Ryan Smith To what extent socially was the American Revolution really revolutionary?

Introduction: The American Revolution at first glance is a revolution by change. Change occurred in the political system with the removal of the British monarch, replaced by a republic run by the people. The key component, that is for the most part skimmed over in todays society is the word people. The majority of the people in British North America before the American Revolution occurred were white farmers or black slaves. Although these people, who made up the American Army at the time, did indeed succeed in gaining independence from their mother country Britain, unfortunately saw about little change in their personal day-to-day lives. The major immediate change came in the political system and was felt by the higher class white citizens of America. With the success of the American Revolution they went from being wealthy government officials, lawyers and aristocrats, to suddenly gaining control of the birth of a new nation. So in the sense that the American Revolution was a political revolution the claim can be made that it was. However, when looked at in the sense that it was a completely and a true revolution such as France in 1789 or Russia in 1917 it is not. The social organizational structure failed to change and the classes were left stagnant as they were beforehand. The 13 colonies in British North America were unlike any other British colony. They consisted of previous British citizens that moved across seas in the hope that they would be able to flourish in the new land and be able to grow and be capable to aspire to achieve their aspirations as they had before in Britain, but with a new found light in North America. They expected to be able retain the previous rights they had in Britain such as trial by jury, freedom from arbitrary arrest and punishment and etc. However this was not the case, thus bring about the common consensus for the need of independence of British North America from Britain. Other British colonies as in Asia and Australia were not confronted with the

same problem of the colony in British North America because they were all native to their colonys land. For the majority of the citizens of the other colonies they had never had the experience of being a Britain citizen before. They never had rights striped from them by a matter of changing locations because they did not change locations. They in simpler terms were just workers for the British Empire. The British Empire consequently saw their counterparts in North America as being like any other colony they controlled; workers. Nevertheless, almost foretold by the events that led up to it such as religious diversity, widespread ownership of property and the absence of a titled aristocracy the American Revolution took place in the spring of 1775. With all this being said the claim can be made that the American Revolution was not revolutionary for all the citizens of America. This paper will look at primarily what is a revolution, the situation of the colonists, goals of the revolution, changes after the war is over, and compared to a true revolution. This will show how the amount of change for the average citizen was not significant enough to be considered a revolution with the standards being based upon those of other revolutions. All of these supporting details build up to a conclusion of a claim that the American Revolution was not a social revolution at all and thus consequently is still going on today.

What Makes a Revolution? : A revolution is a sudden or abrupt action to cause a direct change for all of the people it affected. In order for a revolution to be considered complete or true it is necessary for all of the people to be affected by it in some way or another. With this being said a revolution can be broken down into four main components; social change, political change, economical change, and an overall coming together of a before separated community or peoples. A social change is where the social structure previously constructed is revamped and changed to where equality is more prevenient and the organization of it is significantly changed. A political change is simply what it says; a change in the

political structure of the government. It can be anywhere from a simple fix or change in leaders or as big as a complete reconstruction of organization and purpose of that government. An economical change is a modification or transformation in the way products are imported and exported. The way in which money is coming in or going out is changed by the way it is constructed for the people. For example a free market versus a government controlled market would be an example of two different economical set ups. Lastly an overall coming together of a before loose or separated peoples is necessary for one to call something a true revolution. This can be applied to in any terms of people coming together. For example it can be the combining of multiple colonies or the up rise of a slave or lower class group. With that being said, a revolution is a complex and difficult thing to accomplish for any civilization. Few and far times in history can the claim be made that a true and complete revolution occurred within a civilization, however when it does it should be broken down into its parts and analyzed for how it was done for future generations to learn from.

Situation of the Colonists: Some historians such as Howard Zinn state that the American Revolution- independence from Britain- was just a cause rather than a surprising revolution. All of the leading events and circumstances before the war were enough to cause the revolution based on the mere treatment of the colonists. They were not treated like the citizens of Britain in Britain. Instead they were treated almost as if they were just the Kings puppets and workers and slaves. The colony of British North America was growing rapidly and soon was becoming almost a country strictly based on location alone. However the people in the colonies still felt very close ties to their British home and considered it their homeland. But in order for them to be happy where they were, British North America, changes needed to occur. Complaints amongst the colonist rose such as; the King rejected laws passed by colonial assemblies, the crown had

failed to redraw the boundaries of legislative districts to ensure that newly settled areas were fairly represented in colonial assemblies and so forth. It even got to the point where the colonists were not getting appropriate trials. They were receiving trials without jury, and a judge who was significantly bribed by the King back in Britain. Also the colonists were upset that the King violated what they considered to be fundamental rights such as free of speech and conscience. When the King sent troops across seas to North America to enforce unchallenged laws he forced the colonists to quarter them against their wills. This outraged colonists and could be a defining point in why so many colonists sided on the side of being a patriot. Also the colonies had different laws made by the King separate than those of the ones in Britain which the colonist saw as unfair and not necessary. Some of the laws enforced by the King were not even written down for the colonists to look at and thus could not be obeyed. The powers needed to be documented and discussed with the colonial legislation in order for the colonists to feel like they were being treated fairly by the British crown. The colonists started to have a different sense of being as generations grew up and passed through the colonies. Religious diversity arose, widespread ownership of property became normal, and the absence of a titled aristocracy began to have a toll on the colonists of the 13 colonies. Slowly more and more radicals and rebels became numerous in the colonies and began to form small groups and committees in secret, with more support constantly flowing in as more colonist became fed up with the situation.

Goals of the Revolution: The goals of the revolution were to eliminate these problems the colonists were experiencing with the British Crown and treatment they were receiving. It wasnt exactly that they wanted independence from Britain; it was that they wanted to be treated equal to Britain. The main thing that British North America wanted from the revolution was representation in Parliament and relaxed laws

which governed the colonies instead of commanding the colonies. The British saw the American colonies as economic colonies and planned on them producing goods instead of them actually manufacturing goods. This plan back fired when the colonists wanted to be able to do the same as their counterparts in London. Also the goal of the revolution later on in the war after the adoption of the Declaration of the Independence was to change the government structure. They wanted to transform from a monarchy to a republic. However all of these changes were primarily political changes and not social changes for the lower classes. So although these aspirations did lead to a political change and revolution they did not however address the social problems apparent within the colonies and thus it cannot be considered a social revolution. British North America was a growing group of colonies at this time, with aspirations to continue its growth westward and economically. However, the British would do anything to stop this from happening because they knew what the eventual outcome would be; a want for independence. In trying to stop British Americas growth the British consequently ended up developing a deeper reason for one to become a patriot. With acts and laws that made the colonists feel like the British thought they were superior.

Changes after the Revolution: Who gained what after the war in the 13 colonies? It is important to realize the differences of what was gained among various parts of the population. First off it is important to note how the Indians felt about the American victory over Britain. They were not pleased with this at all. Reason being that this erased the line that England had set in the Proclamation of 1763 that said basically they couldnt advance westward into Indian Territory. With this being erased the protection of Indians was lost and they were then subjected to the white man. This caused the massacre of many Indian tribes and forced them to stay stagnant at the bottom of the social class. Another group of people who failed to gain

anything from the American Revolution was the black slaves. Before the war they were slaves to the white man. They farmed the fields, raised the livestock and maintained the land. After the war and alleged revolution they were still slaves to the white man with no chance or opportunity to pursue happiness. It was even legitimized in the U.S Constitution with the claim that black slaves would be equal to that of 3/5ths of a man; 3/5ths compromise. Another major class that failed to see any major change in class rank was the women of the time. After the revolution they were still not allowed to vote, nor respected in society. They simply just went back to their previous lives before the war as a housekeeper. Although during the war they were given huge responsibilities and tasks such as farming, jobs, raising of kids and etc., after the war it seemed as if all of this was forgotten. The ability of a women working in the workforce was seen as a joke and not appropriate. Also a change for an average modern white man was not seen. A small percentage of white wealthy men got what they truly strived for after the American Revolution. They had to bribe the majority of the modern day men with land and money promises in order to get the revolution to take place. Without the army to fight it could never have taken place. However after the war the bulk of these promises were unable to be followed through with and thus basically the average white male farmer got played. During the war the social split was even seen. With the wealthier men being officers with fine clothes, good food, and high pay while on the other hand the more average American private had no shoes, bad food and no pay. After the war this split continued. Although it was possible to become a government official no matter what it seemed to stick well within the limited few wealthy Americans rather than branch out to the more middle class ones. So thus once again showing a political change in the way they were governed but no immediate chance for a restructure of the social class organization such as the French Revolution. Everything in terms of class and wealth seemed to stay stagnant. They wealthy stayed wealthy, the farmers stayed farmers, the women stayed at home, the slaves stayed in the fields and the Indians continued to be murdered. Though while time went on the middle class did gain more land based on their ability to

now travel westward it was not solving the ability to increase on the charts politically. As their wealth went up so did everyone elses with the new ability to be able to manufacture goods instead of just products. The changes for the general public and lower-class were few and far between.

Compared to the French Revolution: The American Revolution was one of parts rather than true and complete. The French Revolution on the other hand was a real revolution. It not only saw the destruction of feudalism and the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen but it also saw the coming together of a peoples to overthrow a government and in place a new one. Before the French Revolution the government was a monarch but the revolution literally saw the removal of the monarch and its replacement of a notion of a republic. Before the revolution France had an outstanding 90 percent of its citizens as poor peasants or farmers. The remaining percentages were either nobility or clergy. This similarly to the American Revolution almost called for a revolt in of itself. Nevertheless after the revolution all offices were open to those who presented the most talent or promise. Merit was gained by talent and past experiences, not just heritage and wealth. They also discouraged other monarchs within the Europe area and supported open free governments such as republics. Economically there was a significant change which could be said to be due to the upcoming of the Industrial Revolution. However, due to the freedom of France it allowed for a push in faster and stronger technology and the new open market created excitement and competition for innovation. Also the coming together of an inferior group of people (the 90 percent that were not noble or clergy) took part in order for the Revolution to take place. With all of these components, previously outlined in what is a revolution, being combined together the claim can be made that the French Revolution was indeed revolutionary. Unlike the American

Revolution which had bits and pieces of a true revolution in it the French Revolution was a true real complete revolution in of itself. Conclusion: Did the war gain us economic freedom, resources, free trade, and land? Yes it did, however this was an enviable response to what was happening in the world at the time. If we purely look at the revolution in terms of political revolution, then yes if can be proven that it was revolutionary. However for one to say the general yet powerful term of a revolution and to say it occurred in America after the American Revolution then all aspects of it must be flawless. This is where the problem occurs; it was not a social revolution in any aspects of being a revolution. Though the sweeping changes in the Revolution were felt by the aristocracy and little changed for the debtors, Native Americans, slaves, and women, they entered the Revolution with great hope and seemed to believe that their lives would be greatly changed and enriched. However this was anything but the case. I see the American Revolution war being a catalyze to the revolution that we are still going in part today. It was the start of something great and something that is still going on today. With our acceptance of immigrants and the attempt to eliminate race and gender differences in America it is clear to see how we as a civilization are growing day in and day out. The level of equality in politics, economics, social and more areas of life are progressively becoming more equivalent throughout. There is no such thing as a revolution because change is always occurring within a large group of people. Adaptations and change are necessary because as a world we are always changing and attempting to pursue the pursuit of happiness as a whole entire human civilization. It is important to change because if we didnt then things wouldnt function properly. So even though the American Revolution did in fact change our government, it was not a significant instant change for all of the population in cause. Once said by Napoleon Bonaparte A revolution can be neither made nor stopped. The only thing that can be done is for one of several of its children to give it a

direction by dint of victories. I agree with this statement in that this completely sums up what a revolution is capable of being. Not completed yet it can be shape and twisted to determine what is to come next by the people of their time.