American Revolution is the key historical event that led to the creation of the USA. In pursuit of freedom, hundreds of people revolted against Britain to obtain the long-sought right to act independently. American Revolution is often said to have served as a prototype of revolutionary movements in Europe and across the globe. However, on the American land it led to the creation of government that supressed many of desired freedoms for some and infinitely benefited others. While many wealthy white American men under the new government faced many restrictions, poorer whites were granted freedom. This paper hypostatizes that the impact of American Revolution was different for different groups, and while for ones it was a source of freedom, for others it led to restrictions they had not faced.
To state whether the American Revolution brought independence to certain groups, it is necessary to determine what is the essence of independence. Many believe that independence is the ability to fulfill one’s wishes without constrains. However, people tend to have conflicting ideas that lead to misunderstanding and bitterness. The task of any government is to peacefully resolve conflicts among its citizens, creating a legal framework within which people are allowed to act. Otis (2013) wrote that “the government is founded on grace, on force or mere power, on compact or on property” (From The Rights of the British Colonies Asserted and Proved, p. 1). Born in the aftermath of American revolution, the first US government was a product of a combination of fierce struggle with property considerations.
The struggle against British rule was at the core of American revolution. Being in dire need of money, British government aimed to impose extra taxes on Americans who resented this step. The Americans aspired to be independent from British government and set the rules how to deal with Indians themselves. Their aim in the revolution was to establish the right to rule their land and make the locals obey them. However, in the process of creating their government, Americans borrowed many European institutions: the central bank, protectionism, broad governmental powers (Wood, The American revolution: A history, 2002, pp. 3-6). The constitution assumed the creation of a centralized government that concentrated unprecedented power in its hands. The government had the right to tax citizens, control commerce, raise an army and use it to suppress rebellions and for other purposes. Executive power was concentrated in the hands of one person who had an unprecedented right to impose a veto on the decisions of the legislature. The Constitution provided for the widest range of powers for the government, but forgot to oppose it with a list of guaranteed rights of ordinary citizens.
The system of taxes that existed in Britain was replaced with American taxes. The commerce was regulated by the state; the government aimed to adopt the development of industry while landowners who were mostly wealthy white men enjoyed no privileges. As a result of the revolution, an act on the nationalization of the Western lands was adopted. As a result of this act, lands could only be sold in huge pieces, which gave rise to speculation. Wealthier whites had to buy pieces of land from traders who sold them at a higher price. With the imposed taxes and governmental regulations, their income dropped while they did not get actual access to legislative power.
White poor men, who were mainly servants, vise versa, largely benefited from the American revolution. Initially white servants were children from poor families obliged to work for a certain period of time for learning a craft sent to America by parents or by the British authorities. Some of them were Native Americans turned into servants by local courts for non-payment of debts or minor criminal offenses. Finally, the British sent criminals to the colonies; this measure could be a replacement for the death penalty or life imprisonment. When the servants arrived in America, they were sold to work on farms and in the fields. The families were usually separated and sold to different landowners. While black men belonged to a landowner for life, white men worked only for a period of time, that is why they were poorly treated and had to work all days long. During the entire time of service, servants did not receive a penny of wages, working exclusively for lodging, food or craft training. The length of the working day and working conditions were set by the owner himself – and the servant had no right to protest. After the years of work as a servant a man could get land into his ownership; however, not all servants lived to see that day since the conditions were poor, and those who lived were rarely granted it.
The American Revolution brought hope to poor white men as it was promised that they would get freedom, and, in truth, after the American revolution they were freed. Thousands of them settled down to farming, while others worked in manufactures or were engaged into sailing or shipping. The servants represented a large part of colonial population, that is why their freedom gave boost to the development of enterprise and trades (Wood, The American revolution: A history, 2002, pp. 4-7). Being allowed to get married they created settlements and villages that penetrated into the depth of the country. The development of new territories was on the march; commerce boomed and more and more people arrived in America to start a new life.
By its significance and nature, the war for independence was national liberation and had a revolutionary character. Its main task was to liberate the American people from colonial dependence, destroy the elements of feudalism and guarantee freedom of property. However, this revolution was limited in depth and scale since it did not destroy the foundations of the ‘old order’, but only its individual elements. Moreover, it led to the recreation of many British institutes on the American territory. The revolution did not solve such important issues as freedom for Afro-American population or the mistreatment of Indian population (Wood, The American revolution: A history, 2002, pp. 4-8). The lives of many poor people have not improved at all. However, white slaves and servants got independence which significantly improved their level of life and boosted trade and commerce.
The governmental powers remained wide; many wealthier white men did not get legislative powers they hoped for. The new taxes introduced by the revolutionary government took toll on their income; and new regulations in all spheres of life had to be taken into consideration. So, a new democratic state appeared on the American land. It was relatively advanced for those times and opened the way has opened for the progressive capitalist development of the country. Thus, the English colonization led to the independent economic, social, political and spiritual development of the colonies.
Works Cited
Otis, James. From The Rights of the British Colonies Asserted and Proved. Harvard University Press, 2013.
Wood, Gordon S. The American revolution: A history. Modern Library, 2002.