(curious upbeat jingle) (intense curious music) - Today the Senate majority will cancel legislation.

- I will fight like hell for you every single day, like I've always done.

- Welcome to this week's edition of New York Now.

I'm Shantel Destra.

The year 2026 marks the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

With celebrations across the nation, it is a big moment for reflection, revisiting history, and unpacking legacy.

The milestone also is an opportunity to look at the Revolutionary War, which started in 1775 and which afforded the 13 colonies the ability to forge a new path forward without British control.

But this isn't simply just national history.

Locally, New York has a deeply celebrated place in the history of the American Revolution with the historic Battle of Saratoga in 1777 and a slew of historic sites from the war across the state.

In this next segment, we'll take a look at how New York is upholding the legacy of the Revolutionary War from exhibits at the State Museum to telling the stories of the everyday people who were vital to America's victory.

Here's that story.

The year 2025 marks a historic year for the United States of America with the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution.

The Revolutionary War, which served as the catalyst for modern America's fight for independence from Great Britain, lasted about eight years from 1775 to 1783.

Maeve Kane, an associate history professor at SUNY Albany, says the significance of the history and legacy of the Revolutionary War cannot be overstated.

- The American Revolution is probably one of the most radically significant events in human history.

The idea that all people should have a say in their government, that all people should participate in the government, and the American Revolution puts that into action as the first step towards that.

So, with the Declaration of Independence in 1776 through to the writing of the Constitution in the 1780s, the American Revolution is really about who has the right to govern themselves and how do people claim that and make space for themselves in the government.

- SUNY Albany associate history professor and cultural historian, Christopher Pastore, says the 250th anniversary is important because it reminds the country and the world about the journey of the United States becoming independent.

- This is a celebration of people who came together in search of creating a democratic republic.

Now, at the time of the American Revolution, they were fighting, at least initially, to restore what they imagined as their British liberties, but over time, it became apparent that independence was necessary , and with that they sought to create something new.

- Many modern day historians assert that one of the reasons that the Revolutionary War is often regarded as groundbreaking is because of the nature of the war.

The war turned brother against brother and neighbor against neighbor all based on ideology.

Americans were met with a choice between fighting for independence or being British patriot loyalists.

Christopher Brown, a British empire historian and professor with Columbia University, underscores that significance.

- I think people need to understand that the American Revolution was a real war, with, over the course of eight years, which is a long time, you know, more than 100,000 dead on both sides, British, patriot, loyalist, Native American.

You know, sometimes the ideals and the values that come out, our legacies of the revolution, we forget just how bloody it was.

And it was really neighbor versus neighbor.

In some ways, it was even more of a Civil War than the Civil War because you had communities fighting with each other, not just a kind of sectional division between North and South.

- And Professor Pastore underscored the sentiment that the Revolutionary War was more than a war between the colonies and the British Empire.

It also has deep history involving New York State.

- The American Revolution wasn't just a war between the colonies and Britain itself.

It was a partisan war of neighbor versus neighbor.

And we see this in sharp relief in New York where patriots and Tories were fighting one another, you know, up and down the Hudson River Valley and across New York in quite often quite violent ways.

- In New York, the state's role in the Revolutionary War is one that is not just acknowledged, but also celebrated.

Historians see New York as playing a central role in the war.

One example of the state's role is the infamous Battle of Saratoga in 1777.

Historians also point to the Sullivan-Clinton expedition as another New York pivotal moment in the war.

- New York is the key to the continent.

The British knew that if they lost the geography of New York, they would lose the war.

So, that's why you see some of the major campaigns fought here.

The New York campaign in 1776, the Battles of Saratoga in '77, and the Sullivan-Clinton campaign of the Continental Army against the Haudenosaunee or Iroquois in 1779.

Like, New York is the revolution.

- New Yorkers understand that New York played a pivotal role in the American Revolution.

If we think about a major turning point in the war for independence, we could say that Saratoga, again, in 1777, was this, again, a pivotal point in the war that showed that Americans could beat British troops and that the war could be won by Americans.

And as a result this brought France's involvement.

And so without French help it's doubtful that Americans could have succeeded in the way that they did.

- To commemorate the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution, the New York State Museum will be debuting a Revolutionary New York exhibit.

Aaron Noble, who serves as a senior historian and curator with the New York State Museum, unpacks the exhibit.

- So, we're incredibly excited that we're finally seeing the process come to life and to be able to present this work to the New York visitors.

The exhibit will focus on New York as a pivotal, central theater of the American Revolution, the fact that the turning point of the American Revolution happened just north of Albany at Saratoga in 1777.

And then New York's revolutionary story really covers the entirety of the conflict from 1775 to the evacuation of New York City in 1783.

No other state can really cover every aspect of the war through its history the way that New York can.

- The exhibit will feature the Revolutionary War gunboat and it will also bring museum visitors through the history from the Revolutionary War to present day.

Another exhibit is the George Washington and American Paradox exhibit.

General Washington is known as the great American leader of the American Revolution, but Washington was also a complex individual.

The exhibit offers a complete history to the life of Washington as well as his contributions to the war.

Professor Brown says the 250th anniversary of the Revolutionary War is an opportunity to continue researching and diving into the different stories that make up the war.

- I do think that there can be a little bit of a sense with the American Revolution that, oh, we already know what that is.

We already know what that's about.

And I think as folks begin to scratch the surface and dig into both local resources and national resources, they will discover all kinds of stories and perspectives and vantage points and insights that are unfamiliar and hopefully will inspire curiosity to learn more and to build on that revolutionary heritage.

- Many historians say it's also important to highlight the different demographic groups that were pivotal to the war, and highlight the figures beyond the founding fathers.

Associate history professor Carl Bon Tempo underscore the importance of telling the stories of everyday people that fought in the war.

- Maybe one of the larger gaps in how we think this stuff through is that, you know, there's a sort of, focus, I'll call it a focus on the founders, right?

And so this idea that the founding generation, right, is what we should think about when we think about the American Revolution.

But also, you know, a lot of scholarship and what historians research and think about is about maybe other people who contributed to the revolution, sort of everyday folks, right?

And thinking about the ways in which, you know, just American women and enslaved African Americans, free Blacks, also Native Americans, all played a role in that revolutionary moment, right?

And I think sometimes I wish that that part of the story was more part of the public's discussion because I think what happens then is that we end up sort of lionizing the founding generation and you turn them almost into the statues that we see of them.

And statues are hard to relate to.

- And with the rich history of the American Revolution, historians can agree that so much can be gained from unpacking the impact and legacy of the war in present day.

They assert that it's important for historians to continue looking at that history in the years to come.

- There's so many lessons to be taken from the era of the war and, you know, America has always been an experiment and also an aspiration.

And so in that sense, the American Revolution is really never ending.

(intense curious music) - And for more on how New York is upholding the legacy of America's 250th, you can visit our website.

That's at nynow.org.

And when looking at New York's place in the American Revolution, we also have to consider just how the state is preserving the many sites that were central to the war across the state.

In this next segment, we'll sit down with Daniel Mackay, who serves as the Deputy Commissioner of Historic Preservation with the States Park's Office.

We spoke at length about how the department is informing New Yorkers that these sites even exist and the plans to ensure their upkeep in the years to come.

Here's that conversation.

(intense curious music) Thank you so much for speaking with us.

- Happy to be here.

- Now, as we approach the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution, can you help us understand the role of New York in that history and legacy?

- New York State is at the heart of the American Revolution and while Massachusetts lays claim to the start, Lexington and Concord and the Boston Tea Party, and Virginia claims the last major military engagement with the British, everything in between happened here in New York.

The social history here, the military history, the families that were torn apart by siding, you know, by being split by siding with both the British and with the colonists, it's complex, it is rich, it is deep, and there are sites across the state that have that story to tell and collectively tell that story quite effectively.

- Can you tell us about some of the historic sites of the American Revolution that are in and around the state?

What are the significance of these sites?

- So, starting with New York State Parks, there are over 50 state parks and historic sites that have some connection to the Revolutionary War.

And you know, there's the star, the signature sites like Washington's headquarters in Newburgh, and then there's sites like right here in the capital region, you've got Schuyler Mansion, where Philip Schuyler of Hamilton fame lived his life as a family man, as the owner of enslaved people, as a general in the American Revolution, a very complex history in that family.

It also includes sites like Fort Crailo across the river in Rensselaer which is the site where chronologically you would probably start your tour through the historic site system because that site is dedicated to the Dutch colonial period here in New York.

In between and across the state, there are historic forts.

Crown Point, Fort Niagara.

There is, outside of Rochester, an extraordinary site called Ganondagan, which interprets the history of the Seneca Indian, both historically and contemporaneously, and the experience of the Native Americans in that timeframe is complex.

There were Native American Tribes that sided with the colonies and there were Native American Tribes that sided with the British and the interplay just on that Native American issue spanned from the Hudson River to the Great Lakes.

So, it's a very deep, rich, complex history.

- Can you tell us about the work your office is doing to preserve and maintain these sites?

- Sure.

These are obviously sites that may, you know, require a great deal of stewardship and that work begins at the regional and site-specific level with highly competent staff, interpretive staff, site managers, who have been engaged with their regional directors and with my office, which sort of provides technical support to the historic site system.

And so we are overseeing interpretive programming development, new exhibits, creating and fabricating new exhibits for installation at those sites, and also advising on what type of repairs or improvement sites need, not only to steward a historic property but to create ADA access and, you know, meet other accessibility challenges.

So, the totality of that investment is significant and ongoing.

- Yeah, I can imagine.

How does your office approach research and documentation as it relates to these sites?

- We have substantial research capability here.

We have masters and PhD qualified staff that are in deep, deep research on the stories that each site can tell.

And there has been, I think to date, a fairly predominant main narrative, which has tended to focus on the owners of the property, you know, the Founding Fathers, whether it be John Jay or others that are, the Livingston family.

And what we've tried to do over the last decade is actually shift the focus, not away from those primary characters, but to elevate the secondary, you know, the additional stories on site.

So, the stories of the enslaved people who supported the working farms of founding Father John Jay.

The work, you know, the engagement of women and children in those families.

What were their roles and how did they engage with the moment and the challenges of the American Revolution?

You can move through our historic site system chronologically and follow the story.

You can also move through it thematically.

And it's the ability of our site system to hand off a visitor from one site to the next, but it's also our intent to be able to pass a visitor off to a locally owned site or to a national park site so that all these sites begin to blend together.

I mean, in total, there's probably over 200 publicly owned sites that have a Rev War historical connection, and they each have an authentic story to tell.

- Given that rich history of the American Revolution, I was curious how your office was ensuring that visitors of these sites are understanding the complete history of the American Revolution, and especially as you mentioned, all of the different types of people and groups that were pivotal to that war.

- The agency, the division here, which I oversee, has made a commitment to what we are, you know, a complete history approach.

And it's one that does seek to elevate, intentionally elevate, additional stories at any particular site.

And what we have chosen to call it is our whole history and that approach is one that we are hoping to further formalize sort of agency-wide is one that is committed to the basic concept that there is a richer, deeper history to be told about virtually every site.

- And how does your office balance the sometimes competing interest when it comes to preservation of the sites, but also encouraging visitation to these sites?

- Yeah, it's an interesting challenge.

The preservation of the sites is paramount.

It's one thing to go to a a singular museum to learn about the American Revolution, and so there are obviously museums and exhibits that intend to deliver those facts.

We think the authentic experience is out in the field.

It's on the location, it's on the hillside, it's, you know, the view that Washington had in the 1700s in Newburgh is, geographically speaking, largely intact today.

Yes, there's modern construction and buildings in that viewshed, but his view of the Hudson is still intact there.

His view south down to West Point is still intact there.

So, I think there's something to be said about preserving building and infrastructure and viewshed, which our agency is very committed to.

- And how are you hoping to ensure that future generations keep a connection to that history of the American Revolution and just the legacy of the war?

- Yeah, one of the, we are building a great deal of digital content and that is designed to, what digital content gives us is the ability to be nimble, to adapt and incorporate new information as it is researched and published.

And so it also extends the footprint of the historic site system.

I mean, it extends it globally through the internet, but I feel like the intent of that digital content is to, you can only fit so much information in a display case or so much information in an exhibit.

And so the digital content allows people to access primary documents, see the sources where we are generating our content from, follow leads down interesting rabbit holes to other pieces of the story.

And so that digital content piece is something that we have really shifted focus to, and we're actually going to be using some of the Rev War New York State 250th Commission allocation to further expand the digital content platform.

We have about 3,000 pages of content that we will be putting up fully onto the web that tells the full history of New York during that Revolutionary War period.

- Very important work and we really appreciate you taking the time to speak with us today, Commissioner.

- Thank you very much.

- And we were speaking with Daniel Mackay, Deputy Commissioner for Historic Preservation at the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation.

(intense curious music) And for more on our interview with Daniel Mackay, you can visit our website.

Again, that's at nynow.org.

And to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution, PBS has a landmark documentary produced by Ken Burns, Sarah Botstein and David Schmidt.

The six-part 12-hour documentary series takes viewers through the complex history of the 13 American colonies rising up against British control.

In this next segment, we'll see a trailer from that film.

Let's take a look.

(intense curious music) (intense inspirational music) - From a small spark kindled in America, a flame has arisen, not to be extinguished.

- We think about independence movements of the 20th century.

You don't always recognize the fact that the United States actually started that.

- The American Revolutionary Movement served as a model for freedom from oppression.

- America is predicated on an idea that tells us who we are, where we came from, and what our forbears were willing to die for.

- Colonists said no taxation without representation.

The fear was, if we give in to this precedent, what will they do in the future?

- Crisis changes people.

It gave different people different ideas about what they should be doing.

- It gave them a space to make this democracy real.

- The founders thought we can start over again.

We can begin the world anew.

- The British objective is to suppress the rebellion, force them to acknowledge the authority of the king.

- Washington understands the war he's fighting.

He doesn't have to win.

He only has not to lose.

- He becomes quite eloquent in trying to persuade people.

We're all Americans.

- We see regiments with individuals who are not carrying arms, doing essential labor, including women.

- They are at the forefront of this movement.

- One of the most remarkable aspects is that you had such different places come together as one nation.

- It mushrooms into a global campaign that touches Europe and all parts of the world.

- It so excites us that we are the product of a revolutionary moment where the world turned upside down.

- And for more on the PBS American Revolution documentary series, you can visit our website.

Again, that's at nynow.org.

You can also check your local listings to find out when the documentary will be shown by your local PBS station.

Lastly, for exclusive content, you can always subscribe to our newsletter by going to newsletter.nynow.org or by scanning the QR code on your screen.

Well, that does it for this edition of New York Now.

Thank you for tuning in and see you next week.

(intense curious music) - Funding for New York Now is provided by WNET.