The American Revolution: The Poor Died and the Rich Benefited

The American revolutionary war is an event that has forever etched

itself into the annals of history. It has been a testament to the

world of how even the greatest empires of the world can be overcome;

with self-determination, perseverance and an iron will. Albeit, there

were a few aspects of the event that have rarely been brought to

light. In our part of the world it is commonly misunderstood that the

War of Independence was a series of heroic battles between the valiant

militiamen of America, and the tyrannical British soldiers. Yet upon

closer examination of the facts a far different reality emerges. The

war against the British was not based on the nationalistic passions of

the Patriots; rather it was more a matter of the purses of corrupt

capitalists and smugglers. The quote by George Mason "If we now have

to pay the debts due to British merchants, what have we been fighting

for all this while?" clearly illustrates the factors that motivated

the revolution.

A critical analysis of the course of the war and the situations that

were present during this conflict provides a more concrete basis for

realizing the flaw in this misunderstanding. There were no accounts of

obscene taxation; neither were the colonists subjected to any form of

slavery or oppression. The Americans have done nothing but a superb

job of distorting the truth about their revolt.

The single largest remonstrance that the Americans cried out was their

"no taxation without representation". This was among the first of the

list of items upon which they demurred. The protests took place in

Virginia in May of 1765 when the House of Burgesses took the

consideration...

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...fore, the American colonials' War of Independence was motivated

by nothing more then the interests of profit seeking capitalists and

smugglers. A heroic and valiant struggle definitely does not portray

the realities of this revolution. Even George Washington, the

preeminent figure in the history of America was as hypocritical as can

be. While he claimed to fight for liberty and the pursuit of

happiness, he had in his possession many oppressed black slaves, all

of whom were denied the right of liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

If this reading has informed you of the distorted past of America's

road to independence, the purpose of this essay has been achieved.

None fought a war prior to the Americans in the history of the world

over a matter as trivial as did the Americans in their supposed

struggle for independence.