Political Science

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Political Science

Response to Question 3

One of history’s most important revolutions resulted due to a conflict between the British government and the people living in the colonies of Britain. These colonies were also called American colonies which became the reason of the war known as The American Revolutionary War. The reason of the conflict was several tax measures that the crown and his majesty passed between the years 1764 and 1774, which the colonists strongly opposed. A principle stance was taken against the taxes by the American leaders because the laws that were created by British government offered no representation of people who were being taxed. At that time, only uptown and well-off class had the right to vote in America and in England but even the colonized American people were given no right to express their opinions on the parliament decisions and actions. So, the deprived colonists started the “No taxation without representation” mantra. When the British government responded restlessly, colonists started opposing the policies of the government along with challenging English rule, and created revolutionaries well known as sons of liberty or liberty boys. This group was responsible for the propagation of terror as they directly involved those people who violently opposed the dynamics of the British rule. Many leaders came forward for the cause of revolution like Benjamin Franklin, Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson, and opposed the British lawmakers. The ideals of a renowned philosopher, John Locke were followed by these men which were analogous to the ideals on which the Declaration of Independence of the United States of America is based. This concept shed light in the announcement of independence, several state constitutions and the bill of rights.

The sudden eruption of protests intensified to massacres in Boston in 1770, burning of the Gaspee in Rhode Island in 1772 and then Boston tea party in 1773. In response, the government closed the port of Boston. In September 1774, several delegates from the thirteen colonies met at the First Continental Congress to respond and by end of spring of 1775, battles of Concord and Lexington were fought between colonial minutemen and the British army because the British army tried to take over American weapons near Boston. Then in May 1775, a second continental congress met and established the continental army under the supervision and authority of George Washington. The following month, the battle of Bunker Hill was fought and Olive branch petition for peace was offered to King George which was rejected. Then congress commissioned a committee of five men and drafted the official statement of its position. The Declaration of Independence signed the separation of the monarchy and the creation of a new nation, the United States of America ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"ghnouVfv","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Wallace)","plainCitation":"(Wallace)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":403,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/bWNXhCgk/items/2TEZ4843"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/bWNXhCgk/items/2TEZ4843"],"itemData":{"id":403,"type":"webpage","title":"American Revolution | Causes, Battles, Aftermath, & Facts","container-title":"Encyclopedia Britannica","abstract":"American Revolution (1775–83), insurrection by which 13 of Great Britain’s North American colonies won political independence and went on to form the United States of America. The war followed more than a decade of growing estrangement between the British crown and many North American colonists.","URL":"https://www.britannica.com/event/American-Revolution","language":"en","author":[{"family":"Wallace","given":"Willard"}],"accessed":{"date-parts":[["2019",11,25]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Wallace). The world was surprised when this young nation of militiamen overwhelmed one of the best armies in the world. The declaration of independence signaled the separation from the monarchy of British rule and resulted in the creation of a new nation that was named “The United States of America”. The world was surprised when this fledgling nation of militiamen overpowered and defeated one of the finest armies in the world.

Liberty, independence and republicanism are the powerful causes and with firm commitment, the patriots have worked for these causes and brought the revolution that caused many social changes in American society.

The first change that appeared soon after the revolution was the abolition of slavery. Prior to the American Revolution, every new world colony has legally sanctioned slavery and every colony has outnumbered the population of slaves. In the late 1770s, nearly twice as many Africans were in the bondage of slavery throughout the colony of New York and within Georgia. The revolution brought about abolition in all the northern states by 1804 even in the southern colonies, the revolution brought liberation, abolition of strict policies and banned the importation of slaves from one place to another. People started voluntarily freeing their slaves and this resulted in the freedom of 10,000 slaves in Virginia and Massachusetts by judicial decree ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"uHSMI7mG","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Hummel)","plainCitation":"(Hummel)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":405,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/bWNXhCgk/items/28TSVKKG"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/bWNXhCgk/items/28TSVKKG"],"itemData":{"id":405,"type":"webpage","title":"Benefits of the American Revolution: An Exploration of Positive Externalities","container-title":"Econlib","abstract":"It has become de rigueur, even among libertarians and classical liberals, to denigrate the benefits of the American Revolution. Thus, libertarian Bryan Caplan writes:  “Can anyone tell me why American independence was worth fighting for?… [W]hen you ask about specific libertarian policy changes that came about because of the Revolution, it’s hard to get a decent answer. …","URL":"https://www.econlib.org/library/Columns/y2018/HummelAmericanrevolution.html","title-short":"Benefits of the American Revolution","language":"en-US","author":[{"family":"Hummel","given":"Jeffrey"}],"accessed":{"date-parts":[["2019",11,25]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Hummel). The second change was the separation of church and state.as a result of revolution the five southern states and New York disestablished itself from the Anglican Church and adopted the constitution. Through amendment United States become the first country to separate church and state at the national level. The third change was adoption of Republican government with limitations on state power incorporate in bills of right. The reform of the penal codes all over the colonies and making them less severe, and eliminating brutal punishments as ear cropping and branding. The fourth big change after the revolution was extinguishing the remains of feudalism and aristocracy. The feudal land tax, primogeniture and entail are abolished in all the new states. This was also a blow against hereditary privilege and the patriarchal family and facilitated the rights of daughters and widows to possess property CITATION Bai17 \l 1033 (Bailyn).

Another revolution that took place in France was different from that of the American Revolution. Unlike French; American did not fight for abstraction.at first Americans also took up arms against British but it was a different scenario then the French revolution, Americans did it to protect and preserve their traditional rights of Englishman. The Americans only slogan was ‘’no taxation without representation” and it was Americans chief complaints. When this becomes impossible to achieve then the Americans fought for their right and declared independence and won it in the battle ground. Americans fought for the tangible goals and to preserve their traditional right rather than to overthrow and established social order. The American Revolution was more about home rule unlike the French whose revolution was about who should rule at home. So, the French took on the Sisyphean task of striving for abstractions ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"hLv3ECee","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Jensen)","plainCitation":"(Jensen)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":407,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/bWNXhCgk/items/PBCR4D25"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/bWNXhCgk/items/PBCR4D25"],"itemData":{"id":407,"type":"book","title":"The Articles of Confederation: An Interpretation of the Social-constitutional History of the American Revolution 1774-1781","publisher":"Univ of Wisconsin Press","number-of-pages":"318","source":"Google Books","abstract":"Events surrounding the writing and ratification of the first constitution are recounted and interpreted.","ISBN":"978-0-299-00204-6","note":"Google-Books-ID: pFXLAMC1xtUC","title-short":"The Articles of Confederation","language":"en","author":[{"family":"Jensen","given":"Merrill"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["1970"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Jensen). They fought for liberty, equality and fraternity and these cannot be achieved through force by the state. The Americans state foundation was laid down upon the experiences of the past and that was the guide for their future and The French, on the other hand not only experienced troubles but also defied these problems. Reason unrestrained and unguided by history and experience proved unable to establish stable government or to secure liberty in France. Instead, it led them to descend into the Terror, the reign of Napoleon, and, ultimately, to the restoration of the monarchy.

The American Revolution freed the colonists from the British rule and it gave fresh blow and hope to other colonists of the world that they can free themselves from monarchy if united. The revolution then spread across the globe and opened ways to all the other revolutions like the French revolution, Haiti, South Africa and approached the subcontinent or south Asia. The revolution ended the cruelties and hardship of the monarchy and all civic and social inequalities or injustices. It resulted in a new united nation.

Works Cited:

Bailyn, Bernard. The ideological origins of the American Revolution. Harvard University Press, 2017. ADDIN ZOTERO_BIBL {"uncited":[],"omitted":[],"custom":[]} CSL_BIBLIOGRAPHY

Hummel, Jeffrey. “Benefits of the American Revolution: An Exploration of Positive Externalities.” Econlib, https://www.econlib.org/library/Columns/y2018/HummelAmericanrevolution.html. Accessed 25 Nov. 2019.

Jensen, Merrill. The Articles of Confederation: An Interpretation of the Social-Constitutional History of the American Revolution 1774-1781. Univ of Wisconsin Press, 1970.

Wallace, Willard. “American Revolution | Causes, Battles, Aftermath, & Facts.” Encyclopedia Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/event/American-Revolution. Accessed 25 Nov. 2019.