David Ramsey And The Cause Of The American Revolution Essay

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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 …show more content…

The first is David Ramsey and the Causes of the American Revolution by Page Smith. The article focuses on the decade following the treaty of peace in 1783, concluding that the American Revolution was inevitable due to the nourishing spirit of independence throughout the colonies. The second is by Page Smith and the analysis of David Ramsey’s work, who was alive during the Revolution and wrote books in attempts to awaken Americans as citizens with new responsibilities of a new country. The second is Causes of Revolution, by Louis Gottschalk that was published in the American Journal of Sociology. This work examines all revolutions and attempts to understand how and why they …show more content…

Gottschalk describes the several factors that tend to be contributors and antecedents to every revolution. The first is “provocation- if it results in dissatisfaction sufficiently general to create not merely a certain slough of subjective despair but an epidemic desire for action” (Gottschalk, p. 5) He argues that this was achieved when Great Britain began to impose their taxes, tariffs and Intolerable Acts. Gottschalk states that the second factor for a revolution is the “demand for change” (Gottschalk, p. 5) A revolution cannot happen unless there is a “solidified public opinion” (Gottschalk, p. 4) and support for change. Gottschalk also states that in addition to hopefulness by citizens, a revolution needs leaders. Intellectuals need to be aware of the desire for change and provide programs to generate general awareness through leadership. (Gottschalk, p. 6) The third, and arguably the most important, factor contributing to a revolution is “the weakness of the conservative forces”. (Gottschalk, p. 7) Gottschalk states that if Great Britain had not been already in several wars, the likelihood of success for the colonies would have dropped dramatically and probably have been

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