How Revolutionary was the American Revolution?
Despite the name of the war, was the Revolutionary War actually revolutionary? To begin, what does revolutionary mean in the first place? Merriam-Webster defines the word as, “constituting or bringing about a major or fundamental change.” So, in historical context, the war should probably have heavily impacted at least a few aspects of our new country; the politics, economy, slavery/race equality, and society. The war was effective in leading to the abolishment of slavery, change in society, and political differences. Firstly, the issue of slavery was looked at through a completely new perspective. People were finally beginning to realize the equality of African-Americans and whites was not very farfetched. The Declaration of Independence by Thomas Jefferson reflects this concept; “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created …show more content…
For instance, an African-American who was the valedictorian of a New York free school. The black male accomplished a sizable amount of academic achievements, yet he was denied a place to work because of his race. “Shall I be a mechanic? No one will employ me; white boys won’t work with me.” This eventually lead to an appreciation and understanding of the state of blacks, which was a major change in equality of all races. Next, a vast impact occurred on the colonists’ social opinions. Before the war, when people had no voice in the colonies’ representatives, as they were rather appointed. Therefore, the rich were more likely to represent a colony. But, once the war was over, the people chose the representatives. So, since there was a vast spectrum of different social classes, the votes would be more mixed. The people want somebody who has experienced the same social concerns as themselves, so they know how to fix them. For instance, a moderately wealthy man would not vote for a