Evolution of Modern U.S. Society

Evolution of Modern U.S. Society

There are several aspects which are important for the history of the United States. In fact, the entire process of development of the States represents a mix of events which have led to the creation of the most democratic country in the world at this moment in time. The start of the American Revolution marked the point of a different era in the way in which the U.S. would develop and understand the principles of democracy. However the current state of affairs in the U.S. is the result of important events which have shaped the history of the country.

The issue of Republicanism is of great importance for the evolution of the United States. It raised the question of the human rights, liberties, as well responsibilities of the citizens. This aspect must be taken into consideration in the historical context of the time. In this sense, the British control of the colonies did not allow individuals to benefit from the rights enshrined by their status as human beings and social individuals. Thus, republicanism represented a new set of ideas and norms which would govern the following decades. More precisely, republicanism stood for "many common ideas and concerns, such as the importance of civic virtue and political participation, the dangers of corruption, and the benefits of a mixed constitution and the rule of law" (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2006). Therefore, it can be pointed out the fact that the idea of ensuring the individuals such rights and freedoms entangled the development of a particular society, one which to this day does not exist in all the countries of the world.

Following these declarative goals and aims which tried to focus on the emancipation of the population of the colonies, the Revolutionary war came as an obvious result of these pressures. Therefore, the forces which launched the revolution based their claims on political, economic, as well as social matters neither the British nor the Americans agreed upon. In this sense, the political matter included the mere desire of the colonies to take control of their own fate (Jenkins, 1997). More precisely, it was considered that the involvement of the British colonies in the Seven Years War with the French was not correct from the perspective of the U.S. citizens. In fact, the French Indian war had been a matter of European affairs rather than one which entangled the interests of the United States. Therefore, most considered that the colonies should not have been involved in the matter of the foreign policy of the British Empire and it was essential that further actions in this sense would no longer be allowed.

Form an economic point-of-view, the Revolution proved that the American colonies were no longer willing to accept the taxes and levies imposed by the British in order to recover from the war with the French. In strict connection to this fact, the social matters must be taken into account. In this sense, the issue of "taxation without representation" came to be exploited in different manners. Thus, John Adams argued that "two

Supreme and independent authorities cannot exist in the same state" and, given the fact that colonists recognized as legitimate the American governing system, the imperial Parliament lacked the jurisdiction over the colonies in voting and imposing levies, this task being reserved to local governments" (Adams, 2003). Therefore, there was no longer an agreement over the authority to rule the American colonies. This represents an important step in the development of the U.S. precisely because it marked the moment of break up from the British Empire.

The Constitution of the United States, along with the Declaration of independence can be viewed as the first steps towards the rise to a democratic status. In an era where the issue of human and civil rights was considered an element that could not be addressed by law, the drafting of the U.S. constitution came as a result of a great democratic endeavor which tried to point out several aspects. On the one hand, it proved the fact that the people are the supreme judges of the way in which the country is developing through the fact that Thus, the most important line for the American democracy is part of the Declaration of Independence which underlines the fact "that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness" (the Declaration of Independence, n.d.). This aspect certifies the idea that according to the American documents, people have the right to be free in all their respects.

The Constitution comes to underline the need for a democracy at the organizational level. In this sense, it was created a document which remains to this day with slight modifications and still part of the most democratic system of government.