The general topic that is being covered this week is the idea of mapping out American Historiography. Historiography is the study of the general trends historians focus on, about a topic during a given time period. As we had been discussing in the past couple of weeks, historians and people in general have a bias or preference for a topic or a causality of an event. This is true for the book American History Now by Eric Foner and Lisa McGirr. These authors compile the general trends of American History from Colonial America to Present Day events. For the general topic of the American Revolution and the Early Republic it was dominated by historians similar to Carr’s ideas. These were large themes in history and a select few individuals that influenced history and were influenced by that history. These people would be George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, and John Adams called the Founding Fathers. There was a shift away from Carr’s ideas to Evan’s study of culture and larger society. “More and more people who were once ignored by scholars now seem worthy of attention…” (p.24 Foner). These groups of people would include Native Americans, African Americans, Women, and poor Whites. I believe that this move is very important to understand the whole story of the American Revolution. The Revolution was not fought by a couple of people; the majority of the people living in the thirteen colonies played a role-one side or the other. Even large groups of Europeans living in Europe played a vital role during the founding of this nation. As historians we need to keep adding multiple perspectives to understand the whole story. The next large theme that is discussed in the Foner book is the Age of Jackson or what the book c... ... middle of paper ... ...w it relates to large groups of people and societies. Overall, we will continue to see changes in the study of history based on the general consensus of society and the individual historian’s focus and bias. For the topics of American Revolution and the Early Republic we will see a focus on more characters and different groups of people. For Jacksonian America, we will see a focus on individual topics and events that counter the notion that during this time everyone got better and improved. For the study of Slavery, the Civil War, and Reconstruction, we will see the continue debate on the influence of slavery, who defeated the south, and what did the civil war create, based on individual’s culture background and their view of the government. Lastly, for capitalisms it will be large themes of different countries economies and what type of economic system they have.
In “Becoming America: The Revolution Before 1776”, Jon Butler argues that there was massive economic and a political transformation occurred in the era of 1680 and 1770 which had been less examined to the American colonial history. In this book, Butler makes a strong argument for the early modernism of American society which helps to define the growth of American identity. The transformation improved the American socioeconomic character and demonstrated itself almost in every aspect of colonial life. I totally agree with the Jon Butler’s argument that the victories and defeats of the revolutionary war would not define America; it was the middle years of the colonial period that would. And his arguments in this book also challenge the existing history. Butler supports his argument from his own note which he collected from by researching huge amount of specialized history books.
The Revolutionary War has been seen as a fundamental period into American history. The revolution was not just about politics and rights but also about a social revolution. Some historians like Gordon S.Wood see the revolution in social terms:
Growing up on the North/South Carolina border, Jackson’s exact state of birth is debatable. Unlike most historians, Jacksons ascertained that he was from South Carolina. Wherever he actually grew up, it is unequivocal that it was a truculent and violent place to be raised. During his childhood, Jackson became accustomed to the social imperatives of the land; hard work, and military spirit. Specifically, in his hometown, one used “[their ]military spirit to defend yourself, and [their] hands to pull something out of the soil”. Here, Meachem believes the constant exhaustion and threat of violence was “one of the many reasons Jackson became a man who was so prone to violence. He grew up with it, he didn’t know anything else”.
B. J., Jackson as a President: Yesterday and Today. Planet Papers. Retrieved June 14, 2009,
In conclusion, the changes in the colonies were so significant that they seemed to create a completely different country. This was especially true with the ideas of an economic system, a common lifestyle, and religious diversity. The changes they made and became accustomed to, also began to change their political beliefs. This is what ultimately led to the war that people today are so accustomed to calling “the American Revolution”. According to John Addams, however, “The war? That was no part of the Revolution; it was only an effect and consequence of it. The Revolution was in the minds of the people… years before a drop of blood was shed at Lexington.”
They were the people who actively participated and sacrificed their lives. Therefore the side they chose to fight on was heavily influenced by their “local interests, grudges, and unfulfilled yearnings [Page 87].”In summary, poor farmers, wanted political rights and land. For slaves they yearned for freedom. Women wanted to have the same rights as men. Native Americans wanted the colonists to stop encroaching on their land. Many of these desires coincided while other clashed. Therein lay the chaos that drove the American Revolution. While many of the people did not succeed the ideas they fought for became deeply embedded into
named after him. As readers we begin to learn the type of man that Jackson indeed
At the time of the American Revolution, no one could have predicted how successful the thirteen colonies would become. Not only did the colonies defeat anarchy, unite, and grow into the United States known today, but something more was achieved. Those early states created a free country filled with many cultures and peoples, brought together by a shared love for freedom. It was a new concept, yet it was mostly welcomed. The American Revolution changed American society economically, but was even more greatly altered politically and socially, as can be seen through numerous documents from those times.
The Revolution was a prominent point of change in the lives of early Americans. It provided new freedoms and opportunities with a challenge for the colonists to design a new government for themselves. At the same time it reduced the freedom of the Indians and made little progress for both women and slaves. The Revolutionary war was revolutionary and whether for better or worse it brought about a dramatic change in the lives of those involved. When we know both the positive and negative that came from this war we can fully appreciate this point in our history.
When one explains his or her ingenious yet, enterprising interpretation, one views the nature of history from a single standpoint: motivation. In The American Revolution: A History, Gordon Wood, the author, explains the complexities and motivations of the people who partook in the American Revolution, and he shows the significance of numerous themes, that emerge during the American Revolution, such as democracy, discontent, tyranny, and independence. Wood’s interpretation, throughout his literary work, shows that the true nature of the American Revolution leads to the development of United State’s current government: a federal republic. Wood, the author, views the treatment of the American Revolution in the early twentieth century as scholastic yet, innovative and views the American Revolution’s true nature as
Bernard Bailyn, Jack Greene, Edmund Morgan, Gordon Wood, and Richard Buel are just a few of these historians that are reshaping the historical view of the revolution, by reestablishing the way the revolutionaries viewed their time in their own eyes. The internal and external values of the colonists have supreme effect on the nature and ideals of the time, far more than can ever be fully appreciated. The maximum effect was on behavior, which, in turn, affects every other aspect of life. The weight of one’s moral compass affects all of their decisions, thus, certainly impacting the decisions of others. Those in high power or respect set the attitude for the population to follow. Apart from the rebels and anomalies, the general population will follow the suits of those they admire, whether by conscious choice, enforced by their parents, or simply internalized
From the 1770s to the 1780s, the American Revolution was extremely influential in developing the United States as a country, and creating the Constitution. This political upheaval was the colonists’ initial rebellious demonstration against the British, and heavily elaborated on the ideas of freedom from a dominating power, which reflected among all social divisions nationwide. From gender relations to the social hierarchy of the persecuted racial groups, every group was by some means affected by the American Revolution and the consequences that followed. The repercussions from the revolt were not entirely positive, despite the country’s newly-developed democracy and the citizens’ increase of political influence. The Revolutionary War had a
Wood should not have focused entirely on his commonly overlooked social and economic forces. Instead, he should have combined his insight along with the insight of other traditional forces to give his book a well-rounded theory behind the American Revolution.
Murphy, Bernice M. Shirley Jackson: Essays on the Literary Legacy. Jefferson, NC: McFarland &, 2005. Print.
Many people see history as a set of facts, or as a collection of stories. The reality, however, is that history is a fluid timeline. Each act of an individual or a group has an effect on others. Each moment in history is a building block that, good or bad, contributes to the stability of the next. This can be seen clearly in American history, as there have been several developments since the 1800’s that have played major roles on the growth of the nation.