The American Revolution: NOT Really Revolutionary

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During the late eighteenth century the colonies were in a fight for independence; a fight for a revolution from a government that had oppressed them, taxed them, and basically enslaved them. So why did the new government they were struggling to construct so closely resemble the government they detested to be under? Thirteen colonies all fighting against one common foe, however governing themselves would cause many obstacles within. The new government was being pieced together from the only political system they have even been a part of, a monarchy. As a result there was a severance between the people on how the government was to be run. Some felt it was too democratic while others opposed claiming it was not enough. Colonists really didn't have a choice in the matter. It was going to be a trial and error situation until they could agree how to govern the new world. Even with the Articles of Confederation established, many things were still unethical and people felt that the new government was no better then the government they condemned. In time the fight for independence would change many things however the "Revolution" of the new government was a slow process. Some aspects of Parliament remained leaving speculation to whether or not this was a revolution at all.

Shortly after the Treaty of Paris, many colonists began to express their reactions to Britain and the fight for independence. Some agreed with earlier English Whig journalists who stated .".. corrupt and power-hungry men slowly extinguished the lamp of liberty in England" (Nash, 143). The colonist saw an attack on their liberties taking place so they resorted to following English practices and starting voicing their opinions. The colonists were starting to feel the ...

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... or bad. Everyone in America wanted a country free from Britain, including its hierarchy and its laws, but Americans utilized British principles and religious beliefs as a backbone for writing the first articles. America wanted to create a revolutionary form of government. In all actuality they were not fighting for a political revolution but merely the right to enable, enforce and govern politics themselves without Britain gaining anything from them.

Works Cited

Conlin, J.R. and Peterson, C.H. An American Harves: Readings in American History. Belmont: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning, 2002.

Heilbroner, R. and Singer, A. The Economic Transformation of America to 1865. Belmont: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning, 2004.

Nash, G. and Jeffrey, J. The American People: Creating a Nation and a Society. Brief 4th ed. Addison-Wesley Educational Publishers, Inc., 2003.

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