The American Revolution: the Advantage of the Financial Crisis - Term Paper Example

History and Political Science The three major stepping-stones that led to the American Revolution include the French and Indian war, prosperity and taxes that were imposed on the colonies. The French and Indian war lasted seven years in the colonies of British. In this war, the colonies were expected to fight with the adversaries for the mother country (Britain) on the war grounds. This war was largely fought by the British troops and very few colonies took part in it. The war was devastating and it made Britain’s treasury, which was in England to go bankrupt because of financing the war. The colonists were also taking part in the war even with their low representation since the British troops dominated in the battlefield1. The bankruptcy that faced Britain made the British to call for immediate negotiation to stop the war with due effect. However, the damage was extensive and consequently, the colonies used the advantage of the financial crisis and the enmity bred in the war. The animosity was between Britain and its colonies versus the enemies who were the French and Native French Americans in the war2. The second major reason to the American Revolution was prosperity that was evident in the British colonies. The colonies advanced economically through the development of agriculture, whiskey business, ship-making and sale of its spare parts, fishing, timber sales and animal hides business. The economic growth was impressive in the colonies led by South Carolina, which is in America. South Carolina was rich in rice-breeding soil that helped it to produce a good output for domestic and commercial purposes. The advancement in business ventures across the colonies helped to give a financial muscle that was important for resistance to the British. This clamoured the revolution since the colonies felt the air of independence through the numerous business ventures that were well-rooted in the regions. The last major stepping-stone that pushed for the American Revolution was taxes. The British government charged exorbitant taxes to the colonies3. This irritation brought intense frustration to the colonies. The colonies felt that the British were using them by siphoning off money that they had sweated for long periods to earn it. This made the colonies to come against the unfair British system of taxation and helped to propagate the American Revolution that saw the colonies run their governments devoid of maltreatments and inequality. After the American Revolution, all the British colonies had developed significantly towards an American perspective. The development was occasioned by the strength in agricultural and technological muscle that America depicted. The British colonies clearly saw the potential of America especially in South Carolina and hence followed suit in growing economically. It was also noted that the revolution brought considerable change to the colonies’ states. There were substantial differences in the change that the American Revolution brought to the northern and southern states colonies4. The northern states were foundations of people with a mindset that was indelibly stuck in religion, family and good work ethics. However, the southern states were founded on elitism. Thus, the major difference between the two region colonies was that the northern was a society that was industrial and family-based where as the southern state colonies was a profit-driven and yet an agrarian one. Moreover, the American Revolution also involved women and they played significant roles through out the war period. Women roles in the American Revolution were indispensable because their contribution in the whole transition was integral. They were soldiers who fought during the wars with enemies and helped a great deal to push for a win. Similarly, they acted as spies to the British troops since the enemies were susceptible to feminism and hence leaked information to them expecting sexual favors. However, women became soldiers when the war persisted for long and the deficiency for soldiers struck5. Thus, they had to quit their earlier roles to hold the guns and fight with their male counterparts to win the war. Their earlier roles in the war included nurses, seamstresses, cooks and maids. The women perfected nursing skills to help save the dying souls in the hospitals during the early years of the war. Many women were reluctant to be nurses but upon the realization that innocent souls were dying from the war-torn grounds, they resolved to help the people6. Thus, many women were recruited and received special skills and education and graduated to be nurses. The women were also cooks for their soldier husbands and sons during the war. They prepared meals for them, before and after the wars with the enemies. The American Revolution happened during the Age of Enlightment when religion was losing its impact on people. A legion of the founding Fathers was either Dheists or Naturalists. Their belief was in Nature’s God and not the single God that people worship. The kings or queens believed that they were at the helm because Nature’s God chose them to those positions and it was destiny taking its course7. The war also affected slavery in the US. Slavery significantly reduced in the US since Americans were dealt a deathblow when the African-Americans participated in the war against them. This made Americans weak and the African-American slaves stronger since they had fought for their freedom during the war to gain independence of their own8. African-American slaves participated as soldiers in the fight against Americans. The British allowed the slaves to fight for them as an extra muscle9. However, African-Americans were fighting for their freedom as slaves and not as British troops. This helped the slaves to create a state of freedom for themselves in America and corrode away all the oppression they were subjected to by the Americans. In addition, there were aspects in the constitution proposed by the British that did not yield good results occasioned by resistance from the colonies. For instance, the Articles of Confederation failed based on numerous reasons. Firstly, the Congress which is the main body that was responsible for the same, failed to garner enough votes through approval by the states, which were the colonies. The disapproval made the Congress weak because it lacked the power to make the Articles of Confederation until the states approved10. Moreover, the Congress was denied the power to collect taxes from the states and this made it to go bankrupt. This was also a reason that made the Articles of Confederation to fail since it could not request money from most of the states and this clearly showed its weakness to the states. By 1800, the US constitution and Bill of Rights was liberal. This is because after the Glorious Revolution in 1688, the liberals managed to put some limits to the fresh constitutional monarchy that was based on the principles of king and queen11. Thus, liberalism helped America to institute Bill of Rights and a parliament. This came as great help to the British colonialist who even wrote their principles basing on the laid-out tenets of liberalism in the Bill of Rights that liberals stipulated. Besides, the position of women in the post-American Revolution period was lowly and the struggles to acclaim it were real, hence women pushed for the Republican Motherhood. Republican Motherwood was created by Linda Kerber as a legitimate way of convincing people interested in history to comprehend feminine politics with regard to its position in democracy and good governance. Martha Ballard’s story helped to support the Republican motherhood12. This is because Martha attained early education even before the American Revolution and it was an important aspect in winning the female position of the American society. Through her story, Martha managed to support, inspire and propagate the Republican motherhood to an extent that the American women managed to secure a respectful place in the American society. During the times of American Revolution, women were overly illiterate. This was evident since even a few numbers of women were literate but the men overshadowed them in the same. Since education brings knowledge to oneself, many women were not informed and thus ended up being the slaves of men13. This meant that the reality of women in the American society in the American Revolution and earlier period was oppression and naivety. This was all occasioned by the lack of education and thus women were recipients of male chauvinism and barbarism. However, over time, women acquired education and transformation was significant. For instance, Martha Ballard was educated and she used her education to fight for the position of the American woman in the society to ensure that there was gender equality in all aspects of governance and politics. Lastly, the then presidents influenced the American governance. Their principles were indispensable since they had invaluable contribution to the betterment of the American people. To begin with, Thomas Jefferson, a former US president was an ardent supporter of republican principles. He was strongly against all the federalists’ beliefs and values. On the other hand, Alexander Hamilton was a federalist. This brought the difference between the two leaders. Thomas Jefferson tried to run for presidency before finally winning the seat in 1801 and serving for two terms14. However, prior to his win, the federal government had already set its roots and America was run under the federalism principles. When Thomas Jefferson came to power, he tried to bring neutrality but faced a lot challenges in its application. Conversely, Alexander Hamilton was also president before Thomas Jefferson and his principle of leadership was federalism. It is clear that by 1826 when Jefferson died, federalism had its roots strong in the American governance. Jefferson tried his best to bring neutrality and republican principles to the state of governance in the US but ended up failing15. It is after his death that republican principles started sprouting its flowers of success in the government of America. Bibliography Silverman, Kenneth. 1987. A Cultural History of the American Revolution. New York: Columbia University Press. Read More