American Revolution Dbq

The American Revolution fundamentally changed American society in positive and negative ways. There were political, social, and economic alterations that occurred during this time period from 1775 to 1800 that ultimately affected our country by changing it and giving us what we have today.
A key political change was an idea that had actually resurfaced from previous times; that was the idea of a republican government, as suggested by Thomas Paine (144). This idea influenced many people into choosing a side that they agreed with – either the rebellious Patriots, or the Loyalists who didn’t agree with Paine (146). This American division is what consequently initiated the Revolution, and therefore in the long run, also affected our country and government. Other obvious changes that were made towards improving our government included the Articles of Confederation, Constitution, and Bill of Rights.
Social changes were also in this revolutionary recipe as equality was on the rise. As seen on pages 144-5, lower classes took this revolutionary time period as their ticket to moving up in the social world. Women were also becoming viewed with more credibility in this era, and gained the benefit of education due to their role

Due to debt from the Revolution, America’s economy was not in its best shape. Apparently, “the average citizen was probably worse off financially at the end of the shooting than at the start” (170). This unfortunate economic state even brought about a rebellion; farmers were in debt, they were losing their property, and so they wanted their suggestions to be heard. As Abigail Adams stated in document G, “some of them were crying out for a paper currency, some for an equal distribution of property.” Another economic change was that most British and American trade came to an end, but on the bright side, foreign trade with America was able to begin (170;