"I Would Rather Be Lucky Than Good" The Lucky Events of 1776

Lefty Gomez, an all star pitcher for the New York Yankess in the 1930s is credited with the phrase, " I would rather be lucky than good."  Luck can never replace preparation. Luck can never replace hard work, but luck can and does sometimes override both.  George Washington had his heart set on beating back the British from New York. King George III sent over the largest armada of ships and men to ever sail the Atlantic (up until World War l) to quash the American rebellion. The man leading the army was William Howe. The man leading the navy, was his brother Richard Howe.  Lord Germain's strategy was to strike hard and fast. The idea was to crush the American army with one fell swoop, thereby ending the war.  What no one could have foreseen was the great luck that fell on the side of the Americans despite their enormous disadvantages.

                               General William Howe                 Admiral Richard Howe

The first bit of luck for America, was motive based.  King George was angry. He was not in a mood to compromise. His minister, Lord Germain understood this and sent the ships and manpower over  capable of crushing the insurrection.  Meanwhile, the brothers in charge, Admiral Richard and General William Howe, secretly desired to negotiate a peace.  Both brothers held sentimental appreciation for the people of Massachusetts after they raised funds to erect a statue of their brother George Howe in Westminster Abbey, London, to honor him for his contributions in the French and Indian War.  General Henry Clinton, in his memoirs, outlines specifically how the British forces should have crushed the American army after the Battle of Long Island. George Washington's troops were trapped and could have been bottlenecked by both General William Howe's men and Admiral Richard Howe's ships. Instead of seizing on the obvious opportunity to entrap the Continental Army, the Howe brothers intentionally decided not move forward. After the Battle of Long Island, Admiral Richard Howe invited two captured American officers, Lord Sterling and General John Sullivan to his ship to persuade them that a peace could be brokered. Meanwhile, General Washington was desperately moving his Continental Army off the island. Fortuitously, the task of transporting the whole army was possible due to a lucky change in wind conditions,  while Admiral Howe was distracted.  When dawn broke and the escape plan was about to be exposed and stopped, a thick, heavy fog settled, sealing everything out of sight.  The fog was so thick, vision was limited to six feet. 

Thankfully and with a lot of luck, the Continental army was able to escape to survive another day.  It is debatable as to whether the revolution would have carried on had the British destroyed the Americans in New York. What is not debatable is the fact that the struggling army made it possible for the American Revolution to carry on.  Luck, fate, good fortune?  However you describe it, sometimes it is definitely better to be lucky than good,  no matter how you look at it.

The Power of History: Historical Knowledge Saved This Country

John Adams

Many revolutions have come and gone. The French Revolution occurred shortly after the American Revolution. It involved many governments set up as tumbingling houses of cards with thousands of heads rolling off a guillotine. So what made the American Revolution successful?  How has America been able to stand the test of time and emerge as the world's leading democracy? John Adams was a student of history. His appetite for the classics and world histories was voracious. One can visit his historic landmark house in Massachusetts today and witness first hand a large and magnificent library that takes up a whole room from floor to ceiling on all sides. As a student of history, he knew that success was not in declaring a revolution, but sustaining it afterwards.

Although the Declaration of Independence is celebrated as the landmark moment of our budding republic, it is not our country's most important decision. It was John Adams who insisted that before independence could be declared, there must be a stable form of government in place in each of the thirteen colonies. On May 12, 1776, the Continental Congress resolved that a new state constitution be created in each of the colonies.  John Adams described this as "the most important resolution that was ever taken place in America."{Joseph Ellis, Revolutionary Summer,( US: Alfred. A Knopf: 2013), 17} It was critical that the new nation have states which formed governments that would support the budding republic.  Three colonies, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey, asked John Adams to provide insight on what would formulate a strong, democratic state governing system. This is why Adams, revered as a leading constitutional thinker, published his great work Thoughts on Government. Stability and popular consent are key tenets in government. The fact that there was a safety net for which the young country could fall into was key in preventing  a takeover from various factions or rogue leaders (as so often happens, ranging from Napoleon Bonaparte to Fidel Castro). 

Not only was John Adams' study of history critical in the formation of our government, it served an important role when the British started winning the military battle for our country. After the Battle of Long Island and the landing of the largest armada overseas up until World War I, many Continental Congress delegates were disheartened.  George Washington was ashamed at how his troops responded, and he was trapped in a precarious postion. Yet it was stalwart Adams, chairman of the Board of War and Ordnance, who reflected on history for inspiration. Reflecting on Greek and Roman history, he reminded a downcast General Henry Knox of how Hannibal managed to lose the Punic war despite winning the battles. He referred to Thebes in the Peloponnesian War who won by a nontraditional strategy of skirmishing and retreat.  His references to history were the perfect way to keep both Congress and the Army hopeful.

Most challenges and issues in today's governments involve concerns that may be new, but ramifications that are as old as the pyramids.  To study history is to seek wisdom for solving today's problems with the yesterday's solutions.  The United States was so fortunate to have a statesman who valued historical lessons. With this knowledge, he was able to provide both a foundation for our country's progress and a moral comfort much needed to the military troops. John Adams was a shrewd leader.  May we all learn that with history, we can bring more to the table.