Liberalism’s Impact on the American Revolution

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Recommended: The impact of the French and Indian war

Following the French and Indian war, a great debt rested on the shoulders of Great Britain. In order to help alleviate this debt, the British Parliament imposed taxes on the colonies. This not only enraged the colonists at the time, but it also showed them the King was power-hungry. The colonists soon became aware of the fact that they were not being accurately represented. From then on, the people within the colonies knew that independence from Great Britain was necessary in order to thrive as a nation. The liberalism philosophy had the greatest impact on America’s decision to gain freedom from the mother country because it convinced individuals that the people should be able to pursue their own self-interests. Similarly, it made the colonists realize that Great Britain’s economic policies not only hurt their economy at home, but it also had a devastating impact around the world. Evidence for this can be found within the pamphlet Common Sense written by Thomas Paine. Further evidence can be found in the Declaration of Independence, the document which declared the United States an independent nation from Great Britain.
Before one can understand how the liberalism philosophy affected America’s decision to gain independence, they must first be able to understand the key concepts within the liberal philosophy. During the colonial period, the liberalism philosophy was a set of ideas that placed the individual within the forefront of all society. In other words, anything that inhibited the individual from being successful was against the philosophy. Liberalism ideologies also had a big focus on an individual’s right to own property. If an individual owned property, they could then hire workers to work on the property. This not only h...

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...uations. If these concepts had not been introduced, America might still be feeling the effects of a powerful ruler who takes advantage of the citizens trying to get ahead. These decisions also affected America’s concept of a free market society. Since our founders set up our economy on a free market, businesses can now trade and expand throughout all parts of the globe, therefore helping the economy and building partnerships with our nation.

Works Cited
“The Declaration of Independence-(Original to Modern Translation), Side by Side Comparison, last modified in 2012, accessed March, 9, 2014, https://docs.google.com/document/d/17-kk6FR8PGku4XhCy2TFBSbEeIWUlm082qgaqXAP81Y/edit?pli=1
“Thoughts on the Present State of American Affairs,” Common Sense by Thomas Paine, last modified in 2011, accessed March, 9, 2014, http://www.ushistory.org/paine/commonsense/sense4.htm.

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