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Economic causes of the American Revolution
Economic causes of the American Revolution
The American revolution and its effects on society
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Did the American Revolution Change Society?
America. The four syllabled word that comes out of everyone’s mouths. You hear it on your local TV, read it in the newspaper, or online. It is the nation that defines change for the betterment of the people. The nation that has evolved to what it is now. The history of America is filled with triumph, hardship and independence. This nation is what it is due to the American Revolution. We gained our independence from Britain and we were able to run the government our own way. We rebuilt a new nation but did we make a better government? The American revolution has its controversy. There still was inequality even after the revolution. Though, It helped revolutionary leaders become richer,
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gradually terminate slavery, and led up to the creation of the Constitution. First and Foremost, Loyalist where individuals who were loyal to the king and England.
They lived along the Patriots and they were sometimes were harassed for being loyalist. Many of them rich, fled after the revolution. “They left behind large estates and vacated important positions of social and economic leadership. Even some who remained in the country saw their property confiscated and their positions forfeited. The result was new opportunities for Patriots to acquire land and influence, a situation that produced significant social changes in many communities” (Textbook 147). This really defined that some Loyalist weren't necessary loyal to their country but they had to take their chance because they could prosper in the American society. They fled to what is now Canada. If many of them had stayed, some would have stayed as Loyalists or some would have changed their minds. The Patriots were able to seize these lands for them and make massive amounts of money. “It was distributed in such a way as to give a double opportunity to the Revolutionary leaders: to enrich themselves and their friends, and to parcel out some land to small farmers to create a broad base of support for the new government. Indeed, this became characteristic of the new nation: finding itself possessed of enormous wealth, it could create the richest ruling class in history,” (Zinn 84). The Patriots were hungry for whatever wealth they could find. Sure some of them did give some land to the …show more content…
farmers,but that was only to persuade people. Slaves were a great tool used by the American Colonies.
Many brought up from Africa were forced to work on plantations. During the Revolution, many slaves wanted to help fight in the war, so in return they would get freedom, but “With blacks slaves 25 percent of the population (and in some counties 50 percent), fear of slave revolts grew. George Washington had turned down request of blacks, seeking freedom, to fight in the Revolutionary army” (Zinn 82). Still many did fight in the revolutions. Many blacks fought on both sides, but many used this way to escape. The abolishment for slavery was brought up a few times in history. “the combinations of blacks in the military, the lack of powerful economic need for slaves and the rhetoric of Revolution led to the end of slavery-but very slowly. As late as 1810, thirty thousand slaves, one-fourth of the black population in the north remained slaves” (Zinn 88). This shows the start of freeing slaves. After their given freedom, blacks wanted to abolish slavery and they began to speak up. Some people petitioned to get money for education for their children. Many of them emerged and began to help society like Benjamin
Banneker. The Constitution is very important to America. It is the infrastructure to run our government and has our rights. The American Revolution lead to the independence, which leads us to create a government. Moreover, there are many examples of how people were treated. Women, poor whites, blacks and indentured servants were never paid attention too unless it was better for the economy. “The Revolutionary leadership distrusted the mobs of poor”(Zinn 77). Even though they were the same race, this shows that status really matter during that time period. “Excluded from the militia were friendly Indians, free Negroes, white servants and free white men who had no stable home”(Zinn 77). There is a specific requirement for being in the militia and that is you should be known to be people or have citizenship. Now many people didn’t even have citizenship for many reasons.
According to Carl N. Degler, the entire Revolution should be viewed as a conservative change. In “A New Kind of Revolution,” Degler talked about how the new actions taken place by the English had help structure and shape the colonial government. Not only did the colonies lack the affection of their motherland, Britain, they were also taxed unfairly. On the other hand, “The Radicalism of the American Revolution,” by Gordon S. Wood talks about how the American Revolution was a radical movement. His thesis covered how the country was transitioning from monarchy to republic, and now, democracy. The framers wanted to create a free nation where no single person rule. As well as, the people of the nation having the ultimate say so.
As far the Patriots are concerned, they were most citizens who wanted the revolution and freedom from the British. The Patriots were sick and tired of the British rule and their unfair treatment towards them. The Patriots
In regards to the numerous successful Revolutions that have occurred, they all share in common a broad general pattern, causes and characteristics. The American Revolution to a certain extent aligned with this broad pattern and had some identical causes and characteristics. In regards to the preliminary and advanced symptoms of revolutions, the American Revolution exhibited characteristics of discontent and the creation of mobs that was in response to taxes imposed upon them by the British government. The steps that followed although displaying characteristics and causes that identify with revolutions, digresses from the general pattern. The Declaration of Independence, Battle of Saratoga and Siege of Yorktown though somewhat associating themselves with their respective step within the broad pattern, for best part does not fit in with the overall pathology. The American Revolution displayed that certain stages matched with the broad general pattern and throughout its duration exhibited characteristics and causes normally attributed to revolutions. Other parts of the Revolution however tended to deviate from the generally accepted pattern.
The American Revolution (1775-1783) was a war between England and the colonies which were settled earlier by the English. There were many factors and events that led to the American Revolution. The Revolution was mainly an economic rebellion that was fueled by taxation without representation following the French and Indian War. The English Parliament was more often than not considered cruel and unfair by the colonists. With conflicts over trade, taxes and government representation, the colonies were at a starting line of a revolution that would later transform into the basis of the United States of America.
In 1619, slaves from Africa started being shipped to America. In the years that followed, the slave population grew and the southern states became more dependent on the slaves for their plantations. Then in the 1800s slavery began to divide America, and this became a national conflict which lead to the Civil War. Throughout history, groups in the minority have risen up to fight for their freedom. In the United States, at the time of the Civil War African Americans had to fight for their freedom. African Americans used various methods to fight for their freedom during the Civil War such as passing information and supplies to the Union Army, escaping to Union territory, and serving in the Union’s army. These actions affected the African Americans and the United States by helping the African Americans earn citizenship and abolishing slavery in the United States.
I want to start with the history of slavery in America. For most African Americans, the journey America began with African ancestors that were kidnapped and forced into slavery. In America, this event was first recorded in 1619. The first documented African slaves that were brought to America were through Jamestown, Virginia. This is historically considered as the Colonial America. In Colonial America, African slaves were held as indentured servants. At this time, the African slaves were released from slavery after a certain number of years of being held in captivity. This period lasted until 1776, when history records the beginning of the Middle Passage. The Middle Passage showed the increased of African slaves were bought into America. The increase demand for slaves was because of the increased production of cotton in the south. So, plantation owners demanded more African slaves for purchas...
They were the people who actively participated and sacrificed their lives. Therefore the side they chose to fight on was heavily influenced by their “local interests, grudges, and unfulfilled yearnings [Page 87].”In summary, poor farmers, wanted political rights and land. For slaves they yearned for freedom. Women wanted to have the same rights as men. Native Americans wanted the colonists to stop encroaching on their land. Many of these desires coincided while other clashed. Therein lay the chaos that drove the American Revolution. While many of the people did not succeed the ideas they fought for became deeply embedded into
An estimated 100,000 African Americans escaped, died or were killed during the American Revolution(Mount). Roughly 95% of African Americans in the United States were slaves, and because of their status, the use of them during the revolution was inevitable(Mount). This led many Americans, especially those from the North, to believe that the South's economy would collapse without slavery due to the use of slaves on the front lines. However, only a small percentage of the slave population enlisted in either army.
Although the slaves had families they had no control on whether or not they would stay together. Slaves were sold to different parts of the country in which sometimes they would never see their family members again. Although slavery was accepted, the northern part of America allowed African Americans to be free. This ultimately led to a bloody division between the North and the South. The south led a revolt to go to war against the north, specifically in order to keep their rights to allow slavery.
Revolution is briefly described as an attempt to overthrow a government to start a new one. The American Revolution took place between 1775 and 1783 and was a fight for American Independence from England. In 1764, the first of many “Intolerable Acts” were passed. The British Parliament began to excise tax on the American colonies without representation, sparking the great conflict. The British were continuing to incorporate new ways to make more money. England was the most powerful country at the time with an intimidating military, so this wasn’t a hard task to complete. The American Revolution was very Revolutionary because, it jump started the abolition of slavery, it brought about many political and social advances, and served as a stepping stone towards a democracy and a strong centralized government.
During the Washington D.C. trip I got to learn so much about the foundation of America. I also developed a greater understanding of the history behind America and how it started. Liberty, Hope, Acceptance, Recognition, Bravery, Courage, Honor, Independence, and Integrity are all words that can describe what is so great about America. The words that describe the meaning of America to me is acceptance, freedom, and honor.
After the discovery of the New World by Christopher Columbus, European Nations competed in a race against one another to claim pieces of the new land. Before Columbus found this land, the sea separating the New World from Europe seemed endless, and mundane. The Europeans were only interested in the land to the East. But with the New World as a new hat thrown into the ring, the Europeans tossed aside their old toy to go play with a new one. This time period of conquest over the New World was known as the Age of Exploration, and by the 1700s, they kept their pickings. A New World meant more land to build homes and plant crops, and more money to be earned by buying out new houses and selling new crops grown in foreign soil. Spain claimed Mexico, and the Southwest portions of what would be known as America. France got their hands on most of present-day Canada, as well as Louisiana. The Dutch set foot on land they called New Amsterdam, however, The English, who had settled their first colony in Jamestown, Virginia, drove the Dutch out and claimed New Amsterdam for themselves, later renaming it New York. The English claimed more land as time passed, and eventually they had formed 13 different colonies in the Eastern part of America. The English Colonies were separated into 3 different regions. The New England Colonies (Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Hampshire), the Middle Colonies (New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware), and the Southern Colonies (Maryland, Virginia, North and South Carolina, Georgia). The New England Colonies were the earliest of the 3 regions, founded by English Settlers seeking religious freedom. The Middle Colonies were also founded by settlers seeking religious freedom. The Southern Colonies,...
First, after emancipation, federal laws revived slavery into new form. After slaves were freed during post- civil war, the whites especially those in the south faced problems in running their plantations; since there was no free labor force from slaves, and also some whites who had never owned slaves saw the African Americans as undesirable competition. I think the laws enforcements eventually became the method through which slavery of blacks take its new form. Under these new laws, a lot of African Americans were arrested with no reason and were given harsh fines and later they were charged with the costs of own arrests. This is because majority of the Africans were poor and good number of them who were arrested could not afford to pay fines. With no means to pay fines most of the prisoners accumulated debts as a result they were sold a forced labor to industries and farm
Soon after the Declaration of Independence was signed there were groups that tried to end slavery. They were in Pennsylvania, Virginia, Rhode Island, Delaware, New Jersey, and Maryland, and Connecticut. It took a long time to win freedom for slaves. Lots of slaves were taken to freedom in the North on the Underground Railroad. The Underground Railroad is the name of the system that slaves traveled in secret from one place to another. They usually hid during the day and traveled at nighttime. Some slaves even fought to be free. Nat Turner was a preacher that led a slave revolt in Virginia in 1831. But they all ended up being executed..
The American Revolution marked the divorce of the British Empire and its one of the most valued colonies. Behind the independence that America had fought so hard for, there emerged a diverging society that was eager to embrace new doctrines. The ideals in the revolution that motivated the people to fight for freedom continued to influence American society well beyond the colonial period. For example, the ideas borrowed from John Locke about the natural rights of man was extended in an unsuccessful effort to include women and slaves. The creation of state governments and the search for a national government were the first steps that Americans took to experiment with their own system. Expansion, postwar depression as well as the new distribution of land were all evidence that pointed to the gradual maturing of the economic system. Although America was fast on its way to becoming a strong and powerful nation, the underlying issues brought about by the Revolution remained an important part in the social, political and economical developments that in some instances contradicted revolutionary principles in the period from 1775-1800.