Module 5 Written Assignment
1. The American Revolution was a modern and democratic revolution headed by the upper middle class and had three key phases, a moderate beginning, radical middle, and a conservative end.
The American Revolution was precipitated by the irritation of the wealthy due to tax acts imposed by Britain on the colonies. The rich did not like the taxes because of the negative effect the tax acts had on personal financial interests, but the Colonial masses were convinced by men like John Dickinson and Patrick Henry; Dickinson wrote extensively on how the British collection of taxes on the Colonies was illegal and Henry believed taxation shouldn’t be allowed unless the Colonies were properly represented. The writings of John Locke were also influential in creating interest for breaking away from Great Britain.
Eventually measures like the 1773 Tea Act, which gave the East India Company a monopoly on tea sales, and the closing of the Caribbean trade made rebellion inevitable. The radical phase of the revolution was underway and led by men like Samuel Adams, Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Paine; all were ideologues who wanted independence and the creation a republic that stressed equality. However, the ideals of equality that dominated the radical phase of the revolution from 1776-1783 would not last.
The patriotic elite benefitted from the revolution in a few different ways. Independence from Great Britain lifted the constraints of taxes, but the elite also
The American Revolution, from 1765 to 1783, was a great movement and major changing point for the colonists. The colonists were fed up with all the taxes and unnecessary mistreatment that had been placed on them. The colonists finally had revolted against the British and surprisingly had taken the victory. The colonists were considered underdogs against the very powerful Britain and with much devotion and heart, the colonists pulled out a victory. Taking the victory was a huge turning point because now the colonists were free from British power and were able to form a nation of their own. The wealthy had lots of power and it affected the society a lot. America had created a new government and society, but it led to many problems and protests.
In regards to the American Revolution, the point that armed rebellion became inevitable arrived when after nearly five constant years of American colonist protesting. American 's had enough and needed to take a stand for the numerous inequalities they were forced to deal with. It was foreseeable that the American Revolution took place due to the unfair taxes that the British were giving Americans. Also, England was not allowing Americans their freedom, along with violence and the political dominance by the Parliament over the colonies by announcing the Stamp Act in 1765, which happened to nearly affect all Americans tremendously.
The American Revolution started when Britain started to tax the colonists without their consent. The stamp acts started a chain reaction of discontent. The colonists realized they were being treated unfairly and unequal to the citizens in Britain. Around this time when the Americans were facing discontent, many Enlightenment ideas were spreading. The colonists took many ideas like John Locke’s into mind when they planned their revolts. They were fighting for natural rights of
Between 1770 and 1776, resistance to imperial change turned into a full-on revolution. The American Revolution, also known as the Revolutionary War, was a time of revolting and political uprising, in which the 13 colonies separated from the British Empire, forming the independent nation known as the United States of America. Though the American Revolution began because the colonies wanted independence from Britain, many important historical events and revolts also lead to the tensions and resistance to what resulted in freedom and independence for the colonies from British rule. Events such as the Stamp and Sugar Acts, the Boston Massacre, Boston Tea Party, Intolerable Acts, and the Continental Congress led to expanding tensions and soon to the outbreak of the American Revolution.
The American Revolution set the ground work for a major change in the New England colonies. It was a time of significant governmental changes on political and social levels, and a growing ideology on the obedience of a women and the dissolution of slavery.
The American Revolution modeled the path taken by a social and economic movement in many more aspects than that of a political and intellectual movement. Even though political reasons existed for the cause the Revolution, the revolution should be considered an economic movement based on the idea of “no taxation without representation.” The colonists believed that the British rule in the colonies was extremely unfair, but these intellectual causes are greatly outnumbered by economic causes such as taxes and trade.
“The revolution was effected before the war commenced. The revolution was in the minds and hearts of the people.” - John Adams, 1818
When the American Revolution first broke out, many countries did not give the colonies more than a passing thought; most assumed that this rebellion would quickly be quelled by the world renowned British army and the colonies would once again be under their control. However, under the leadership of military officers and the guidance of laws and proclamations set forth by the Founding Fathers, America succeeded in their revolution against the control of Britain. Textbooks and teachers have praised America for years, stating that the revolution was a major turning point in world history, setting precedence for future revolutions, such as the French Revolution just a decade after the American Revolution ended. However, in later years, historians have begun to argue that the American Revolution was not the first of its kind, or unique in the way researchers previously stated. The Declaration of Independence, though groundbreaking in its own right, was influenced by documents and declarations in the English Civil War, such as the Petition of Rights and the English Bill of Rights. The Declaration of Independence, in turn, was a base for the authors and contributors of France’s Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen. Furthermore, for all the connections in the chain of antecedents for these documents and the documents themselves, such as philosophical and religious writings, they did not build off of each other in terms of giving rights to more and more people; women and other
A main reason for the revolution was the influence of the form of government on its people. For America, it was the change from a monarchy to a republic. The freedoms of the citizens in the colonies felt they were being denied what was rightfully theirs. This was the main reason for the switch to democracy. This allowed for the people to a choice in how they were governed and by whom. This was a radical change from the monarchal government of Britain because before taxes and laws were pushed onto these citizens they had a luxury of not being taxed prior French and Indian War. Although this became the case, many rich prior Revolution stayed in power, an example of these influential people are the plantation owners and wealthy families. Power was often derived from money in the colonial times, and this was proven to be true as people like Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, and much more were influential in
The American Revolution is typically looked at as a conservative movement, but it seems most of the actions taken were very radical. They were fighting to defend their rights, governed and natural. The American Revolution was as radical as any other revolution, in a special 18th century way, and this seems to hold true while looking at the new waves of thinking. It involves the Whigs and Tories, and while they are at opposite sides of the spectrum, they consecutively agreed to not address and higher-law principles so they would not have to rework their entire system.. The Revolution worked against this, and the parties chose to pretend it was not a serious movement and act, as they believed it would not take any effect. More people got involved and all aspects of life began to be questioned and revolutionized. The Revolution seems to be radical in a more definitive way as it caused segregation of beliefs, the Declaration of independence, and
war, it is a sign of radical action. Britains' army was four times as big
The American Revolution was not just a war over independence but a political revolution that led to the separation between the colonies and Great Britain. The colonies were exhausted with all with acts that taxed them. Like the Revenue Act placed goods such as wool and hides, which had been previously trade freely with other European countries but now the trade had to go through England ending with high prices on the goods (Fonor 173). Moreover this created more issues one of them was not being able to buy from other cheaper trading goods companies and just relying on the high price on England goods an issue that was discussed in class on July 13. The revolution brought new changes to what has been a monarchical style of government over the
The American Revolution caused an immense separation of the rich and poor. Taxes increased tremendously because they needed to find a way to pay for the war. They thought what better way to gain money then to tax the uneducated which meant the poor. The poor people felt the revolutionary
The Road to the Revolution was the product of 40 years of abuses by the British authorities that many colonists regarded as a threat to their liberty and property. The Revolution resulted from the way the colonist interpreted events. “You will never know how much it has cost my generation to preserve your freedom. I hope you make good use of it” that quote was from John Adams.“Don’t fire unless fired upon, but if they mean to have war, let it begin here’’ - Captain John Parker, 1175. Captain John Parker was an American colonial farmer, mechanic, soldier, and colonial militia, he faced British troops on Legington common; he was in the revolutionary war he died in Bunker Hill because, what is called Tuberculosis.
The American Revolution, perhaps the most significant event in the history of the United States, was indeed radical enough to be considered a true revolution. One historian stated that, “The founding generation articulated enduring political questions and provided the structures by which we still conduct our political lives” (Kerber 25) to emphasize the enormous impact that the revolutionaries had on contemporary American society. These questions and structures however do not only pertain to America’s political system and ideals; they also greatly changed American social standards and practices throughout the years directly preceding and following the revolution.