On Correcting Mistaken Ideas on the American Revolution
Abstract
It has been said that General George Washington, Commander in Chief of the Continental Army, did not fight a true guerrilla war to liberate the people of the Americas from enemy colonialism. It is true that General Washington did not see the political uses to which the Continental Army could be put since he was unschooled in the theory of revolutionary war. It also is true that the revolutionary war was not supported by peasants struggling to achieve an agrarian revolution. And yet, General Washington fought and won a protracted people's war. How can this be so? Often, wars of strong imperialist powers against weak and agrarian colonies lead to national subjugation. A thorough study of the interconnections of all factors on the enemy's side and on the American side leads one to conclude that the American revolutionary war was a protracted war because the enemy side had shortcomings and the American side had advantages. General Washington reduced the enemy's advantages and aggravated his shortcomings. On the other hand, General Washington also enhanced his advantages and remedied his shortcomings and thus won his final victory and averted subjugation. The British enemy, ultimately doomed to defeat, could not avert the collapse of his whole imperialist system. How did General Washington do this? Through properly assessing the characteristics of the American revolutionary war, it was clear that the only path to victory against the British enemy lay in the application of three principles of revolutionary war: attacking weakness, avoiding strength, and being patient. These principles were applied in the three stages of revolutionary war: strategic defensive, strategic stalemate, and strategic offensive. [Editor's note: This essay is reputed to be authored by Mao Zedong. If so, this would be the only known work of Mao's to examine the revolutionary nature of the American war of independence.]
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1998
- Accession Number
- ADA441442
Entities
People
- Sharon Squassoni
Organizations
- National War College