The Anglo-American Revolution

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In the colonies of the 18th century, there was a growing involvement in political and social life in which citizens came together to freely discuss and debate issues concerning the government. Prior to this heightened awareness and engagement, the will of the people only occurred on election day when exclusively white men who held property voted in the elections. Between elections, the colonial government was uninvolved with their citizenry and the citizenry was content in believing in their “free” political system and trusting in the supreme capabilities of the wealth, education, and social prominence of their elected officials. With the ideas of the Enlightenment and social changes occurring throughout the colonies, this complacent attitude …show more content…

One was republicanism, which promoted taking part in public life by economically independent white men who would forgo self-interest in the name of the public good. These men were aware of the propensity of political power to encroach upon the liberties of the governed. The second idea was liberalism, which promoted protecting the security of life, liberty, and property. The 16th century philosopher behind this idea was John Locke who composed “Two Treatises of Government” in 1680. He wrote, “Men being, as has been said, by nature, all free, equal, and independent, no one can be put out of this estate, and subjected to the political power of another, without his own consent.” The 1689 English Bill of Rights echoed this sentiment. “…each man having a fixed Fundamental Right born with him as to the Freedom of his Person and Property in his Estate, which he cannot be deprived of, but either by his consent…” Lockean ideas also included the right to rebel against a harsh or tyrannical government. Although this treatise applied only to independently wealthy white men, these ideas sparked other citizens, such as the poor, women, and slaves to confront the restrictions on their own freedoms by government and

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