The American Revolution, a late 18th century colonial revolt, was the center of European interest that spurred opposition and affected the supremacy and relations between dominant nations of the time. In 1763, the close of the Seven Years War was at hand with defeat of the world power, France, by the prevailing British forces. Although British territorial accomplishment was evident, financial blunders were inevitable after obtaining great war debt and the struggle to maintain a newly amassed empire. Extreme budgetary conditions soon led to the institution of taxes that ignited American animosity. Americans soon adopted European ideals of the Enlightenment that inspired them to rebel and refuse to be controlled. France supported Americans wanting …show more content…
Notable figures involved with the Revolution harbored the concepts of the philosophes and instilled thoughts of liberation into the colonies. John Locke, an English philosopher, reflected on these ideals in Two Treatises on Government writing, “…whenever government tries to take away and destroy the property of the people or reduce the people to slavery, it puts itself in a state of war with the people,” (Document 1). Locke promoted individual thinking in the government that would later set the foundation of modern democracy in America. He did not favor the way government prevented popular sovereignty and believed that doing so would only lead to unrest with the general public, which was the case with Britain’s relationship with the colonists. Another figure originally from England, Thomas Paine, strived to convince Americans to separate from British oppression in The American Crisis. Comparing unjust British taxation to a form of captivity, Paine reasoned that being confined to lesser freedoms was ungodly and tyrannical further urging the sentiment of revolt in the colonies (Document 6). Founding father, Thomas Jefferson, also implemented much of Locke’s philosophy in the Declaration of Independence when mentioning unalienable rights including liberty, life, and property. Such values were reflected in Jefferson’s account when he spoke of taking action against Britain by remarking on the progressiveness of the alliance with France, which was ultimately prompted by Enlightenment ideals that originated in Europe (Document 5). The influence of the Enlightenment was blatant in the colonies in every respect, which originated due to the motivating factor of British
Thomas Paine, a revolutionary and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, wrote the most influential pamphlets at the start of the American Revolution. Thomas Paine wrote a pamphlet, Common Sense, and it inspired the colonists in 1776 to declare independence from Great Britain. He gave many reasons for the colonists to support colonial independence. Some reasons Paine gave were Great Britain is thousand of miles away from the colonist which made communication a problem and Great Britain is only an island so it’s weird for an island to govern a continent.
The American Revolution is known as the political conflict that occurred towards the end of the eighteenth century when the thirteen colonies in America united to obtain freedom from the mother country, Great Britain. This revolution was fought between the strong British military and scrappy American farmers who experienced no training. Despite the fact that the Americans faced several disadvantages, they were able to win because they had assistance from the French, and they had knowledge of the land where the revolution transpired. Without the aid of the French, the colonies would have not had the capacity of defeating the British military. France provided motivation to vanquish Great Britain.
Since ancient history, philosophers and political theorists have greatly influenced the structures of government and the overall beliefs of the people with their ideas. This was no different with the American Colonies during the 18th century. Philosophers like John Locke and Thomas Paine made the colonists question their political ties to the Crown when the British parliament put unfair measures over the colonies like the Tea Act and the Intolerable Acts. This eventually led them to break those ties and earn their independence by fighting the American Revolutionary War. The Thirteen Colonies strove towards independence because of its influence from historical philosophers and its unique location and circumstance.
The American Revolution was an ongoing controversial topic that is the subject of many debates and historians’ studies. A war that some say was all to blame on the colonists. On the contrary to this belief, this war was to blame on the British due to their irrational acts, laws, and taxes passed. These enacted rules angered many colonists as the acts, in turn, caused bankruptcy for many citizens. The unfair ordinances resulted in a series of bloodshed battles, beginning in 1775 and ending in 1783.
Was the American Revolution unavoidable? Should King George have handled things differently? Were the colonist right in the way they reacted? Should colonist be expected to pay debts incurred by British merchants? Were all the “Acts” imposed the cause ultimate cause?
Could you ever imagine living your daily life with having any control of yourself? American Revolution happened during in 1775-1783. Also taking place in the Northern 13 colonies colonies. There was tension between Great Britain which caused the American Revolution. What are the political, economic, and social factors that impacted the free slaves and slaves from colonial period through reconstruction.
The American Revolution wasn’t so revolutionary after all. Some say The Revolution assisted the extinction of slavery,it brought equality or fairness upon the wealthy and poor, and that it also helped the movement of women's rights. The American Revolution didn’t quite assist to the extinction of slavery. In document 5 you can see on the map how majority of the southern colonies or states didn’t abolish slavery till 1865.Basically it took about eight decades to abolish slavery itself but not the thought of it. In document6 a young well educated African American man makes a speech about how he doesn’t see a future for his-self .
In Great Britain’s colonies, the Acts were seen as an injustice to colonists, because the colonist felt they should not have to pay the taxes without fair representation. Without the representation, the colonists determined Great Britain knew nothing on the needs of the colonies and felt they did not have to pay the debt of the Seven Years War off. The enlightenment also influenced parts of the American Revolution and the Latin American Wars of Independence. Many works such as Common Sense by Thomas Paine in Great Britain’s colonies encouraged the colonists to break away from the crown and form a new country, because the crown was not living up to the ideals of the mother country taking care of its colonies. Most of this inspired nationalism in the colonies and created the Sons of Liberty to fight and push for American Independence.
The call to revolution is often romanticized to show a needy people rising up against their oppressors. The entire population tends to advocate for the change. Unfortunately, reality is often the opposite. Even though a minority of colonists, patriots, demanded revolution the war and Revolution, itself, had a huge impact on the political, social, and economic aspects of life in the American colonies from 1775 to 1800. Politically, the time after Revolution, 1777 – 1800, was full of tension.
One Enlightenment thinker John Locke wrote Two Treatises on Government in 1690 which explained the right of the governed to overthrow their government if it denies them their unalienable rights. Revolutionary leaders followed this line of thought and used Locke’s theory of natural rights, life liberty and property, to justify their rebellion. During the time of Salutary Neglect colonies formed their own representative governments, which served under Parliament and applied colonial taxes. The colonists had no problem with taxes they just wanted their representative bodies to applied them, not Parliament with its virtual representation, During the dawn of the Revolution in 1776 Thomas Paine wrote Common Sense which spread republican ideals throughout the colones. This document, which sold 100,000 copies in 3 months quickly spread amongst the colonists and solidified their common political motivations.
There was tension, blood, and tears with the Thirteen Colonies and Great Britain. This was due to the American Revolution that started in 1765 and ended in 1783. So how revolutionary was the American revolutionary war? Well, first what does revolutionary mean? Revolutionary means that things have changed dramatically.
During the Eighteenth Century, France had an absolute monarchy with Louis XVI as king and Marie Antoinette as queen. In that time period, French society was based upon a system of Estates where the clergy made up the First Estate; the nobility comprised the Second Estate, and everyone else including professionals, peasants, and the bourgeoisie made up the Third Estate. The Third Estate was immensely unhappy with the old regime, the Estates General, and Louis XVI’s leadership. France was also in the midst of a fiscal crisis due to the American Revolution, Louis XVI’s lavish lifestyle, the Seven Years War, and the tax exemption of the First and Second Estate. Following the surge of new ideas and impactful philosophers from the Enlightenment,
The American Revolution also commonly referred to as the War of Independence”, emerged during the 1700s following increased tensions, thus between the 13 American colonies patriots and the British Crown and only halted after America became a sovereign nation. This paper provides insights into some of the primary causes behind the American Revolution by analyzing the basis as well as the outlook of a shared political ideology, major complains with regard to British governance and denial of voting rights and the American citizens’ participation in rebellions against British rule. The political ideologies of revolting the British Crown largely came from European enlightenment which stem from somewhat a different American philosophy. One of
John Locke was a philosopher and political scientist. He had many interests and produced a number of writings that influenced future leaders. One of these leaders was Thomas Jefferson, who was involved with the aid of America and the act gaining independence from Britain. The Declaration of Independence and Locke’s views on government contain many similar aspects. These ideas includes the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness (natural rights); the protection that is provided by the government for these rights; and the altering or abolishment of government if it fails to provide and protect the rights of the people.
Due to his many experiences while living in Great Britain, he grew a desire to fight for the oppressed and often questioned the authority the British Monarchy had over the American colony. Thomas Paine wrote an influential Pamphlet “Common Sense” a scathing attack on the monarchial tyranny over the American colony and the significance of American independence. Thomas Paine’s ideas in this pamphlet were not original, however were more accessible to the masses due to the clear and direct way he wrote. His pamphlet helped to inspire The Declaration of Independence written by Thomas Jefferson. The Declaration of Independence contains a list of grievances against King George III and justifications for the assertion of the right for independence.