Causes of The American Revolution

986 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: the causes of American revolution

The period before the American Revolution was characterized by a series of social as well as political shifts that occurred in American society as new republican principles took hold in the gentry of the colonies. That time era distinguished the sharp political debates between radicals and moderates over the role that democracy should play in a government. This broad new American shift to republicanism and a newfound support of democracy was a catastrophe to the traditional social hierarchy, which characterized an old mixed government in the Americas. This new republican ethic forced in a new age of American political values.

By 1775, republicanism had become a widespread philosophy in the colonies. It incorporated federalist ideals that influenced greatly the Radical Whig party of Britain. The Whig party stressed the fear of corruption in a government monarchy. From this idea federalism was born. This political philosophy is a system of government in which powers are divided between a central government and semi-sovereign political states. The radical leaders who were important in stressing these ideologies and new ideas were Samuel Adams, Patrick Henry, George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Thomas Paine, Benjamin Franklin, and John Adams.

The American Revolutionary period occurred in 1763 when Britain defeated France in the French and Indian War. Because of this war, England had almost doubled its own national debt. The colonists of the Mother Country (Britain), the peoples of America, expected to have their "rights of the Englishmen" given to them by their benefactor as a natural set of rights. Britain however began a new imperial reform in the colonies after almost two years o...

... middle of paper ...

...ed, our towns have voted; the crown officers have everywhere trembled, and all their little tools and creatures been afraid to speak and ashamed to be seen." This quote gives justification to the ideas that the radicals of the Revolutionary time period had introduced to society. Because of these radicals, the ways of an entire nation had been ultimately shaped and molded into a society that would be molded throughout the entire world. Thomas Paine once recognized this with a saying, "Our style and manner of thinking, have undergone a revolution… we see with other eyes, we hear with other ears, and think with other thoughts than those we formerly used." The Ideology of revolutionary republicanism, pieced together from English political thought, radical ideas, Enlightenment doctrine, and assorted religious beliefs, constituted what the revolution had once stood for.

Show More
Related

  • The Pros And Cons Of Republicanism In The American Revolution

    840 Words  | 2 Pages

    The American people turned to Republicanism because they believed in a political system run by the people, not by a supreme authority. It became clearer to them over the course of the American Revolution, and even before, that they had wanted equality and the liberty to run their own governemt. King George III parliament had imposed policies to weaken colonial power and assert authority, raised their taxes, and required them to house the British soldiers that enforced such policies.

    Read More

  • Reasons The Colonials Revolted

    1379 Words  | 3 Pages

    Most political theories in the American Enlightenment were gotten from John Locke's Two Treatises on Government and the works of English radical political theorists, and for sure a radical republican group called the "commonwealthmen." Colonists’ political thought was a confusing and uneasy mix of Scottish common sense philosophy, Enlightenment thought, English law, Puritan thinking, and the unique experience of colonial life. With Enlightenment, they came up with political ideas centering around John Locke. They stated that when the British government took away their liberties, the British had severed the political bonds that tied America and Britain together. The Americans believed in representation, contractual government, and natural rights. Radical English thought was distributed in America and American political thought was enthusiastically distributed throughout Britain by the radicals. The "commonwealthmen." were the most important among the English radical thinkers that influenced American political thought. They believed that the monarchy should be abolished in favor of a republic ruled by a representative government. They thought of the English Parliament as hopelessly corrupt and opposed parliamentary taxation and the existence of standing armies.

    Read More

  • Thomas Bender: The Superpowers Of The American Revolution

    796 Words  | 2 Pages

    The start of the American Revolution, described by Edmund Morgan as, “the shot heard around the world,” was the “Americans’ search for principles” (Bender 63). Although the world’s colonies did not necessarily seek independence much like the Americans, the world’s colonies were nonetheless tired of the “administrative tyranny” being carried out by their colonizers (Bender 75). The American Revolution set a new standard in the colonies, proclaiming that the “rights of Englishmen” should and must be the “rights of man,” which established a new set foundation for the universal rights of man (Bender 63). This revolution spread new ideas of democracy for the colonized world, reshaping people’s expectations on how they should be governed. Bender emphasizes America as challenging “the old, imperial social forms and cultural values” and embracing modern individualism” (Bender 74). Bender shapes the American Revolution as a turning point for national governments. The American Revolution commenced a new trend of pushing out the old and introducing new self-reliant systems of government for the former

    Read More

  • Washington And Hamilton Essay

    883 Words  | 2 Pages

    During the late 1700s there was a lot of different viewpoints on how the government should be run today. The leaders of the divide were George Washington and Alexander Hamilton, which later on we will learn each one of their views. In today’s political world we would divide Washington and Hamilton views into political parties, which in the late 1700s they were called Federalists and Republicans. However, later on we see a group trying to create a democracy, which then it was called Jacksonian populism and power.

    Read More

  • The Causes of the American Revolution

    2372 Words  | 5 Pages

    The American Revolution began for many reasons, some are; long-term social, economic, and political changes in the British colonies, prior to 1750 provided the basis for and started a course to America becoming an independent nation under it's own control with its own government. Not a tyrant king thousands of miles away. A huge factor in the start of the revolution was the French and Indian War during the years of 1754 through 1763; this changed the age-old bond between the colonies and Britain, its mother. To top it off, a decade of conflicts between the British rule and the colonists, starting with the Stamp Act in 1765 that eventually led to the eruption of war in 1775, along with the drafting of The Declaration of Independence in 1776.

    Read More

  • The Causes of the American Revolution

    1062 Words  | 3 Pages

    The connection between Britain and the English colonies was that of the ruling of the colonies by the king of Britain, King George III and his parliament. The king’s ruling was very unfavorable for the colonists because of his tyrannic dictatorship and unjustly taxations. The mere thought of an island ruling an entire continent thousands of miles away with poor communication and lack of supervision of the colonies by the king, did not work in favor of the colonies nor for Britain. Three contributing factors for the outbreak of the American Revolution were (1) the king’s taxes, (2) neglect of the 13 colonies and (3) England’s mercantilism policy. King George III and his decisions were one of the major causes that had the English colonists fumed with anger towards Britain and this eventually led to the American Revolution.

    Read More

  • Struggle Between the North and South

    861 Words  | 2 Pages

    As a free country that aimed to develop republicanism, the United States of America had to carry out several constitutional changes during the early period of development. Of course, there were several factors which contributed in shaping the United States of America during the early national period, and they occurred in political development, religious development, and economic development of the United States, the most important aspects of every modern country. Each of these three aspects were interconnected. Institutions and individuals working in these fields influenced the shaping of America and its Constitution after the Independence War. Although their main influences were the ideals that arose during Enlightenment, there were several obstacles in using ideals from the Age of Reason in creating a liberal republic, so several changes had to be made. The ideals that inspired the Revolution had to be influenced to create a functional reality-based system, not one created on ideals. The biggest influence in many political and economic decisions was the growing tension between the North and the South which fought constantly for interests, followed by the influence of religious groups on the Constitution. However, liberalism was still an important influence in objective political decisions on a federal level.

    Read More

  • Atlantic Revolutions

    1803 Words  | 4 Pages

    The American Revolution was marked by the colonies’ independence from Britain. This separation pronounced a new age marked by a decisive political change in the colonies because of the implementation of the Enlightenment ideals and the continuation of English liberties. However, the American Revolution was considered a conservative movement because it “originated from an effort to preserve the existing liberties of the colonies rather than create new ones” (Strayer, 782). Furthermore, the revolution occurred not on the issue of taxation, but on the issue of representation. The colonists believed autonomy was part of their birthright and as Englishmen along with their economic rights and their “natural rights to life, liberty, and property” (Kramnick, Lockean Liberalism). These two sentiments can be seen in their famous slogan “No taxation without representation”. By challenging their economic interests, their established traditions of local autonomy, and their identity as true Englishmen, the colonists were truly infuriated. Thus the American Revolution didn’t grow out of the social tensions within the colonies but rather from an unexpected effort by the British government to tighten its control over the colonies and ex...

    Read More

  • American Revolution and its Aftermath

    1157 Words  | 3 Pages

    The American Revolution marked the divorce of the British Empire and its one of the most valued colonies. Behind the independence that America had fought so hard for, there emerged a diverging society that was eager to embrace new doctrines. The ideals in the revolution that motivated the people to fight for freedom continued to influence American society well beyond the colonial period. For example, the ideas borrowed from John Locke about the natural rights of man was extended in an unsuccessful effort to include women and slaves. The creation of state governments and the search for a national government were the first steps that Americans took to experiment with their own system. Expansion, postwar depression as well as the new distribution of land were all evidence that pointed to the gradual maturing of the economic system. Although America was fast on its way to becoming a strong and powerful nation, the underlying issues brought about by the Revolution remained an important part in the social, political and economical developments that in some instances contradicted revolutionary principles in the period from 1775-1800.

    Read More

  • Liberalism And Republicanism Essay

    1428 Words  | 3 Pages

    After the government-destroying Revolution that the people believed to be suppressing their liberty, there was a realization that government was still irrefutably necessary for liberty. This resulted in some resurrection of what was initially fought against, in which we see glimpses of republican ideas from the classical world in American political culture, for the founders believed that republican virtue and liberal individualism were compatible and interdependent elements that would create a distinctive America (Vetterli and Bryner,

    Read More

  • The Causes of the American Revolution

    493 Words  | 1 Pages

    The relationship between Britain and her Americans colonies slowly deteriorated between the 1750s and the beginning of the American Revolution. When the first British immigrants settled in America, the relationship of the colonies and their mother country was somewhat peaceful. In the following generations, however, their relationship became tenser as Britain imposed policies and taxes on unrepresented American colonists. The British believed they were right in doing so because they had large debts to pay from ongoing wars with France. These taxes caused uprisings among colonists which contributed to British occupation in America, leading to more rebellions. Eventually, the rift in the relationship between the colonists and the British led to the Revolutionary War and the formation of a new country.

    Read More

  • The Causes of the American Revolution

    895 Words  | 2 Pages

    The American Revolution was sparked by a myriad of causes. These causes in themselves could not have sparked such a massive rebellion in the nation, but as the problems of the colonies cumulated, their collective impact spilt over and the American Revolution ensued. Many say that this war could have been easily avoided and was poorly handled by both sides, British and American; but as one will see, the frame of thought of the colonists was poorly suited to accept British measures which sought to “overstep” it’s power in the Americas. Because of this mindset, colonists developed a deep resentment of British rule and policies; and as events culminated, there was no means to avoid revolution and no way to turn back.

    Read More

  • The Causes of the American Revolution

    1691 Words  | 4 Pages

    The American Revolution had some of its beginnings in the French and Indian war. For seven years, Britain battled the French and Indian nations in the colonies. Where the colonies militia fought beside the troops of the British army and learned war first hand. After winning the war, Britain had a large debt 140 million pounds. To pay these expenses, it was reasoned that taxing the colonies should pay the debt. The war had been fought to protect the land of the Ohio River Valley, land that was part of the colonies.

    Read More

  • The Causes of American Revolution

    2112 Words  | 5 Pages

    ...t took for communication between the two nations it was very difficult for the British Ministers or King to fully appreciate the maturation and development of the Colonists. “The Revolution did not just eliminate monarchy and create republics; it actually reconstituted what Americans meant by public or state power and brought about an entirely new kind of popular politics and a new kind of democratic officeholder” (Wood 8).

    Read More

  • Causes and Effects of the American Revolution

    1566 Words  | 4 Pages

    Both the British and the American colonists contributed to causing the American Revolution. The war grew out of contempt: England’s contempt for the colonies and colonial contempt for British policies. A series of actions by the British eventually pushed the colonists over the edge and towards independence. The results of the war gave many citizens a new role in society while others, like slaves, felt no change at all. This paper will examine the specific causes and effects of the American Revolution.

    Read More

More about Causes of The American Revolution

Open Document