...Christina Penh Mr. Jobs AP American History 2012 Summer Assignment The American Revolution: A History by Gordon S. Wood Many people mistake the American Revolution for the American War of Independence, but Gordon S. Wood saw it as something more: it was a complete change in the political structure of America. The American Revolution: A History provides a great swift account of the conflicts and motivations of the period from 1760 to 1790. According to Wood his main points, are: “How the Revolution came about, what its character was, and what its consequences were” as “the questions this brief history seeks to answer”(Wood, xxv). He tries to focus more on the important details instead of trying to argue whether or not the consequences of the Revolution were good or bad. The story is told clearly and is a great overview of the historical, political, and intellectual ideas and events that make up this fascinating time in our country’s history. It is detailed and goes in-depth, exploring all aspects of the Revolution. It includes maps, a time-line and quotes from colonists and people who were there. In order to explain his reasoning, he demonstrates how the United States was impacted by the radical revolution, transitioning from English colonies to an independent republic. This is why his book is organized into seven chapters: Origins, American Resistance, Revolution, Constitution-Making and War, Republicanism, Republican Society, and the Federal Constitution. Only fourteen...
Words: 879 - Pages: 4
...THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION Name Course Date The American Revolution When armed conflict between the British soldiers and the thirteen American colonies started in April 1775, the English men were fighting only for their rights while remaining subjects of the British crown. It was after the war had developed in full swing that the American colonists started demanding for independence from the British government, forcing the delegates from the Continental Congress to cast a vote on the matter. In June 1776, a committee of five men including John Adams, Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson were given the task of drafting an official statement of the intentions of the colonies. It was after this that the Congress adopted the independence declaration that was written by Jefferson on 4 July. Currently, the date is celebrated as the day when America attained her independence. The American Revolution occurred due to a series of intellectual, political and social transformations that occurred in the way of thinking of the American society and government. For instance, in 1764, the Government of Britain imposed a series of taxes that were designed to raise the amount of tax that was imposed on the colonies. The American Revenue Act became the Sugar act, whose major component involved increasing the amount of tax that was imposed on sugar. These events impacted both on the social and political life of the thirteen colonies. The success of the American Revolution gave the people...
Words: 396 - Pages: 2
...The American Revolution is best described, with a parallel to the Gettysburg Address given many years later, as a revolution of the people, by the people. This social revolution took place in response to the neglect shown toward the American colonies by the British government. Many final decisions were made and imposed upon the colonists without taking their opinions into account. The slogan of the time, “no taxation without representation”, was indicative of the colonist’s feelings toward these decisions. Although there were many peaceful pleas and bargains offered by the colonists, the British government failed to meet the needs of their citizens in the New World. These colonists responded aggressively to the British policies in an act to fulfill the very dream that led them to the Americas: escaping lives of deprivation and inequality. Because of the ample peace offerings and pleas of the American colonies, the American Revolution was absolutely avoidable. If Parliament had decided to take the colonists’ opinions into consideration by providing them with equal representation, the American Revolution could have never been a part of history. However, because of Britain’s failure to respond in a cooperative fashion, the only remaining question was how much longer would the colonists put up with subordination before revolting. Some of the policies that the colonists voted against were the Navigation and Intolerable Acts – policies that restricted the transportation of the colonists...
Words: 971 - Pages: 4
...The American Revolution was a major turning point in American history that represented an evolutionary change in ideals and principles. Several political, economic, and ideological aspects had contributed to this revolution including, England’s Salutary Neglect, mercantilism, and the influences of the Enlightenment. The political aspect of the American Revolution starts with Salutary Neglect. For over 150 years (from 1609 up until 1763), the British had an unofficial, undocumented policy that would keep the colonists loyal to the mother country by allowing them to govern themselves as they please. It was mainly used not to enforce any trading laws on the colonists. The British allowed the colonists to form colonial assemblies; these were meetings between the colonists to discuss any issues that were concerning them as well as any ideas that they had in mind. The assembly had an appointed governor and helped political growth throughout the colonies. This unofficial policy came to an end in 1763 when the British nearly lost the French and Indian War. They immediately imposed new tax policies on the colonists to make up for the damage caused during the nine years of war. An economic factor that had a role in the revolution/evolution was Mercantilism. 120 years prior to the American Revolution, the British imposed a policy that was known as “Mercantilism”. It was an economic theory that in order for a certain to have economic growth, that nation must export more...
Words: 409 - Pages: 2
...Sohee Kang England's Vietnam essay The devastation of the French and Indian war left the British in heavy debt, which then led to the various acts and taxes imposed on the colonies. Starting in 1764 with the sugar act and ending with the conclusion of the revolution in 1783, many factors contributed to the defeat of the British. Mostly due to vast distance of the mother country from the colonies, it was difficult for England to supply themselves with soldiers, food, and weapons. Other factors that contributed to their defeat were the alliance between the Americans and England’s bitter rivals such as the Spanish and French, who sent soldiers and supplies to the colonies, as well as England’s own strategical follies. In the aftermath of the French and Indian war, England’s parliament taxed the colonies heavily to recover from the debt by passing various Acts that taxed materials such as sugar, paper, and tea. This caused the unrest and dissent among the Americans which was then followed by resistance and oppression. After several years of uneasiness, a violent battle occurred in Lexington and Concord on April 19 1775, which marked the beginning of the American Revolution. George III then proceeded to begin and quickly end a war against the colonies to set an example of them. This method, however, required vast numbers of soldiers and other supplies, which was scarce and hard to obtain due to the distance separating the opposing sides. Even if the British did obtain...
Words: 749 - Pages: 3
...American Revolution- The Only Way Out I strongly opposed Thomas Chalmers’ argument. He portrays a very partisan perspective on situation in Americans. It goes without saying that he is a beneficiary of heinous act of the Britons. Taking freedom of American and enslaving them in their own land couldn’t be justified in any way. It beats logic when Chalmers asserts that the British law boasts as the best ever when it couldn’t guarantee the most basic right of people. All men are equal before the law. That is what I believe and stand for. It bothers me so much that my hard work as a merchant would end up in the hands of someone who believe to have more rights than others. That why is fully support the sentiments what Paine advocated for. How for instance can you live in a nation where there is no freedom? How about paying tax to a government that you have not part of it? No representation, no voice, just living like a slave. This oppression could push any ordinary man to the limit, leaving with only one option, to fight. And this brings me to American Revolution. What else would we have done? It was the only way out to redeem ourselves from the claws of British imperialist. No motivation could be better that Paine’s article, “Plain Truth” Paine, reminded us that we are men just like they are. The outcome speaks for itself. America attained freedom for all her people, to be...
Words: 251 - Pages: 2
...The American Revolution was a political upheaval by the thirteen American colonies. The thirteen colonies wanted to break away from the British government and form their own independent government. The American Revolutionary War was a result of the colonies being fed up with the laws being passed upon them and how they were being treated by the British government. There were many events that led up to the colonies wanting to break from the British government. Some of the events that led to this uprising, to only name a few, included The French and Indian War (part of the Seven Years’ War), the Boston Tea Party, and the Boston Massacre. There were also many individuals that helped cause the revolution and there were those that helped lead the colonists in their victorious separation from the British government. The French and Indian War was the start of the colonists beginning to become fed up with how the British government was governing them. The war resulted in the British gaining more land in North America, but it also resulted in the British government becoming more demanding and more controlling when it came to the American colonists and their lives (Hewitt and Lawson, 131). During this war, it did not look like the British were going to win. They lost many wars in North America. And when it looked like France would win this war, the British government put a new person in charge of their war efforts, William Pitt. Pitt placed more soldiers and more weapons in North America...
Words: 1122 - Pages: 5
... when the Peace of Paris formally ended the Seven Years’ War. Since the late seventeenth century, their lives had been disrupted by a series of wars between Britain and the “Catholic Powers,” France and Spain. Now, however, a triumphant Britain took title to Spanish Florida, French Canada, and all of Louisiana east of the Mississippi. With the British flag flying over so much of the North American continent, the colonists looked forward to a time of uninterrupted peace, expansion, and prosperity. Deeply proud of the British victory and their own identity as “free Britons,” they neither wanted nor foresaw what the next two decades would bring—independence, revolution, and yet another war. Independence The Seven Years’ War had left Great Britain with a huge debt by the standards of the day. Moreover, thanks in part to Pontiac’s Rebellion, a massive American Indian uprising in the territories won from France, the British decided to keep an army in postwar North America. Surely the colonists could help pay for that army and a few other expenses of administering Britain’s much enlarged American empire. Rather than request help from provincial legislatures, however, Britain decided to raise the necessary money by acts of Parliament. Two laws, the Sugar Act (1764) and the Stamp Act (1765), began the conflict between London and America. The Sugar Act imposed duties on certain imports not, as in the past, to affect the course of trade—for example, by making it more expensive for colonists...
Words: 3620 - Pages: 15
...The American Revolution The Declaration of Independence is considered one of the world’s greatest persuasive documents ever written. Adopted on July 4, 1776 by the Second Continental Congress in America, the Declaration listed the tyrannical acts committed by King George III of England and proclaimed the natural rights of mankind and the sovereignty of the American states. The immediate origins of the American Revolution were in British-American disputes over taxation. After the Seven Years War with France, Britain was left with double its national debt and in severe need of money to repay loans and to defend its territories. Britain attempted to rebuild its finances by issuing the Stamp Act, which levied taxes on selected items ;such as commercial and legal documents, diplomas, pamphlets, newspapers, almanacs, dice, and playing cards ;and monopolizing the tea trade between China and America. These brought about severe protests and riots, however, which Britain punished by imposing the Coercive Acts, closing the Boston port and stopping local elections and meetings. After negotiations between the First Continental Congress and the British Parliament proved unsuccessful, the American Revolution began. During the war, many were inspired by the works of philosophers such as John Locke and the baron de Montesquieu. Locke believed the function of a government was to protect the natural rights of life, liberty, and property of the people, and if it fails to do so, it becomes a tyranny...
Words: 1301 - Pages: 6
...By the first quarter of the 1600, the English had sent their first settlers to the new continent. Following their neighboring country Spain, they decided to try their luck as well. The English were not the only ones who tried to settle this new continent but for the purpose of this paper, we will learn how the English have failed to operate their own operation causing the colonies to rebel. The American Revolution was inevitable because of the English lack of ability to make good managerial decisions. The English saw the colonies as a source of revenue. The English civil war in the 1640, put the English in debt and they were looking for ways to find a solution out of it. The first mistake or bad attitude came shortly after when England discovered its colonies. Trade and Mercantilism were introduced to the colonies and to the English government. The colonists believed that their power is hidden in free trade and were motivated by self-interest, which they believed would help to develop a strong economic strength. The English Government on the other hand, saw the opportunity to limit the colonies trade and shift it to go through them. Starting at 1660, the English government enforced 4 navigation acts. The 4 acts were dealing with the way to trade and were limiting the colonist to choose a carrier for the goods, transferring good from one colony to the other, receiving goods from foreign ships and lastly creating a custom system which will be regulated by England. Those acts were...
Words: 1593 - Pages: 7
...American Revolution A revolution is when a government is overthrown, because the citizens believe in a new system. This can lead up to a war. There have been many revolutions throughout history. The revolution I believe has had the largest impact was the American Revolution. The American Revolution began in 1763 and went on until 1787. This revolution wasn’t just one event it was many small events that led up to a large war. It began with the signing of The Treaty of Paris, which put an end the the French and Indian war. A little after that they started passing all these different acts that the citizens were against. Begaing with the Sugar Act. The Sugar Act put a tax and sugar. Then there was the Stamp Act, the put tax on any printed paper,...
Words: 368 - Pages: 2
...History of the United States I AMH 1010 CRN 10800, December 1, 2014 Wood, Gordon. The Radicalism of the American Revolution. Vintage Books, a Division of Random House, Inc., New York, 1991 Gordon Wood describes the American Revolution as a journey from paternal colonialism to an egalitarian democracy. His contention is that the American Revolution does not seem to have the same kinds of causes that Revolutions usually display. There were no big social wrongs, no class conflict, no severe poverty, or gross inequitable distribution of wealth. Wood claims our revolution was not about independence as most history books claim but about the radical transformation of the American society. Monarchy In this section the author describes the structure of colonial America in the 1750s and 1760s. In colonial society, authority and liberty flowed from the structure of personal relationships. Society was held together by networks of personal loyalties, obligations and dependencies. In this hierarchical society, the elite or aristocrats ruled. The aristocrats (also called gentlemen) used their wealth and their hereditary advantages to keep the common people as dependents. The aristocrats lived a life of leisure which meant that they were not expected to labor. Their income was supposed to come from their landed estates. They used these landed estates to control the issuance of government offices and created laws that would keep their estates in the family. Most estates were passed on to...
Words: 2135 - Pages: 9
...The American Revolution was the uprising of the existing thirteen American colonies to gain independence from Britain in the mid 1700’s. The American colonists began questioning Britain’s authority as early as the French and Indian War. During the French Indian War, the colonies wanted to defend themselves against the French in North America. They asked King George for permission to raise armies in order defend themselves. Although their reason to raise an army was sincere, George II was suspicious of the intentions of the colonial government and disapproved their petition. After the French Indian War, Britain decided to raise money by taxing the American Colonists for reparations. Taxes such as the Stamp and Tea Acts created controversy throughout the citizens. Some thought that Britain stepped over the boundary with taxes and some reacted violently. The Boston Tea Party as well as the Boston Massacre arose from such actions. With Britain’s Intolerable acts, the colonists made a daring proposition. The colonists, in the First Continental Congress sent a letter to King George declaring war. Although the British government likely procured strong reasons for limiting the opportunities, rights, and freedoms available to American colonists under British rule, the American Colonists were justified in their desire to claim independence from the British government due to taxation without representation in government meetings, limitations by laws that restricted their freedom and the...
Words: 1478 - Pages: 6
...The American Revolution was caused by problems with religion, government, finances, freedom, and rights. All of these subjects have been presented earlier during the enlightenments, the glorious revolution, the English Civil War, and stand in the English Bill of rights which later set the basis for our country today. Without the thinkers that the Scottish enlightenment produced, our modern government wouldn’t be the way that it remains today. If it wasn’t for the English Bill of Rights, the constitution would not exist. All of the causes listed above play a part in the American Revolution, which would later result in the creation of the United States of America. Maybe the most influential character came out of the enlightenment, his name...
Words: 703 - Pages: 3
...between the colonists and Great Britain. As the colonists grew, to what Britain considered to be out of control, Parliament tried to limit the colonists by placing taxes and laws on them. The pressure that these laws put on the colonists drove the nail even further between the two. The political and economic events that led up to the American Revolution caused the start of the war because...
Words: 1211 - Pages: 5
