Introduction
This paper is about revolutionary America and it will mainly talk about two most inspirational people that America has ever had namely Thomas Paine and James Madison. The work of both these people will be brought to light in this paper. Thomas Paine according was one of the most inspiring leader that the US have ever had, this paper will throw light on the contribution of Thomas Paine and how he inspired the Americans to get their independence from the British. His work Common Sense will be analyzed in this paper to explain how exactly he motivated the people to fight for their Independence. The later part of the paper will throw light upon the work of James Madison.
Common sense by Thomas Paine is a true masterpiece in every sense. Thomas Paine was a prolific writer, his work is still regarded as one of the best and he is still looked up by many a people. This goes to show his legacy which he established over the period of time. Works like Common sense, The American Crisis etc inspired the people who were ready to fight for their freedom. Thomas Paine was a multi talented person, he had many skills in him like he was an intellectual person and at the same time he played a pivotal role in motivating the people to get the freedom from the British which they deserved. This paper will throw light upon the benefits of freedom from the British and the thoughts of Thomas Paine on the independence of US from the British rule.
Common Sense provides a comprehensive understanding of why Paine wanted the Americans to fight for their freedom. This masterpiece was published in the year 1776. This was published anonymously by Paine; this was done so because in those days the people did not have the rights to express themselves. Thomas Paine was instrumental in motivating people. He was often taken to the soldiers who were going to participate in war and he used to give them speeches to motivate them and the soldiers enjoyed and relished his speeches and got motivated to a great extent. This goes to show how instrumental Paine was in motivating people.
Argument of Paine for declaring Independence from Great Britain
The domination of Americans by the Great Britain was a period when the American growth was hampered. The British rulers levied heavy taxes on the Americans who were forced to pay the heavy taxes, in addition to this there was corruption in the Church and not only in the Church, corruption was very common in almost all the areas at that time. This also led to the puritan movement which saw puritans move to another place to live in peace and harmony. This is also called the Mayflower Compact; the Mayflower Compact was a ship which transported American Puritans to another place.
Paine was simply ridiculed by the fact that an island was ruling a continent, in addition to this Paine believed that America was not a nation of the British, it had people from all over Europe settled in the country. Paine believed that there can be no growth possible if the British continue to rule the Americans, this was very true and made a lot of sense. People suffered from various diseases and had no food to eat; diseases like Scurvy affected countless people and took away many a life. The most important point of Paine was that the British rule had no compassion for the Americans whatsoever, they wanted to prosper at the cost of the Americans and this was unacceptable and this was exactly why Paine wanted the Americans to take an immediate action to free themselves from the shackles of slavery.
James Madison
Alexander Hamilton, John Jay and lastly James Madison were the three responsible people in the 18th century who took up the initiative to publish the Federalist papers and these papers were first published in New York in the year 1787 and 1788. The main aim of these papers was to ratify the new American constitution. It is believed that one of the most influential papers was written by James Madison and it is called the No 10 paper. The paper mainly focuses on main aspects like the role of Faction, how the Government controls excess of Faction etc. James Madison wrote as many as twenty one such papers which were instrumental in shaping up the US constitution. James Madison is believed to be one of the most influential people that the US has ever had, his Father was a plantation owner and he studied in the state of Virginia in the US. James Madison holds a very big role in drafting the constitution of the US and he was able to do so because he was a highly influential figure in the US.
James Madison followed his principles come what may, he firmly believed in two uncompromising things and they were republic and liberty. Even when a bloody war broke out, he still stuck to his principles and handled the situation extremely well. He was unlike the other Presidents like Abraham Lincoln and George W Bush who took an extreme step by suspending habeous Corpus when they were under pressure. Madison believed that these principles gave them an edge over Britain and compromising on the principles would bring the US on par with Britain.
The series of publishing papers is called Faction and the tenth paper is believed to be one of the most instrumental in this Faction. Madison presents his argument that Faction and Liberty go hand in hand and no one can separate the two. Madison wanted the US government to control the effects of faction instead of focusing all their energy on the causes of Faction. He quoted
“As long as the reason of man continues to be fallible, and he is at liberty to exercise it, different opinions will be formed.” (Faction, 2009). Faction was an indigenous part of liberty and Madison followed it extensively, he never compromised on his principles.
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was among the most influential leaders that the world has ever seen. He was the sixteenth president of the USA. He was instrumental in dealing with the civil war. He showed America a new road during the Civil War which is also considered by many as the toughest period America ever faced. This paper will throw light upon the contribution of Abraham Lincoln. The paper will also present a comprehensive analysis of why he became such an influential leader in America.
“Lincoln warned the South in his Inaugural Address: “In your hands, my dissatisfied fellow countrymen, and not in mine, is the momentous issue of civil war. The government will not assail you…. You have no oath registered in Heaven to destroy the government, while I shall have the most solemn one to preserve, protect and defend it.” (Abraham Lincoln, 2009). The most significant contribution of his was to abolish slavery in America. This was really a very commendable job which was very difficult to complete, many criticized him for being too slow in abolishing slavery but he finally managed to do it. The people who criticized him were very demanding; it is very obvious that a social evil takes a lot of time to get rid off and hats off to Lincoln for doing exactly the same.
Benjamin Rush
Benjamin Rush is one of the most prominent figures in the US history, he was a multitalented person who was very good at writing, physics etc but above all this, and he was a humanitarian who cared for the people. He worked his heart out for the poor and the needy; the poor people admired him and respected him because he did a lot for them. He was massively involved in the declaration of independence along with the other frontiers. He was a true revolutionist who fought for his country. In the year 1771 he published an essay on slavery, this was very much appreciated by all. He was a very popular and instrumental figure in the US history.
Samuel Adams
He was an American statesman, an inspiring writing who was an integral part in the American Revolution along with the other members. He was believed to be one of the founding fathers of the US. He provided guidelines that shaped up the American political culture and an Independent America. He was instrumental in opposing the Stamp act and the events in the Boston Tea Party. Is role in the continental congress was a very pivotal one and the same made his one of the most instrumental in shaping up the history of the US. He is remembered for his contribution in the Boston Tea Party act and how he opposed the same. Overall he was a revolutionist and a very important part of the American Revolution.
References
Abraham Lincoln. In The White House. Web.
Faction. In Short Essays on Federalist Paper NO 10. Web.