Archaeological and Historical Perspectives
University of Notre Dame emeritus history professor Mark Shurr noted that in 1776, the region was Native American territory with little colonial infrastructure.
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"We don't know of any actual sites from that time period that have been recorded," he said.
Indiana University Northwest emeritus history professor James B. Lane described the Kankakee Marsh as a great habitat for waterfowl and raccoons.
He noted that the exact location of Jean Baptiste du Sable's trading post in the 1770s remains disputed.
"There's still a lot that historians don't know. The written record is kind of skippy," Lane said.
Pulitzer Prize finalist Nathaniel Philbrick reflected on whether American cultural traits would have survived a British victory.
He pointed to Benjamin Franklin's "Time is money" philosophy as distinctly American.
"I think there would have still been that kind of spirit," Philbrick said. He added that remaining part of England would have created a "ticking time bomb."
Philbrick noted that indigenous groups like the Iroquois were "decimated" after allying with the British. An alternate British victory would have left them "more powerful."
Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Joseph Ellis argued that demographic pressures and geographic resources made independence inevitable. "An island cannot rule a continent," he said.
Historian Serena Zabin speculated that Russia might have kept its Pacific coast holdings, envisioning a world where "the whole West Coast was Russian."
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She added that British forces would not have been interested in conflicts with Mexico.
