:25:19.815 --> 00:25:21.235 20,000 people are assembled. 00:25:21.235 --> 00:25:24.639 Oh, just, it's a, it's a remarkable story in history. Yeah. 00:25:25.528 --> 00:25:31.618 Yeah, it's powerful. And from there, we see a series of local counties and towns 00:25:31.902 --> 00:25:36.074 who start to create these resolves and these documents where they essentially 00:25:36.074 --> 00:25:38.664 say, hey, we're taking control now. 00:25:38.664 --> 00:25:42.009 We're going to form our own local government. We're going to take control of the local militia. 00:25:42.305 --> 00:25:45.596 We're replacing the government appointed officers and we're going to elect our own. 00:25:45.991 --> 00:25:49.195 And you see this happen, you know, in several kind of places, 00:25:49.774 --> 00:25:53.644 you know, immediately following this initial powder alarm when the citizens 00:25:53.644 --> 00:25:56.554 start to realize, like, okay, like, we get their game. 00:25:56.554 --> 00:25:59.643 Like, they can't beat us in numbers, so they're going to try and take our guns 00:25:59.875 --> 00:26:01.791 or our ability to use the guns in this case. 00:26:02.064 --> 00:26:08.174 Yep. And so, you know, over the next several months, remember we were in September 00:26:08.174 --> 00:26:13.505 of 1774, and we're leading up to April 19th, 1775. 00:26:13.906 --> 00:26:20.014 Over these months, like you said, there's a number of times where local government 00:26:20.014 --> 00:26:23.072 and not British government, but people try to assemble. 00:26:23.368 --> 00:26:30.230 They created a First Continental Congress. They created a Massachusetts Assembly. 00:26:31.714 --> 00:26:35.214 And the General Gage, he declared that assembly illegal. He says, 00:26:35.214 --> 00:26:36.557 you're not authorized to do this. 00:26:38.254 --> 00:26:43.974 And so all this is going on. The Redcoats begin to search people, 00:26:43.974 --> 00:26:48.440 search their homes, their businesses for guns and ammunition. 00:26:49.194 --> 00:26:54.094 And then quoting again from David Koppel's article, according to the Boston 00:26:54.094 --> 00:26:59.264 Gazette of all General Gage's offenses, quote, what most irritated the people 00:26:59.264 --> 00:27:02.516 was seizing their arms and ammunition. 00:27:03.484 --> 00:27:07.807 So, that's going on and the people are just day by day, week by week, 00:27:07.807 --> 00:27:11.449 month by month are getting more and more and more upset and ticked off. 00:27:12.151 --> 00:27:16.812 And so, just because of time, I'm going to kind of fast forward a little bit. 00:27:17.387 --> 00:27:24.736 All this leads pretty much right up to this date that I mentioned, which was April 19th, 00:27:25.003 --> 00:27:32.187 1775, which is… Just a quick interjection there, Riley, because I think just worth noting, okay? 00:27:33.067 --> 00:27:35.537 You mentioned a quote from the Boston Gazette. I just didn't want any of our 00:27:35.537 --> 00:27:37.287 listeners to get confused. 00:27:37.947 --> 00:27:41.843 That was not a quote from the modern Boston Gazette talking about a long time ago. 00:27:42.221 --> 00:27:45.501 The Boston Gazette is the oldest newspaper in America, if I'm not mistaken. 00:27:45.814 --> 00:27:48.601 It was first published in 1719. 00:27:49.100 --> 00:27:55.427 Wow. So we're talking about, at the time, this is what the Boston Gazette said. 00:27:56.808 --> 00:28:01.417 Yeah, yeah. Oh, you know, I just was reminded, too, there was one other thing I wanted to mention. 00:28:01.527 --> 00:28:05.654 That in between September of 1774 and April 1775, 00:28:07.454 --> 00:28:14.447 there was a resolution made in English Parliament, which was supported by King 00:28:14.447 --> 00:28:18.913 George III, saying, you know, we're going to disarm the Americans. 00:28:19.221 --> 00:28:22.567 Because, you know, they're being told, hey, we cannot do what we need to do 00:28:22.567 --> 00:28:24.805 there in the Americas because of their arms. 00:28:25.432 --> 00:28:31.147 And so, you know, they said, let's disarm New England, which, 00:28:31.467 --> 00:28:35.207 you know, the Northeast, Massachusetts and so forth. Gage replied 00:28:37.605 --> 00:28:40.107 To the king and to parliament saying, we would like to do so, 00:28:40.107 --> 00:28:43.102 but it's impossible to do so without the use of force. 00:28:44.119 --> 00:28:50.184 So what happened was, oh, and then they had an embargo against importation of 00:28:50.184 --> 00:28:52.059 arms and ammunition into America. 00:28:52.489 --> 00:28:58.784 And behind the scenes, Ben Franklin, good old Ben Franklin, was managing to 00:28:58.784 --> 00:29:01.784 import arms and ammunition from Netherlands, France, and Spain. 00:29:02.688 --> 00:29:11.334 This, you know, begins a, you know, what's the word, an alignment or, 00:29:11.334 --> 00:29:17.164 you know, these three countries right there become allies of America for a long time to come. 00:29:17.164 --> 00:29:20.910 You know, France, Spain, you know, continue to support America even, 00:29:21.247 --> 00:29:25.404 you know, well after this point, you know, up through the War of 1812 and so 00:29:25.404 --> 00:29:28.961 forth, you know, providing resources to the Americas. 00:29:29.490 --> 00:29:33.890 But anyway, there was a – in December of 1774, 00:29:34.544 --> 00:29:39.564 there was a report that there were two British warships heading to Fort William 00:29:39.564 --> 00:29:44.536 and Mary near Portsmouth, New Hampshire to seize guns, cannons, and gunpowder. 00:29:45.332 --> 00:29:46.746 Paul Revere was sent. 00:29:49.664 --> 00:29:53.781 This is before the later event, which we're coming to, right? 00:29:54.228 --> 00:30:02.257 So he's sent to give them heads up and warning, which they received. 00:30:02.808 --> 00:30:08.195 So anyway, continuing on and on, there's so many amazing stories that occur during this time. 00:30:08.613 --> 00:30:16.740 But as you are probably getting a sense for just tensions continue to grow and grow and grow. 00:30:17.541 --> 00:30:21.024 And so that leads us to Lexington and Concord. 00:30:23.014 --> 00:30:24.752