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American revolution and the war for independence
American revolution and the war for independence
Revolutionary war from an American perspective
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The “Patriot” takes place in South Carolina in 1776 during the Revolutionary War. It is a story about a widowed father of seven, named Benjamin Martin. Benjamin was involved in the French and Indian War before marrying and starting a family. He is reluctant to join the conflict as he remembers too well his own experience in the earlier French and Indian War. After his wife passed away he does everything to keep his family together and away from war. He is a patriot who wants no part in a war with Britain.
Meanwhile, his two eldest sons, Gabriel and Thomas, can't wait to go out and kill some Redcoats. When South Carolina decides to go to war with Britain, Gabriel immediately joins the Continentals .without his father's permission. Ben, who knows first hand experience wants to discourage his son from participating.
He changes his mind when his house is burned down and one of his children is killed by the savage Green Dragoon commander Colonel Tavington.. Ben's 15-year-old son Thomas is killed trying to free Gabriel as he is taken prisoner. Now, seeking revenge for his son's death, Benjamin leaves behind his 5 other children to bring independence to the 13 colonies. Martin organizes militiamen into a guerilla unit which consists of peasants, slaves, a minister, and assorted other irregulars to harass Cornwallis' army long enough to allow the French to arrive. He takes his two sons, waits in the bush, and, armed with three rifles and a tomahawk, manages to wipe out the entire platoon of soldiers. Stricken with grief, Benjamin butchers the last of the family-destroying redcoats with the tomahawk he used in the French and Indian War, Wasting no time, Benjamin and Gabriel then set about o fight, the onslaught of the brutal Brits wh...
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... he wants to take care of his family. Then he changes his mind and fights in order to save his son. And finally he fights to avenge and give meaning to his son's death. These motivations are all sympathetic, but they aren't the reasons that the American Revolutionary War is uniquely important..
Throughout all this, Martin's primary motivations are paternal. That is, at first he refuses to fight because he wants to take care of his family. Then he changes his mind and fights in order to save his son. And finally he fights to avenge and give meaning to his son's death. These motivations are all sympathetic, but they aren't the reasons that the American Revolutionary War is uniquely important. What makes this war different, what makes it of interest, is that it was much more than just a war against something bad; it was a war for individual liberty and human happiness.
When the war began, it was being fought by the Americans to address their grievances toward the British. This seemed like a justifiable cause for a war, however not all of the citizens shared the same sense of unity about the political issues the war was being fought over. The US was quite upset about the continuing impressment of American sailors into the British Navy and the seizures of American merchant trading vessels by the British. Another reason the United States wished to go to war with Britain was because of their dealings with the Indians in the West. The British were not only trading with the Indians, but they were also giving them weapons and encouraging them to attack American settlements. Along with these reasons, the Americans, now becoming hungry for land, dreamed of capturing British Canada and possibly Florida for the union. Also, the Americans still contained a certain degree of resentment from the Revolutionary War, which they were eager to take out on the British. Even though these were the causes the nation was supposedly fighting for, the entire nation lacked a major driving force to gain restitution for them. The nation was not really united for the cause, as backcountry farmers didn't care about what was happening to coastal shipping businesses, as coastal shipping businesses didn't care about what was happening to the backcountry farmers. Everyone was only concerned with their own problems, and not concerned with the problems facing the nation regarding the situations its citizens were enduring.
The American revolution was the starting point in where America really became independent from, being shackled to Great Britain, but this war had its own irony and contradictions. With each war there are always people fighting for something that they believe in, whether they are right or wrong. As long as the people believe in what they are fighting for then they will always believe that they are fighting for the greater good. In this war the Americans believe in what they were fighting for and the reasons for them to be free from their present and future from being controlled by another country hundreds of miles away. This war contradicted the reason as to why they were fighting, at the end of the fight it seemed to go back to the way it was before, but instead of, having a king ruling over them from hundreds of miles away they have different kinds of people taking control of the new America.
Benjamin Franklin, one of the Founding Fathers to the United States, was not a patriot but a mere loyalist to England before the dissolution between England and the colonies occurred. Sheila L. Skemp's The Making of a Patriot explores how Benjamin Franklin tried to stay loyal to the crown while taking interest in the colonies perception and their own representation in Parliament. While Ms. Skemp alludes to Franklin's loyalty, her main illustration is how the attack by Alexander Wedderburn during the Privy Council led to Franklin's disillusionment with the British crown and the greater interest in making the Thirteen Colonies their own nation. Her analysis of Franklin's history in Parliament and what occurred on the night that the council convened proves the change behind Franklin's beliefs and what lead to his involvement in the Declaration of Independence and the American Revolution. Benjamin Franklin was the colonial agent representing Massachusetts in Parliament in Britain.
Being unjust and unfair to someone will eventually lead up to something major in this case it was the break away from Britain. The question “Were the American colonists justified in waging war and breaking away from Britain?” is important because it really expands and expresses the dangers and struggles the colonists faced back then. It proves the decision the colonists had made was the right decision to make. This is especially important today because if the colonists hadn't decided to split from the British then we would have not reached the freedom we have
Colonialists were in search of a better life in the newly discovered land of the Americas. Ties with their mother-country of Britannia, over three thousand miles away, resulted in miscommunication and arguments. Eventually these arguments and miscommunications lead to the Revolutionary War, provoking many American Colonists to join the Continental Army. Each soldier from the militia to the regular recruits had reasons to fight; many of these reasons were influenced by the first Age of Enlightenment and other reasons were formed by personal experiences with the conflicts of Britannia and the American Colonies. The movie, The Patriot, presented many reasons that are supported by major historical documents, such as the Declaration of Independence, and that also are backed by personal testimonies of the American Colonists who joined the Continental Army.
The American Revolutionary War was the time in which the thirteen colonies finally declared their independence from Britain and were ready to fight for that independence. Joseph Plum Martin was a soldier for the Continental Army for eight years during the American Revolutionary War which spanned from 1775-1783. These years did not treat the lower class of the colonies, including Joseph Plumb Martin, very well. However, unlike many other colonists during this time period, Martin knew what he was fighting for in that long and rigorous war. He started in the army with a certain perspective of what it would be like and reason for being present there. However throughout the course of the war many things changed, and no longer did Martin fight for
The battles of Lexington and Concord were neccessary battles to the American Revolutionary War because they started the very thing that made our country free. Many people have always wondered how the historic American Revolutionary War got started. Sure, they have heard the stories of Paul Revere and the Midnight Ride: There was even a poem written about his ride, but Paul Revere didn’t start the war. It was a much bigger deal than just that.
...hermore, going to war was an act of cowardice. He had to put aside his morals and principles and fight a war he did not believe in.
One of the greatest conflicts in the history of the United State of America, the Revolutionary War, was started when the colonies of North America declared themselves independent from British rule. A group of men known as the Founding Fathers, which included George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, John and Samuel Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and others, formed the Continental Congress to rule their new nation. They chose Thomas Jefferson to write the Declaration of Independence, which they would send to King George III to make their independence official. Jefferson knew that he needed to use strong language to make a solid agrument against British rule in the colonies and to convince the colonists that independence was the only choice to maintain their freedom as human beings. The powerful use of parallelism, ethos, pathos, and logos helpd Thomas Jefferson to convey his idea that all men are created equal with unalienable rights and that it is the duty of the government to protect those rights.
“The [ American ] Revolution...was in the minds and hearts of the people. This radical change in the principles, opinions, sentiments and affections...was the real American Revolution”- John Adams,1818. This quote symbolizes the reasons, and importance for the Colonists wanting freedom.Great Britain had left the Colonists to govern themselves till the 1760s.The Colonists developed different lifestyles than Britain. They had different perceptions of how a government should rule their citizens. They did not want to be controlled at Britain's behest. Unreasonable laws, and taxes were why the Colonists went war.
As proclaimed in the “Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms,” we agreed that the British government had left the people with only two options, “unconditional submission to the tyranny of irritated ministers or resistance by force.” Thus, in the early months of the dreadfully long year of 1775, we began our resistance. As the war progressed, the Americans, the underdogs, shockingly began winning battles against the greatly superior mother country of England. Actually, as seen in the battle of Bunker Hill, not only were they winning, they were annihilating hundreds of their resilient opponents. Countless questions arose before and during the War of Independence. Problems like: social equality, slavery, women’s rights, and the struggle of land claims against Native Americans were suddenly being presented in new and influencing ways to our pristine leaders. Some historians believe that while the Revolutionary War was crucial for our independence, these causes were not affected; thus, the war was not truly a revolution. Still, being specified in the Background Essay, several see the war as more radical, claiming it produced major changes above and beyond our independence.
...he Revolutionary War should be deemed just as important as the war itself. The repeal of the Stamp Act of 1765 with the mob action towards Andrew Oliver and Thomas Hutchinson, the Boston Massacre propaganda of 1770, and the resistance movement of the Boston Tea Party were all events that inspired radical views and revolutionary change. These events were backed and played through by the use of mobs especially like men of the Sons of Liberty. In the end, these men weren’t just “a rabble of boys”, “disorderly sailors”, or “miscreants” nor just a motley crew who was purely destructive and mindless. Rather they were men who acted for the betterment and survival of a people; patriots. These mobs help drive the resistance of the British from idea to movement toward greater change. In other words, these men steered America toward resistance and finally toward revolution.
David McCullough author of 1776 puts faces and feelings to the events of the Revolutionary war making this an exciting novel even when the ending is known. Acting as a companion to an earlier work of McCullough’s, John Adams, 1776 is a strictly military view of the era versus political. Although the reader may have to get accustomed to the vast amount of characters introduced McCullough makes sure that those you are supposed to remember you will. Every character introduced is described incredibly well and throughout the novel you begin to feel as if you know the character and are going through the battle with them, specifically General George Washington with whom the reader emphasizes constantly with throughout the war. With the great description of the characters and events we feel as if we are there and in doing this the author creates understanding, the reader by knowing all sides and characters’ personalities the feels they know why the Revolution happened the way it did.
As Captain John Parker once said “Stand your ground. Don’t fire unless fired upon but if they mean to have war let it begin here.” At the Battle of Lexington and Concord. He said this because they were outnumbered by the Redcoats. The American revolution had many causes. Three of the main causes of the American Revolution were all the different acts, the First Continental Congress and the Battle of Lexington and Concord.
Wars affect a country one way another, either for best or for the worst. The outcome of the war can change a country and the citizens of the country. The American Revolutionary was a war where the affect was tremendous. The American Revolution began in 1775 till 1783. The American Revolution is also known as the United States War of Independence. As soon as people left England to come to United States there was smell of revolution in the air. The revolutionary war was a way for the United States to make a statement and move forward as a country that wasn’t underneath the British rule. John Adams, the second prime minister of the United States explains how the American Revolution began when he says, “The Revolution was affected before the war commenced. The Revolution was in the minds and hearts of the people” . Adam basically means that everyone was thinking about the revolution and in their minds they were already there, wanting to break free from the British rule. Once everyone was against England the people were ready for war. The American Revolution started for many reasons, some of the few are; social, economic, and political changes. These changes provided America to be an independent country with its own government. The increase in strict laws and violent events made many Americans angry and that’s why the revolution began. The French and Indian war, taxes without representation, as well as the first continental congress. These are just some of the reasons that Americans wanted the revolution; there are many more causes that can be justified for this major event. Americans did not want to be ruled by the British who were thousands of miles away from them, they wanted to have control of their country and have their own laws....