The American Revolution: A True Revolution Essay

The American Revolution resonated with all classes of society, as it stood to divide a nation’s loyalties and recreate the existing fabric of society. During the 1770s to mid 1780s, no group living in the British American colonies was left unaffected. For blacks enslaved in America, the war presented the fleeting possibility of freedom in a nation that was still dependent on an economic structure of oppression and bondage. For those blacks that were free, they chose their alliances wisely in hopes of gaining economic opportunities and improving their status in the American colonies. The American Negroes, whether free or enslaved, could be found on either side of the battlefront. They took on many different roles, some fighting on the

The author wrote this book to summarize the Revolution Era with a brief description of the pre-revolution; with some analytical arguments and opinions incorporated within the book. Morgan takes into prospective the actual motives behind the founding fathers' decision during the Revolution, which he claims to have been driven by their personal benefits. This shows as slavery was not eliminated even though a fundamental basis of the revolution was human equality. Morgan aimed to make an easily accessible outline of the Revolution Era, backed with several documents which critical to the outline; such as, The Constitution of the United States and the Articles of Confederation. He also devoted several pages outlining important dates mentioned throughout the book.

During the 1950's the mainstream historical thinking concentrated on the idea that the American Revolution was a conservative movement which did not cause great political or social upheavals. Many looked at the later French Revolution as an example of a more radicalized and revolutionary movement and determined that the American Revolution was tame by comparison. And while it is true that many of the legal and political arguments made by the Americans were based in English legal tradition, much of the spirit of the Revolution came from the ideals of the Enlightenment. It is because of this combination of origins that the American Revolution did not become as violent or chaotic as the one in France. However, it is also because of this combination that the American Revolution started out as a conservative movement to reclaim traditional rights American colonists felt were being usurped, but eventually evolved into a radical social transformation.

Gordon Wood’s Radicalism of the American Revolution is a book that extensively covers the origin and ideas preceding the American Revolution. Wood’s account of the Revolution goes beyond the history and timeline of the war and offers a new encompassing look inside the social ideology and economic forces of the war. Wood explains in his book that America went through a two-stage progression to break away from the Monarchical rule of the English. He believes the pioneering revolutionaries were rooted in the belief of an American Republic. However, it was the radical acceptance of democracy that was the final step toward independence. The transformation between becoming a Republic, to ultimately becoming a democracy, is where Wood’s

The American Revolution was an important sequence of events over a period of time that has affected early American society up to today’s modern society. It all started with the Revolutionary War, which led to the Declaration of Independence from Britain, and in turn created a reason for America to write the Constitution and develop their own government. Ideas of equality became a major point of the Revolution, and although it wasn’t very quick to happen, ideas eventually spread throughout the colonies, giving the equality that poor to middle classes, African American slaves, and women deserved.

The American Revolution caused a change in America that was far greater than just the forming of an independent nation. In the years after the revolution, a government had to be set in place. The new nation was greatly influenced by models of previous governments, including Great Britain and ancient Greece and Rome. Despite the great change in political structure, aspects of social culture were influenced by the revolution as well, especially in the areas of slavery and the status of women.

4. What was the Revolutionary movement, at its core, really all about? Was it about the amount of taxation, the right of Parliament to tax, the political corruption of Britain and the virtue of America, the right of a king to govern America, or the colonies’ growing sense of national identity apart from Britain? Was the Revolution truly a radical overturning of government and society—the usual definition of a revolution—or something far more limited or even conservative in its defense of traditional rights?

Many revolutions have taken place throughout history, ranging from the unremarkable to the truly memorable, such as the French Revolution, the Bolshevik Revolution and the American Revolution. Through an examination of the social, cultural, economic and political causes of the American Revolution, an exploration of key arguments both for and against the American Revolution, and an analysis of the social, cultural, economic and political changes brought about by the American Revolution it can be demonstrated unequivocally that the American Revolution was indeed truly revolutionary.

Dudley, William, Teresa O'neill, and Bruno Leone, eds. The American Revolution Oppsing Viewpoints. San Diego: GreenHaven P, 1992.

Many historians throughout the history of our young nation have debated whether to characterize the American Revolution as radical or conservative, and the argument still continues to this day. Both arguments have points that are valid and convincing. The book the radicalism of the American Revolution written by Gordon wood, and the book the ideological origins of the American Revolution by Bernard bailyn are two examples of this argument. Gordon wood argues that the American Revolution was much more than a fight for American independence, but rather a radical sudden move that not only changed the political ideology of the colonies, but that also had a great social impact on how people lived and thought of themselves as members of society and where the entire way of life and society were changed

No one will argue that the American Revolution was one of the most significant events in shaping American ideology. The impact on the economy, sociological and ideological make-up of America are still seen in today's society. Many great minds have passed commentary on the causes and impacts of the American Revolution such as; Bernard Bailyn, Louis Hartz, Joyce Appleby, and Gordon Wood. This research examines why these experts believed what they did about the causes of the American Revolution and how we can correlate those causes to the economic and political crisis America is now facing in the 21st century as compared to the 18th century.

The American Revolution, one of the most significant events in our world’s history, has established a huge impact on not only life back in the eighteenth and nineteenth century but our society today. The Acts of Parliament highly benefited the British but did not afford those same rights to the colonists until the formal issuing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4th, 1776, in which colonial freedom was granted. The most controversial issue is which group caused it; a result of propaganda by the colonists. Multiple acts and protests contributed to this war, three influential ones being the Stamp Act, Boston Massacre and the Boston Tea Party.

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 Revolutionary Era was one of the most important periods in American history. This period marked the first time were the newly found Americas would successfully colonized. This Era brought change that defied the current framework of society, promoted a sense of equality, and formed a new economic structure. However, the extent at which the Revolutionary Era can be called “truly revolutionary” is debatable. If we look at the effects the Revolutionary Era had on society, including African slaves, women, and the Indigenous Peoples, it could be characterized as (oxymoronically) un-revolutionary in the sense that pre-Revolutionary Era ideologies continued on into the Revolutionary Era.