The American Revolution, from 1765 to 1783, established a new and different government and society in the new nation of the United States. As the citizens tired of British rule, new ideas like liberty and capitalism grew in popularity and contributed to the Revolutionary War and the creation of a new federal government that would protect the rights of its citizens.
Colonists hoped for economic development, as the British had originally limited trade and economic opportunity. The vast majority of society were simple farmers who produced raw goods like tobacco and cotton. They were just a source of income for the British, who had no interest in developing the economy. Thomas Jefferson, in his “Original Rough Draught” of the Declaration of Independance, …show more content…
Works like Locke’s Two Treatises of Government argued for ideas like religious tolerance and liberty. They also promoted social equality, an entirely new idea that would influence the course of the revolution. Abigail Adams, the wife of John Adams, wrote to her husband during the drafting of the Declaration of Independence and urged him to “Remember the Ladies,” and insisted that if women did not receive equality, that they would not hesitate to “foment a Rebellion.” (Document 4) All colonists in the United States supported the idea that “all men are born equally free and independant,” but hesitated to give freedoms to women as well. (Document 6) As a result, women’s pleas went largely ignored, although many became involved in politics, as the Constitution gave both women and men the right to petition the government to satisfy some of the objections of women. Slaves too, hoped for change. Many supported the ideals of the American Revolution, like Crispus Attucks, killed in the Boston Massacre. Many were disappointed by the outcomes and lack of changes with the new government, like Benjamin Banneker. Banneker claims that the colonists freedom from “the Arms and tyranny of the British Crown” is the “peculiar blessing of Heaven.” (Document 5) He attempts to insinuate that such freedom for the colonists is the same as freedom for slaves would be,