Greek Independence and the American Revolution

Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness: 250 Years of the Declaration of Independence · Oct 8, 2026 · 1h 4m · transcript

with Andrew Sola and Prof. Nicholas Doumanis (U. of Illinois-Chicago)

In this episode, we explore the links between the Greek War of Independence (1821-1829) and the American War for Independence.

Topics include the following:

-Thomas Jefferson's life-long interest in Ancient Greek philosophy and political thought

-the broad influence of Ancient Greek thinkers on all of the American Founders

-an overview of Greek history, including the Orlov Revolt from 1770-1771

-the state of "Greece" in 1776

-Ottoman control over Greek/Christian communities and the slow realization in the 18th century that…