How Revolutionary was the Revolutionary War
...e thing. (Wood 181) (Rossiter 97) Another thing that had added to the idea of a revolution was the way people were looked at. Before the war, the government was based on social class. The aristocracy ruled everything with the common man doing nothing. The Declaration of Independence stated, “All men would be created equal.” America had to continue with this thought that their country was based on. Leadership would now be based on ability rather than nobility, like it was in the past. Primogeniture was no longer recognized. Primogeniture was the European custom where the first born son inherits his parents’ property. The framers of our country were afraid that the common man would still be left speechless. This country would now be based on the common man. The poor humble man’s son would now be able to make a living and participate in the government, regardless of the property they owned. These citizens would have what Jefferson called “Natural Aristocracy.” This meant that the individual must be educated and be enlightened characters. They had to be smart and self made. “All offices lie open to men of merit of whatever rank or condition…. Even the reins of state may be held by the son of the poorest man, if possessed of abilities equal to the important station.” ( David Ramsay) The common man also got the right to vote. Before the war, the property qualifications were too high for the common man. They changed this so every man could have the right to voice their opinion. This was a rather big change. The common man never had much success. The revolution was about the lower class wanting to achieve a greater democratic nation in America. They did just that with this huge change of the common man. (Wood 178) The war made the colonies more capitalistic. The revolution was seen to be a growing economic split between England and the colonies. The war caused America to become more of an independent and economic country. People had to run their own businesses and farms to get the goods that they could not get from Britain. The war had cut off ties with Britain, so the colonists had to create their own companies to buy and sell such things as tea. No one wanted to buy the British goods and this is where capitalism rose. The taxes that were made caused the economic battle. People wanted to have the goods that were inexpensive. Every company tried to compete with the next to win over the customers. Another big event that changed the way people lived was the abolishment of slavery in the northern territories. Slavery was a way of life and almost everyone was dependent on it. They needed it to continue with their businesses. They would now have to pay people for their labor and this was unheard of. Getting rid of slavery in the North would affect everyone greatly and it revolutionized the way we looked at slavery. (Morris 96) The idea of revolution cannot be looked at unless you look at the hierarchy that the society once was. The colonists lived in a monarchial society. This meant that they were all subjects of the king and they had to live up to him. Everyone was under the same system and no one could really be an individual. Every colonist was under the Anglican Church and they provided for the rules of the country. You could not go against the church or the king. This society had many social classes that no one thought to break out of. The rich were on the top of the list. Military officials were also up there and had much respect. Merchants were respected more than the farmers but they were not anything special. The lowest classes had to do certain things for the higher classes. For example, the younger students had to show “Respect and Distance to those who are in Senior and Superior Classes.” (Thomas Clap) The people were taught from their childhood as to where they stood in the ranks of society. Of course, the hierarchy was organized by wealth and property. This hierarchy of being judged on wealth and occupation would all be thrown away after the Revolution. The colonists would have a new start. One of the major problems of this hierarchy was that “They thought of themselves as connected vertically rather than horizontally.” (Wood) The people were more aware of those who were above or below them rather than the people in their same class. Only a few of these individuals would go against the rich. The Revolution threw away this hierarchy. They still kept the same ideas but they had more freedom and they were beginning to work as one unit. (Wood 11-24) This revolution also led to women having an increased role in society. Before the war, women relied on men. This role began to change. Men had to rely on the ladies to get things done. Some women went with their husbands into the camps and worked as nurses and cooks. They also made equipment for the army. Women also had to take care of things at home. Women had to keep the economy working at home while the men were off fighting. They could not let the country fall and become broke. They were put in charge of the family farm and business. The men looked towards the women to take full control of the country. Women were also very important to republicanism. The women put this idea of Republican Motherhood into effect. They had to raise children to be virtuous citizens. They were models and teachers of virtue. They had to educate the children so that one day these children could rule the nation. Republican Motherhood led to the Cult of Domesticity, which put women on a pedestal. Women ruled the household. They were pure of mind and body and they had to take care of almost everyone. Women were doing a lot of work and they began to gain respect from men, which is the idea of the Cult of Domesticity. This respect and accomplishment made them think that they were not equal to men, which they were not. The men assumed women’s views in the constitution. They had to agree with men. They did not have a say as to what goes on in the nation’s affairs since it was based on the men’s view. Abagail Adams tried to change this. She sent a letter to her husband, John, at the constitutional conventions. In this letter, she asked Adams to “Remember the ladies.” Women wanted to now have equal rights. They were throwing out the old laws and they wanted to be a part of the new ones. They did not want to be forgotten. Some women were even crazy enough to fight in the war. Molly Pitcher and Deborah Sampson are two examples of this. They both dressed as men and they fired guns with the rest of them. The role of women changed drastically during and after the American Revolution. When you look at this event, it is safe to say that the revolution is revolutionary. (Downey) Any revolution has the ordinary people raising up to voice their opinion. This revolution was no different. There was crowd action that played its role towards the start of the war. The colonists were not going to stand for England’s pointless taxes. They felt that England could not tax without representation from the colonists. The colonists did not like how they were taxed on certain goods. Parliament passed the Tea Act to help the East India Company get out of their financial troubles. The colonists realized what was taking place. They refused to buy the cheaper tea because it would show that they did not care about the British tax. The colonists showed their views by taking the tea that was being shipped over and they threw it over the ship. The Boston Tea Party was a calm act of revolt but it showed that the colonists were not going to give into England. Another example of the colonists taking action was in the Boston Massacre. The people of Boston did not like how the British troops were quartered in their town. The people decided that they would not stand for it any longer. A crowd of colonists started to harass the soldiers. The soldiers fired at the crowd and killed three people. This event showed that Britain was not going to deal with the colonists revolting. They needed to put the colonists in line so they would not act up again. These little revolts led to people taking a stand. They made the revolution by the way they voiced their views. This change was significant because of the way no one really voiced his or her ideas against the government. (Billias 53) The revolution was also the start of the power of the word. No one had the freedom of speech and speaking against the English government was unheard of. Thomas Paine is a great example of this. He wrote a pamphlet called Common Sense. Paine’s pamphlet was distributed across America and people began to read it. This paper talked about how the English government was corrupt and did not do what the colonists wanted. It encouraged people to desire independence and break their ties with England and its king. After Common Sense, colonists realized that their life would be better if they were detached from British rule. “My motive and object in all of my political works beginning with Common Sense has been to rescue man from tyranny and false systems and false principles of government, and enable them to be free.” ( Paine) Paine did just what he had wanted. His paper encouraged people to want independence and break away from England. Few people would have even considered indep...