How Revolutionary Was the American Revolution

In this work 'How Revolutionary Was the American Revolution Essay' we will research the topic of the American Revolution. The patriots of the colonies were fighting to promote change and free themselves from England's oppressive government. Enlightenment ideals and other social factors influenced the colonists and they began the road to independence and fought for it until 1783. The American revolution fundamentally served as a turning point in American society, it provided the context needed for growth in the government and the way it was shaped, as well as the economy was further developed. The want for equality between the social classes such as the wealthy and middle-class citizens, and the rights of women and other minority groups also were spurred from the Revolutionary war. Thomas Paine among others emphasized how important it was that they were now their own free nation. The colonists had all fought hard and sacrificed much to get to this point but in the end it would be worth it as they no longer were forced to be suppressed by the British cruel tyranny that was prohibiting and arguably stunting the growth of the American colonies and its peoples success.

One of the most evident results of the American Revolution was the growth of national identity. Soon after the Declaration of Independence, patriots called for the ejection or punishment of British Loyalists from the newly formed nation. However these ideas did not start after the war, pre-revolutionary war patriots were demanding that action be taken against loyalists and that they be punished for remaining loyal to the British tyrant that was the king. Officers or posses of men would go to farms or plantations in places such as North Carolina and they were allowed to destroy your property and harm you if you did not join the patriots and the movement that they stood for. Such things like this are described in document 6 from the point of view of an upper-class woman and things like this caused the loyalists to have their interests threatened.

The colony ended up benefiting from the colonies separating from England and creating their own nation, but originally many colonists had their doubts and believed that going against Britain would create instability in the economy of the colonies. Such thoughts as these are expressed in document 7 which is Charles Inglise’s opinions on the situation at hand and how it would affect the colonies, whether intentionally or not he undermines the independence movement in his statements. But ultimately he was somewhat correct as even though there was political freedom now the economy directly after the war faced many problems due to the fact that breaking ties with Great Britain gave the United States significant economic isolation. This would result in some social unrest. Now the actions of the colonists can be questioned because even though they gained freedom it would all be meaningless if their economy failed and they were not able to survive and thrive on their own merits. But ultimately it was better off this way, the political freedom gave them the opportunity to do something different from the rest of the world that could result in them becoming a power of the world. 

The strict and unjust laws and taxes that were forced upon the colonists were just prohibiting and holding them and their economy back. Such as document 4 which represents the British harsh taxes such as the stamp and sugar act. The colonists protested these acts by printing onto the teapot “No Stamp Act” and America, Liberty Restored” both of these things emphasize the patriot's ultimate goal to become their own free independent country. They no longer wanted to allow for British manufacturers to profit, capitalize and exploit the colonists for their own personal gains and profits. Alongside the changes in the economy, the government and how it was shaped were greatly changed. Samuel Adams and other patriots such as the ones that were members of the Sons of Liberty wanted to create a unique and fresh government that valued equality and the rights of the individual person. Some of these ideals are expressed in the agreement in document 2. The women making this agreement want to fight for the liberty that they think the colonists deserve and the rights that they should be given. They want to protest the unjust taxes that were imposed on them without them, they were given no say either on how the taxes were formed or enforced. This once again comes back to the lack of representation in government and that they need a new governing body that promotes equality among the people. Then there were also social changes such as social standards came about resulting in women and other minorities being granted more rights and beginning to play a larger role in society. They were given a better education and granted some rights to own land depending on their social status. Shortly after the war in the North many slaves were let free and slavery was abolished, but again this was only in the North and would not be put into place in the South for a number of years. But even before this places in the south were against slavery such as Massachusetts, and they have very lax laws towards them. One example of this is in document 3 where a slave from Massachusetts wrote a letter to the state legislature to allow her to receive income from the estate she stayed at because her owner left for England due to him being a loyalist and patriots chased him off. This expresses how slowly but surely as more ideals of freedom and equality were put into place minorities and even people of lower classes in society were given more rights and accommodations to help them live a better life.

In conclusion the question 'was the American revolution revolutionary essay', the American revolution served as a turning point of growth and development in America, not unexpectedly but not ideally many social conflicts came forward as a result of the American revolution as well. Then beyond the previous terms, the American revolution also led to the revision of The articles of Confederation which is the constitution. This important article set the boundaries of representative government. Furthermore, great compromises over slavery also occurred, each slave was furthermore to be counted as 3/5 of a person. Also, the constitution to clear the supreme authority of the congregational legislature in 1787 was ratified by nine out of 13 states meaning it would be passed and signed so that it could be implemented into action. All of this was made possible through the American revolution and the colonists' bravery to fight for their independence.