Whig Ideology, that is to say the ideas of British political philosophers of defending virtue, sovereignty amongst the people and the separation of power, was a driving force for the American Revolutionary War, insofar as it was the ideology around which the Founding Fathers built their case against the British. Although the American Revolutionary War officially began in 1775, with the Battle of Lexington and Concord, it is in 1776 that we see the colonists truly unite under the banner of Whig Ideology to fight for transformative political change. The political turmoil of 1676 was also a turning point in American history. The draconian regulations that were promulgated by the British in response to this period of insurgency created a growing …show more content…
Most historians agree that Whig Ideology played a role, but disagree on the significance of its role. The views of Bernard Bailyn in The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution and Theodore Draper in A Struggle for Power, reflect these differences. Bailyn asserts that the revolution was rooted in ideology as the Whig Ideology alongside ideas of republicanism, informed a political consciousness that was passionately opposed to British control. Americans wanted liberty, autonomy and above all republicanism . He argues that Whig Ideology had the most transformative impact on the American Revolution, and thus sparked the American Revolutionary War. This view is more convincing than that of Draper because the analysis of empirical evidence in the form of the political pamphlets of the day, tracks an evolution in the views of the colonists. Draper however argues that Whig Ideology influenced the American Revolution to a lesser extent and claims instead that the relationship between Britain and America was untenable due the economic and political self determination the Americans had experienced during the Seven Years War (1754-1763) , that the British attempted to revoke after the war had finished. This discontent intensified when France ceded Canada to Britain (1760) because the colonies were no longer reliant on Britain for protection. Thus, at the point of the …show more content…
It ought to be noted that Bailyn and Draper’s interpretations were written at different times. Bailyn’s most influential work was published in 1967 and was therefore perhaps influenced by the emphasis on American values and patriotism of wartime America, which may explain why his work embodies the attitudes of Cold War conservative America. In contrast, Draper’s A Struggle for Power was published in 1997, a time with a very different ideological climate. He therefore had no such limitations. Bailyn, on the other hand, through extensive research, has managed to present a detailed investigation of the ideological influences of the American Revolution. Moreover, he is credited with shifting the view of the Revolution’s origins, so the influence of his ideas suggests merit, which makes his analysis persuasive. However, his methodology has been called into question for a number of reasons. Only four of the dozen most circulated pamphlets are featured in his work, which suggests he has been selective in his evidence gathering. His analysis also relies mostly on pamphlets, which means he can only identify when ideas were stated, not when they became prominent. He also only quotes formal colonial documents to support his arguments, but does not analyse them. This may render his interpretation less
Nash’s argument regarding to how the American Revolution portrayed “radicalism” throughout the American Revolution has been supported from the previous pieces of evidence. Moreover, the pieces of evidence listed to support Gary B. Nash’s argument are supported in embodying the true manner on how the American colonists fought to let go of their submission with the British and try to throw down Parliaments Policies. The evidence presented illustrate how the radical-lower class politics erupted to other citizens that favored British policies and caused riots that led to the account for the Revolution itself. The issues regarding to how these radical-lower class demanded British favorites demonstrated how far reaching the people would go to demolish but historically demonstrate their pride and purpose in freeing themselves from Parliament rule. These evidential claims help proclaim what argument Nash is making suggesting that radicalism was performed indeed to a very extreme point but rather to an effective point in which led to the creation of the American
During the phase of the Revolutionary War, Americans were determined to get rid of the hold that British Imperial Rule had on America in attempting to overthrow the power of the British military.
In “Becoming America: The Revolution Before 1776”, Jon Butler argues that there was massive economic and a political transformation occurred in the era of 1680 and 1770 which had been less examined to the American colonial history. In this book, Butler makes a strong argument for the early modernism of American society which helps to define the growth of American identity. The transformation improved the American socioeconomic character and demonstrated itself almost in every aspect of colonial life. I totally agree with the Jon Butler’s argument that the victories and defeats of the revolutionary war would not define America; it was the middle years of the colonial period that would. And his arguments in this book also challenge the existing history. Butler supports his argument from his own note which he collected from by researching huge amount of specialized history books.
In his essay “The American Revolution as a Response to British Corruption”, historian Bernard Bailyn makes the argument that the American Revolution was inherently conservative because its main goal was to preserve what Americans believed to be their traditional rights as English citizens. He argues that the minor infringements on traditional liberties, like the Stamp Act and the royal ban on lifetime tenure of colonial judges (even though Parliament ruled that judges in England should exercise this right), made the Americans fear that they would set a precedent for future greater infringements on their English liberties. To prove this argument, Baliyan quotes famous primary sources, like John Dickinson, Sam Adams, and various colonial rulings.
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 evaluation of the revolution differs from other historians. He contributes such a transformation to the social and economic factors that faced the colonists. While Gordon Wood creates a persuasive argument in his book, he does however neglect to consider other contributing factors of the revolution. It is these neglected factors that provide opportunity for criticism of his book.
The American Revolution (1775-1783) was a war between England and the colonies which were settled earlier by the English. There were many factors and events that led to the American Revolution. The Revolution was mainly an economic rebellion that was fueled by taxation without representation following the French and Indian War. The English Parliament was more often than not considered cruel and unfair by the colonists. With conflicts over trade, taxes and government representation, the colonies were at a starting line of a revolution that would later transform into the basis of the United States of America.
“If we measure the radicalism of revolutions by the degree of social misery or economic deprivation suffered, or by the number of people killed or manor houses burned, then this conventional emphasis on the conservatism of the American Revolution becomes true enough. B...
“The Revolution was the most radical and far reaching event in American history.” This is the premise of Gordon S. Wood’s book The Radicalism of the American Revolution. Within these pages Wood attempts to prove that the American Revolution was radical because it fundamentally changed the social and political structures of colonial America, structures that had always been fused together. Accordingly, he asserts that the separation of these institutions forms the basis of his argument for radicalism.
According to Carl N. Degler, the entire Revolution should be viewed as a conservative change. In “A New Kind of Revolution,” Degler talked about how the new actions taken place by the English had help structure and shape the colonial government. Not only did the colonies lack the affection of their motherland, Britain, they were also taxed unfairly. On the other hand, “The Radicalism of the American Revolution,” by Gordon S. Wood talks about how the American Revolution was a radical movement. His thesis covered how the country was transitioning from monarchy to republic, and now, democracy.
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.
The Whigs' Lack of Political Success in the Period 1783-1815 There are a number if contributing factors, both long and short term that led to the downfall of the Whig party in the years 1783-1815. Firstly, the Whig party itself had alienated themselves from the King, George III. Unlike Pitt, whose success derived directly from the Kings favour, the Whigs had continued to express their views against royal patronage. The Whigs believed the power of the monarch should be reduced and made no attempt to hide their ambitions, during the regency crisis, that the King would not recover. The Whigs had hoped with the King replaced by the Prince of Wales they would soon be propelled into office.
In Gordon S. Wood’s The Radicalism of the American Revolution, a new, postmodern take on what the word ‘radicalism’ really means. He focuses on not only the political and social effects of the American Revolution, but also on its lasting contributions to American society. Wood uses a fresh- but still knowledgeable- point of view while making his claims, and uses examples to support these claims. The biggest weakness of the source is that it is a secondary source that was created over two decades after the American Revolution ended, creating a lack of firsthand primary knowledge given in the
There were many factors that led up to the American Revolutionary War, one of these factors were the laws and acts being passed at the time. The British Parliament attempted to limit the power the American Colonist had at the time by taking away from their income. How they did this one may ask? The simple answer is taxes. One of the many taxes imposed was the stamp act. During this time the American colonies were being oppressed by the British one of the first signs of this was the Stamp Act. The act stated that almost anything written had to be stamped and tax...
The Revolutionary War was a war between the Thirteen Colonies and Great Britain from 1775-1783 during the American Revolution. The American colonists fought the British in hope of freedom and separation from Great Britain. “This was the completion stage of the political American Revolution whereas the colonists had denied the rights of the Parliament of Great Britain in governing them without any representation,” ("American Revolutionary War."). The Revolutionary War consisted of many different bloody battles on American soil. The war resulted in an American victory because of many historical reasons. The factors that contributed to an American victory of the Revolutionary War are British debt, distance between America and Great Britain, war tactics, French involvement, and important battles.
As soon as people left England to come to the United States, there was a smell of revolution in the air. The Revolutionary War was a way for the United States to make a statement and move forward as a country that wasn’t under the British rule. John Adams, the second prime minister of the United States, explains how the American Revolution began when he says, “The Revolution was affected before the war commenced. The Revolution was in the minds and hearts of the people”. Adam basically means that everyone was thinking about the revolution and in their minds they were already there, wanting to break free from the British rule.