The Marketplace of The American Revolution - Essay Example

Thus, to be able to understand the nature of the American Revolution, one has to delve deeper into the actual effects of the revolution, rather than merely concentrating on the manner in which it occurred. This is because; a radical revolution is bound to cause far-reaching social, political, economic and governance changes. It is the levels of change that were registered in these contexts that would quality to term the American Revolution as either radical or otherwise1. To create full understanding of the nature of the revolution, one also needs to delve into the pre-existing conditions and ideologies at the time, and how such conditions compare with the period after the revolution.

In so doing, an individual is able to trace the changes that occurred in various aspects, and thus manage to clearly understand the nature of the revolution that occurred, as either radical or otherwise2. Considering the words of Breen, in his book; Marketplace of Revolution, where he observes that “customary markets had suddenly become dangerously politicized2”, there is no doubt therefore, that the American Revolution was radical. Therefore, this discussion argues that the American Revolution was radical.

The revolution was a function of both the colonists and the indigenous Americans, who perceived the rule of Britain as oppressive and demeaning. The dissatisfaction started with the acts of the British government to demand taxes from the Americans, both the indigenous and colonists, which prompted them to perceive the action as an aspect of economic oppression, and thus started to rebel against the payment of such taxes3. The rebellion did not just occur silently, but involved the active mobilization of people to resist the call to pay up such taxes.

The active resistance was done without the fear of dangerous repercussions that the colonists could face. They engaged in active resistance, where “they challenged traditional authority and risked their lives”2. The economic conditions that the British government had established did not favor the colonists, since they could not reap good rewards from the labor that they were applying in their farms. The introduction of economic conditions such as the stamp tax had completely changed the relationship between the Great Britain and the American colonies, prompting a high resistance from the American colonists.

In fact, “No one had planned such a dramatic shift in political perspective”3. The produce of their farms were bought at lower prices, which did not grant them any satisfaction. It is against this background that the colonists engaged in active resistance of the rules and the economic terms that were established by the British government, since, “white Americans believed that they had in some measures, been wronged by economic practices that paid them less than they thought they deserved for their labor or crops”4.

Therefore, the ordinary American colonists participated in the revolution through resisting the traditional authorities and the economic terms such as salaries for their labor, and prices for their farm products, which were established by the British government in the colonies. However, it is not all of the American colonists that supported the revolution. There were some “Loyalists-those who retained their allegiance to the crown”, who perceived the revolution and its aftermath as a loss of liberty6.

However, many of such loyalists