United States History Paper:
Rebellion and Revolution
Throughout the course of the early colonial era to the years following the Revolution, the events that shaped the inception of what would be the nation of the United States were most directly rooted in rebellions, riots, and the famous American Revolution. However, there continued to be reforms even after the events of the great American Revolution, and some of the events that occurred before escalated the effort of colonists to break ties with the Crown. From the mutinous antic of the Boston Tea Party and the formal organization of the Continental Congress, to the post-revolutionary actions of Shays’ Rebellion, acts of defiance have paved the way for the America known today.
During the
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year of 1773, tensions continued to rise between the colonies and Britain. American colonists smuggled Dutch tea without Parliament’s approval, and due to an increased sense of nationalism the East India Company suffered financially from the lack of American purchases. Even though it would sound easy for the colonists to resist the tea, the fact that it was of superior quality enticed many colonists. However, the sense of pride eventually led many Bostonians to attack the Dartmouth in December of that year. The British were expecting compensation for the tea damage and many British felt that the government in Boston should rule judgement against those involved. However, the seizure of the tea was denied a trial, since the very attack was strongly supported by the local legislative body and self-proclaimed patriot, Samuel Adams. This act was probably the first physical retaliation to the taxation on tea and an attack meant to proclaim to Parliament that the Americans would no longer partake of British products. As data had suggested, the attack was served no punishment from the local government, illustrating how even the colonial government that was once loyal to the Crown was only serving the colonists’ desires for independence and disassociation. Affairs started to escalate when only a year later popular ambassadors from Massachusetts called for a proper assembly of the states. Even though Massachusetts was the state that was home to the Boston Tea Party and was where most of the riots occurred within the country, every state but Georgia did not back down and sent more than one person to the convention. According to American Destiny and as history can solidify, the representatives had all come together with one intention in mind, and that was to find a way to completely forge a new independence. Breaking the ties with Britain had already consumed the hearts of the former colonists, and everyone at the First Continental Congress meeting already knew that officially ridding the British presence in the colonies would help realize the dreams of creating a government that could reflect the rights of the people. Even though the First Continental Congress could be viewed as an organization that had no dictation from the authority of Parliament, the fact that former colonies would come together to revoke the idea that bonded colonists to the Crown demonstrated a desire for liberation. Not only did the First Continental Congress survive the American Revolution, but that one act of defiance led to the forgery to the first attempt of government; the Articles of Confederation.
Even though the United States had been born out of rebellion, rioting would continue challenging the experiment that was America. Shays’ Rebellion was one of these events. War veteran, Daniel Shay, was angered over the fact that Massachusetts had taken the initiative to heavily tax people in the middle class. The taxation provoked so much anger that Daniel Shay and the ones who believed in his proclamation, prevented judicial gatherings from starting. The acts of rioting that became known as Shay’s Rebellion provoked outcry from Massachusetts. However, the Articles of Confederation was drafted with the intent of giving as much power as possible in the states. When this interfered with the safety of the general public and forced the state into creating a militia to drive out rioteers like Shay, the citizens had no choice but feeling what Washington argues was “liberty gone mad.” Shay’s Rebellion was an event that provoked the creation of the Annapolis Convention and what would be the birth of the Constitution we know today. The event of Shays’ Rebellion was one that exemplified the anger of men who lost properties. In the end, the rebels attempted to seize arms in the Springfield arsenal, but the lack of government interference when it came to rerouting the insurgents. However, the
legacy of the event proved to men that “liberty must not become an excuse for license.” Although the American Revolution is arguably the most memorable event of rebellion forging the United States of America, there are events that preceded the Revolution that riled up the colonists to push towards independence and events that succeeded America’s victory that continued in defining America as a nation.
The Shays Rebellion were series of protests in 1786 and 1787 by American farmers. However, protests began before Shays Rebellion, the Massachusetts protest convention, circa of 1780 is a prime example of this, “...The great men are going to get all we have and I think it is time for us to rise and put a stop to it, and have no more courts, nor sheriffs, nor collectors nor lawyers....”.(B) Many farmers in this area suffered from high debt as they tried to start new farms. Unlike many other state legislatures in the 1780s, the Massachusetts government didn't respond to the economic crisis . As a result local sheriffs seized many farms and some farmers who couldn't pay their debts were put in prison.These conditions led to the first major armed rebellion in the post-Revolutionary United States called Shays Rebellion. Anti-Federalist were primality poor uneducated farmers. An exception of a the poor Anti Federalist stereotype is George Mason, whom is a huge political influence of the Bill of Rights, exploits his ideology in his Virginia Bill of Rights “That
The American Revolution started in the year 1765, when the Colonists rejected the Parliament of Great Britain to tax them without representation and ended in 1783 with the peace treaty with Britain; Treaty of Paris. But a lot of major events occurred in the colonies before the American Revolution could be over and these events would result in series of social, political, and intellectual transformation in American history. In his book, The Minutemen and Their World, Robert Gross’s describes the lives of people in Concord, Massachusetts before, during and, after the American Revolution, where much of these events took place and changed the way of life people lived in Concord. He goes through a very brief detailed aspects of colonial life in
In the Summer of 1787, fifty-five delegates representing 12 out of the 13 states in Philadelphia to fix the Articles of Confederation. They met in philadelphia because the Articles of Confederation was too weak. Shay’s rebellion was the end of the Articles of Confederation bringing down the whole network calling for a change of government. They did this to prevent a tyrant or tyranny. A tyrant/tyranny is when someone or a group abuses their power.
On the eve of the American Revolution, colonists have signified and ensured their newly discovered identity by coming together to rid the American colonies of the British monarchical influence. Throught means of newly developed legislatures, both passive and aggressive protests, and formation of propaganda were the American colonists able to engrave their identity on the future of America forever.
After claiming independence from Great Britain, America had a tremulous start with thirteen states governing themselves using the Articles of Confederation and therefore not united under one whole government that set and regulated tax and commerce. With the states usually arguing and not providing financial support to the government, Shay’s Rebellion had begun in Massachusetts, urged by farmers, in protest of the tax collections and economic chaos. Without the political unrest caused by that one event, the future of America would have turned out differently; it would likely have been that the states would have plunged into massive debt and lost the freedoms achieved after the American Revolution. Afterwards, people had urged the creation of an effective government to support them, thus creating the Constitutional Convention. At the Convention, fifty-five delega...
Between the years of 1786 and 1787, there were a series of protests that were given the name “Shays’s Rebellion”. These protests consisted of farmers, who were unhappy with their situations in regards to taxes and debts. Shays’s Rebellion occurred in New England, and was the most prevalent in Massachusetts. The revolt was named after Daniel Shays, who was one of the leaders of this large rebellion. Shays’s Rebellion was a major turning point in American history because it influenced changing The Articles of Confederation, it resulted in tax relief and a moratorium on debt, and it raised public awareness.
The American Revolution is without a question one of the, if not the most, important period in the beginning of American history. Between 1765 and 1783, the colonists rejected the British monarchy and aristocracy after a series of taxes and tariffs were forced upon them, finally the colonists then ultimately overthrew their authority and founded the United States of America. Many historians and authors have debated over the exact reason and overall effects of the War for Independence, however, all agree of the significance and importance of this event. The colonies, which were created as a resource for raw materials and a means for generating profits for Parliament and the Crown, began to desire managing their own affairs and worked towards
The American Revolution holds a very prominent place in the history of this country, as it was the longest and the most painful war Americans ever encountered. It took many years and numerous conflicts to finally gain independence in 1776 from British domination, which had been subjugating its colonies with laws of an unwritten constitution. It must be understood that though Americans were fighting for the right of democracy and each state wanted self-government, later that same issue turned into a big problem. Soon after America became independent, the former British colonies decided to form their own governments. It was then that the real battle began. The task of forming separate constitutions for each state, along with the formation of governmental institutions, turned in to a huge task -- a task so gigantic that it forced some states to rethink the matter and soon the rumors of a central government started circulating.
As we study American history we see that the saying, 'History repeats itself' reveals much truth. As we look closer at the American Revolution and the American Civil War, we can find many similarities between the two. Another saying that is made known is that 'We learn from our mistakes,'; but even the greatest men and women of our history did not follow. The main causes for both wars were the fight for liberty. If we are to analyze this issue in both wars, we see that the conclusion of one war leads to the beginning of another. As Semisonic sings, 'Every new beginning comes from some other beginnings end.';
Evaluate the relative importance of three of the following as factors prompting Americans to rebel in 1776.
The Enlightenment period in Europe was a shift in the way that society thought about power and liberty. The ideals of this period helped to inspire the revolutions of the 18th century. The American colonies desired liberty from foreign rule, the French wanted to increase the power of the people in their class structure, and the Haitians fought for representation for the millions of slaves on their island. While the ideas of the enlightenment were not fully employed in each of these revolutions, they brought the nations closer to a fully representative government, rather than one of absolute power.
The American Revolution was sparked by a myriad of causes. These causes in themselves could not have sparked such a massive rebellion in the nation, but as the problems of the colonies cumulated, their collective impact spilt over and the American Revolution ensued. Many say that this war could have been easily avoided and was poorly handled by both sides, British and American; but as one will see, the frame of thought of the colonists was poorly suited to accept British measures which sought to “overstep” it’s power in the Americas. Because of this mindset, colonists developed a deep resentment of British rule and policies; and as events culminated, there was no means to avoid revolution and no way to turn back.
The Glorious revolution was a changing point in the course of history. It was the first revolution of its kind which led to many more like the American revolution. There were many similarities between the Glorious and American revolution, John Locke played a key role in both revolutions, and Locke’s ideas were mirrored in the Declaration of Independence.
The elite opted to prevent rebellions which voiced the opinions of disregarded members of society such as women, slaves, indentured servants, and men who didn't own land, by intervening and taking them into their own hands because they wanted to preserve their power. In 1780, Shay's rebellion, led by Daniel Shay, a veteran of the Battle of Bunker Hill, allowed farmers who were unable to pay their mortgage, to speak out. Creating chaos amongst the peaceful streets of Springfield, armed farmers were stopped by state militia. Shay's rebellion led way to the Philadelphia Convention in which fifty-five men representing twelve states congregated on 1787, in proposal of drafting a new constitution. Through the occurrence of the American Revolution, they were aware of the power that their people were able to execute and wanted to stabilize the government by creating a new Constitution....
The American Revolution stirred political unity and motivated the need for change in the nation. Because many Americans fought for a more balanced government in the Revolutionary War, they initially created a weak national government that hampered the country's growth and expansion. In the Letter from Abigail Adams to Thomas Jefferson, Mrs. Adams complained about the inadequacy of power that the American government had to regulate domestic affairs. The Articles of Confederation was created to be weak because many had feared a similar governing experience that they had just eliminated with Britain. The alliance of states united the 13 local governments but lacked power to deal with important issues or to regulate diplomatic affairs. Congress did not have the power to tax, regulate trade, or draft people for war. This put the American citizens at stake because States had the power to refuse requests for taxes and troops (Document G). The weakened national government could not do anything about uprisings or small-scale protests because it did not have the power to put together an army. The deficiencies of the confederation government inspired the drafting of the American Constitution. The document itself embodied the principle of a national government prepared to deal with the nation's problems. In James Madison's Federalist Paper, he persuades the American public to adopt the Constitution so that the government can protect humans from their nature and keep them out of conflicts.