Rick Perry on the Revolutionary War: Fail

On the campaign trail with Felicia Sonmez

After spending 90 minutes debating his rivals for the Republican presidential nomination, Rick Perry decided to go over to the Beta Theta Pi fraternity house and talk a little history and states’ rights, a favorite topic of the 10th amendment enthusiast.

Republican presidential hopeful Texas Gov. Rick Perry. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall) (Charlie Neibergall - AP)

NBC’s Carrie Dann reported that Perry suffered a “head-slapping gaffe” after the debate when he answered a young woman’s question by saying that one of the “reasons we fought the revolution in the 16th century was to get away from the kind of onerous crown.”

But as most history buffs know, the American revolution was fought in the 18th century.

Early on in her 2012 campaign, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) made a similar historical gaffe, confusing Concord, N.H., with Concord, Mass.,when discussing the first battle of the Revolutionary War.

These mistakes could matter to the tea party crowd, which takes its name from a chapter in Revolutionary period, when colonists dumped tea in the Boston Harbor (although they’re still big fans of Perry and his platform).

But for Perry, who has had a couple of awkward debate performances, more missteps of this sort only add to the narrative that the Texas governor is prone to big gaffes.

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