American Revolution Motivation

The original motivation in the American Revolution was conservative in nature. In the early to mid-1760s, when revolutionaries were beginning to speak out against the unfair position of America in the British Empire, separation was not viewed as a reasonable, or even conceivable, route. These revolutionary voices sought to gain a more equitable position in the British Empire and increased autonomy in governance, specifically the power of colonial assemblies. As time went on, England continued to be unreceptive to the colonists’ requests for self-government, and feelings of discontent continued to spread, and become more virulent, aided by the proliferation of speeches, pamphlets, and essays on the topic. By 1774, British oppression had risen

As Britain continued to ignore American demands for equality, and as Parliament continued to pass acts that were economically burdensome and social restrictive for colonial peoples, general feeling in the colonies began to shift away from positive thoughts about British identity, arguments against British rule being published and spreading exponentially, and towards more radical solutions, like revolt, to the issues of the

In conjunction with Thomas Paine’s Common Sense, the Declaration provided the language of the new era, filled with words like ‘liberty,’ ‘new age,’ ‘asylum,’ and in the negative ‘tyranny.’ The exact wording of the Declaration calls upon the government, requires the government, to protect not only the lives of the people, but their “Liberty, and the pursuit of [their] happiness” as well. This statement is incredibly important, as it frames the government as an agent for the protection of the people, instead of as an agent of control. It is also important to note the portion about the “pursuit of happiness,” because that was a statement that no government, even partially democratic ones had ever promised before. This was hugely significant in what it meant for the people of the United States of America, and the idea of liberalism in general, because it represented a divergence from previous methods, and the creation of a unique idea of government. It also served, not so much as a turning point, but as a severing point between the interests and ideas of Great Britain and of America, demonstrating the creation of a set of democratic ideals that was distinctly American. In Common Sense, Paine supports separation from Great