The American Revolution: A True Revolution

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The American Revolution, perhaps the most significant event in the history of the United States, was indeed radical enough to be considered a true revolution. One historian stated that, “The founding generation articulated enduring political questions and provided the structures by which we still conduct our political lives” (Kerber 25) to emphasize the enormous impact that the revolutionaries had on contemporary American society. These questions and structures however do not only pertain to America’s political system and ideals; they also greatly changed American social standards and practices throughout the years directly preceding and following the revolution.

This era was pivotal to the establishment of many new governmental principles- some ingenious, and others somewhat lacking. It was a period of trial and error. All the colonists knew was that monarchism did not suit them, and they needed to find something practical to replace it, and quickly. First they came up with the Articles of the Confederation. The articles were not very successful in that they relegated all duties to the individual states instead of having a powerful central government.

Every state shall always keep up a well-regulated and disciplined militia, sufficiently armed and accoutered, and shall provide and constantly have ready for use, in public stores, a due number of field pieces and tents, and a proper quantity of arms, ammunition and camp equipage. (Articles VI)

Eventually it was realized that the articles needed to be amended, and the debate over the amount of amendment needed formed the basis of America’s unique two-party system. “Americans turned theory into practice, each side learning with great pain how to be an opposition party without...

... middle of paper ...

...on Yale Project.

Kerber, Linda K. “The Revolutionary Generation: Ideology, Politics, and Culture in the Early

Republic.” The New American History. Ed. Eric Foner. Philadelphia: Temple University

Press, 1990: 25-49.

Letters from the Federal Farmer to the Republican. 1787. Electronic Constitution Society.

.

Paine, Thomas. Common Sense. 1776. Electronic Archiving Early America.

Roche, John P. “The Founding Fathers: A Reform Caucus in Action.” The American Political

Science Review, Vol. 55, No. 4 (Dec. 1961): 799-816. JSTOR

http://www.jstor.org/stable/1952528 Accessed: 26/09/2008 17:10

Wood, Gordon S. The American Revolution. New York: Modern Library, 2002.

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