The American Revolution - Essay Example

The American RevolutionIntroduction The American Revolution of 1765 -1783 is renowned as one of the momentous upheavals that completely changed the world history. The revolutionary war had started long before the first shots were fired. The revolutionary process commenced when 13 rebel American colonies rejected aristocracy and monarchy imposed by the British government to subjugate defenseless Americans. Apparently, the American military ultimately triumphant in the revolutionary war, and America gained independence.

However, the American Revolution was more than just a military victory but a war for human rights and liberties, as well as dominance of democracy. The American Revolution was a triumph of human rights and liberties. Britain introduced several political and economic policies such as heavy taxation that hugely distressed Americans. Similarly, the British military was quite inhumane in handling the "Whigs” or “patriots” a clear violation of elementary human rights. Civilians were haphazardly murdered upon showing any objection to Acts such as the Townshend Acts that imposed a heavy tax on indispensable goods such as tea and paper.

The “patriots” were given a worse treatment than the “loyalists” who received preferential treatment merely for being loyal to the British government (Greg, 2010). Similarly, Americans’ freedom of speech and movement was hugely curtailed and anyone who violated the stipulated laws guiding speech and movement faced severe punishment or death in some extreme cases. The revolutionary war, therefore, came not to portray America’s military prowess but to uphold the spirit of constitutionalism where the power of leaders is limited, and a leadership that is devoted to the good of the people by protecting individual rights such as right to life and liberties such as liberty of association and freedom of speech.

Joseph (2001) supports this important assertion in his article when he presents George Washington’s 7th December, 1796 speech where Washington said; “…that the virtue and happiness of the people may be preserved, and that the Government which they have instituted” (pg. 1). Britain realized that all men were created equal, and such equality must be upheld in all spheres of life. Upon the declaration of independence, after the American Revolutionary war, democracy started mushrooming in America.

The Americans were so infuriated by the British government which merely imposed itself in power and subjected its subjects to immense suffering. Americans wanted an unbiased and reasonable government, whose powers and authority resides in the people, and not in any solitary government official or the government itself. The people ordain and control the administration of their state through elected representatives (Sandoz, 2001). The revolutionary war, therefore, was a war of democracy which empowered Americans to select their government, a government whose legitimacy is on the governed who owns the inordinate and unchallengeable right to serenely alter it (Greg, 2010).

The above elucidation ostensibly indicates that the military’s triumph signified the triumph of democracy and human rights, and liberties that have been in existence since then, and humanity continues to benefit from them. Apparently, oppression and self-induced leadership would have been the order of the day were it not for the military triumph in the American revolutionary war. ReferencesGreg, R. (2010). U.S. GOVERNMENT > Introduction to the U.S. System > Democracy Papers. Retrieved from http://www.ait.org.

tw/infousa/zhtw/DOCS/Demopaper/dmpaper2.html Logan, J., T.(2001). The American Revolution - The Battle of Chelsea Creek . Retrieved from http://www.theamericanrevolution.org/Sandoz, E. (2001). A government of laws: Political theory, religion, and the American founding. Columbia, MO: University of Missouri Press.