How Revolutionary Was the American Revolution?

¶ … revolutionary the American Revolution was in reality. This is one issue that has been debated on by many experts in the past and in the present too. The contents of this paper serve to justify this though-provoking issue.

American Revolution-how revolutionary was it?

When we try to comprehend why the American Revolution was fought, we come to know that the residents of the American colonies did so to retain their hard-earned economic, political and social order when the British had stated to neglect them. However, before we began to understand what The American Revolution was all about, it is necessary for us to look at conditions of the colonies preceding the war. The economy of Colonial America were divided into three separate parts: New England, where the economy was commerce; the South, where cash crops were the major source of earning; and the middle colonies, a combination of both. [Account of a Declaration 1]

The main idea we need to explore is what do we understand by the American Revolution? Was this just an American war fought by Americans or was the Revolution already in progress long before the war had began because the reality is that the Revolution was in the minds of the people. From this we can conclude that the major change in the principles, opinions, and sentiments of the people was the real American Revolution. [Essays on the American Revolution]

Besides, the American Revolution, we must learn to understand that not all revolutions are created equally. In spite of other revolutions and riots commencing at the bottom, Kurtz made it a point to note that the colonial leaders could have tried to stop riots or to convince mobs to use a lesser form of political frustration to accomplish its goals. The alternative to elite power, mob action, has also been mentioned. The French Revolution had to have mob action as a form of revolt of peasants. With George III being across the seas, it would take more than peasants to overthrow him from America, this is what is considered to have started a fiery revolution in eighteenth century America basically started by the elite. However, this is also no longer the view from historians who have made the Revolution Pyramid to find out the causes of the Revolution. [Essays on the American Revolution]

When we learn about the causes of the Revolution, we learn that the major contributing factor for the cause of the American Revolution was the negligence of the British authorities over the colonies. The growing barrier between the new Americans and the British led to the irritated colonists becoming more and more hostile towards their 'mother country' Great Britain when they wanted to end the differences. [The American Revolution]

Coming to realize that the major cause of the American Revolution was when Great Britain did not pay attention to the colonies, and became engrossed into their own affairs, and smoothly paying no heed to the colonies they had once started. This one major fault is what caused a chain reaction in the minds of these revolutionaries and led to further negligence at the hands of the British. [The American Revolution]

Historical evidence tells us that when the early settlers came to the newly discovered continent of America, they had nothing bad in mind. The primary intention of the God-fearing Pilgrims in Plymouth and the Puritans in the Massachusetts Bay colony was the preservation of their religious customs and traditions during their colonization. The only objective they had in mind was to set up their own place to practice their religious beliefs after what the Church of England, had attempted to do to them. So to continue with their religion, they decided to search for new lives in the colonies. The development of Jamestown in Virginia was based on a similar notion to the ones practiced during the 1500s when exploration was done for a purpose like to search for gold, glory, and even God. Georgia was colonized as a place for the highly religious Carolinas. In site of all the problems, each and every colony was successful and led to an eventual increase in the population of all the thirteen colonies as there was a greater influx from Great Britain. The main reason why the population was increasing was because other people were searching for freedom of religion or simply wanted to start a new life in the new continent. [A Leap in the Dark: The Struggle to Create the American Republic]

With the new settlements, the slave trade was becoming increasingly popular and with the passage of time many poor and helpless servants sold themselves so they could go to the new world. Even though the truth is that the three areas known as the New England, Middle, and South colonies were different in many ways, they were also evolving differently from how things were in Great Britain. [Background to the American Revolution lecture outline]

When the colonies started to separate from Great Britain by becoming the unofficial caretakers, the British failed because when the colonies were at the point of prime growth of the colonies, and where Great Britain should have been there to take care of everything under the colonization process, it was too busy in its own associations. Despite this negligence, the colonists were advancing with prosperity and they were also not facing much difficulty because by this time they had learned to take care of themselves, formed their own nation by running the colonies themselves the way they thought was right and were successful in their attempt because the Great Britain did not bother to pay any attention to them. [Background to the American Revolution lecture outline]

The colonists were aware of the trouble they were inviting but they were also subconsciously prepared to take action knowing the circumstances of the situation they were in, however, they chose to live in peace and work towards forming a proper government and also were successful with or without having the guidance from Great Britain. [Background to the American Revolution lecture outline]

Meanwhile, with the British engrossed with their own problems, the French and other nations began to take advantage of the situation in America, and they started colonizing towards the mid-west and also north of North America, including the Mississippi River and Ohio Valley also the areas that fall under what we know as Canada today. [The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution]

The French's Empire was spread over a huge area and when the British came to realize how the other countries were benefiting from the British negligence they decided to revolt and prevent themselves from losing control over the colonies. This action led to what we know as the Seven Years' fought in the French and Indian War. This war is also known as the "Great War for Empire," since the world's wealthy nations became involved in a battle for gaining control over North America. [The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution]

The British won the battle, once again in the powerful position of having full control of the territories that had belonged to the French before the outbreak of the war. Great Britain, after regaining its status, began to rigorously control the colonists. After winning the war, Britain was of the view that it had the authority to start controlling the colonies the way it wanted too. This attitude is attributed to the British owning the colonies that were entitled to them. However, even though the control was once again re-established, the colonists were of a different view, they felt they had no or very little connection and interest with the 'mother country' they also migrated from. [The Radicalism of the American Revolution]

The real picture was that the early English settlers who had discovered the American land were long dead, so the colonies were inhabited by the new generations that came and they were certainly not just English but also from other descents such as Dutch, Irish, French, Scottish. Perhaps, if the British had paid more attention to the colonists, they would feel a bonding to the country, but because the British had neglected them, that form of bonding never existed. [The New York Review of Books: Creating the Revolution]

The colonists who called themselves Americans were angry with the kind of attitude the British had towards them and they basically felt that when the British had left them to look after themselves then they had no right to interfere with their affairs when they had ignored them for so long. With the passage of time they had formed their own way of life and government, economy, and also system of trade. Great Britain was not bothered about them so as time passed by the colonists no longer needed the mother country. [The Radicalism of the American Revolution]

The British made their first move by establishing the Proclamation of 1763. The result of the French and Indian war was that the French were forced to leave 'New France'. The Proclamation Act in 1763 was issued due to the Pontiac's rebellion whereby the Indian conflicts with the settler's took place in the Ohio Valley and Great Lakes region. This issue is important for us to discuss at this point because this Act prohibited settlements in the area beyond the Appalachian Mountains, just creating unnecessary problems. The London Government had no intentions of suppressing the colonials, their aim was to work out the Indian problems fairly and prevent an uprising similar to the uprising of the Pontiac's. Still the Americans were aggravated and disappointed because to them, the land was their birthright. This disapproval led to horrid wars. The colonists disapproved the Proclamation Act of 1763. Later In 1765, in North Carolina, the American Pioneers traveled west in about a thousand wagons not taking into consideration the law. After the French and Indian war, the British government was in a financial crisis. To get out of the situations, and also pay for the cost of the army sent to the colonies, Great Britain levied taxes on the colonies and on literally everything under the sun. [The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution]

Small things led to animosity between the British and the new Americans and led to what we know as the American Revolution. The truth is that the colonists did not want the British to fight for the colonies; the British had initiated the entire process. The Revolution would have never taken place had the British realized that the empire was not meant to be theirs so why should they have to pay for the actions taken by Great Britain during the war against their own enemy? Some experts believe that if Great Britain had realized the importance of the colonies earlier, the colonies would also understand the need to pay the taxes when they were in debt. However, since they had developed the colonies and the way of life there on their own, they felt the interference by the British was unjust and unlawful. Not only were their rights being suppressed but also they were gradually losing their freedom. When the British imposed the Sugar Act whereby tax had to be paid on sugar, the colonists began to heavily protest and boycott sugar in anger. The result was the same as with the Stamp Act and the Declamatory Act. Whenever the British tried to levy any type of tax, the colonists would revolt by ignoring the Acts, boycotting, smuggling the goods taxed on, or use the press to voice their views. This was done because they felt it was unfair to be taxed when they had no rights to say anything regarding the Acts. This is technically known as "taxation without representation." [The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution]

One of the most Intolerable Acts imposed by the British on the colonists was backfired with the "Boston Tea Party." This act was headed by the Sons of Liberty, whereby the Bostonians had thrown tea into the Boston harbor as a form of protest. The British sought to take action against the colonists by closing down the harbor until the tea was paid for and all the damage was recovered from. This made the colonists more agitated against the British. Little things built up and stirred havoc in causing the Revolution to take place. With the passage of time, various organizations such as the, the First Continental Congress passed resolutions to protest Parliamentary interference in the colonies as a form of action against the intolerable Acts. This was done because the colonists didn't need the British in any way. One of the mistakes of Great Britain was that it sought to take control through protection for the colonies because it felt that this way it would be able to acquire a firm control over them. With the way Great Britain was it would have done this to take control over any other country for trade and dominion. This is what the colonists were very well aware of. For the colonials, they had moved to the new country in search of solace and practicing their religion. The distance between their home country and the new country served as the purpose that God was a part in their intention for them to move away. [The American Revolution]

Till here, we learn about the causes of the Revolution now we will take an insight into why Great Britain insisted on playing a role in the colonies. The truth was that the British and the Americans no longer had any connection. Then Thomas Paine published his pamphlet called "Common Sense," he discussed the main ideas that have led to the Revolution. He put the right ideas regarding the causes at the right time. He was of the opinion that if Great Britain was the mother country, then why did it neglects the colonies for so long, because mothers do not fail to protect their children ever. He also believed that the protection offered by Great Britain, was their own personal interest, and not what can be justly called an attachment, also it had failed in providing protection to the colonies from their enemies. Ideas from this pamphlet were brought forth through the words and thoughts of Thomas Paine. After going through all that the colonists had to deal with, they were now convinced that time had come for them to fight and struggle to break free from their enemy. The battle that began as a struggle for their basic rights turned into a revolution for independence. The truth is that if Great Britain had not neglected the colonies, everything would have been fine. From reading this information, we come to know that the Revolution was sparked mainly because they were looking for independence and freedom from the dominant British. [A Leap in the Dark: The Struggle to Create the American Republic]

The American Revolution was a war fought to gain independence; it had been sparked long before it had broken out due to the growing colonial conflict with the way that England was running the colonies. One of the most important things during the British control was that the colonies had to learn in the era of the American Revolution to work cooperatively with them. This was important because under English control, each colony had some degree of self-government. [The Radicalism of the American Revolution]

However, with the passage of time, everything changed and as England tried to gain full control over the colonies, the colonial leaders aware of the strength that were against the British developed inter-colonial cooperation to fight against the English control and gain independence. [The Radicalism of the American Revolution]

Another issue in the American Revolution was the status of black slaves in the United States. Slavery, existed since earliest settlements, and it was in the early eighteenth century that slavery was rampant and part and parcel in the plantation economy developed in the southern colonies. However, not all Americans were convinced that slavery was compatible and even acceptable. This led to another struggle in the Revolution due to the intense debate about the place of slavery in American society. [Slavery in the Americas]

Women played many roles in the American Revolution, as spies, soldiers, cooks, fundraisers, or managers of their husbands' properties while they were away. They were also Patriots, loyal to England. The new opportunities for women, provided by the Revolution were similar to the roles played by the women in other American wars. [People's History of the American Revolution: How Common People Shaped the Fight for Independence - Book Review - by Ray Raphael, Howard Zinn]

The Revolutionary War had a great effect on Native Americans, who remained neutral during the war but were prevented from doing so due to the economic dislocations caused and also rewards for siding with one side or the other. Most Native American groups that took sides with England and not the colonies. The English were happy to take Native American assistance and reward them with guns, food, and gifts. Many Native Americans found the American victory hard to accept. [The Radicalism of the American Revolution]

Bernard Bailyn believed that the leaders of the American Revolution were radicals who fought the Revolution without any concern to fix problems regarding inequalities of class or income, social order, they just wanted to "purify a corrupt constitution and fight off the apparent growth of prerogative power." They wanted to simply fix a broken system and improve the political and social thought, ranging from English conservative philosophers to exponents of the continental Enlightenment, from backward-looking interpretations of ancient Roman civilization to forward-looking views of a new American people. Bailyn carefully examines these sources of sometimes-conflicting ideas and considers how the framers of the Constitution resolved them in their inventive doctrine of federalism. [The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution]