During the American Revolution, Brits weren’t just facing off against white Protestant Christians − US patriots are diverse and have been since Day 1

A detail from the Washington Monument in Philadelphia, sculpted by Rudolf Siemering. PHAS/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

In 1770, Barnard Gratz of Philadelphia wrote to a friend complaining about a recent speech by King George III. Gratz, an American patriot, wrote that the speech “was such narishkeit” that it was “not worth the postage.”

Narishkeit is Yiddish for “nonsense.”