The American Revolution Had Commenced Long before the War - Essay Example

Lecturer: presented: Introduction John Adams who was the second president of the United s served from 1735-1826. In his view, Adams felt that the revolution began earlier than the commencement of the real war (Mark 2006 p 96). He felt that the American people had developed resistance in their minds, and that their desire for independence was deeply rooted in their hearts. They needed their identity as American people, with freedom of expressing their views and the right to exercise their independent ideologies to develop their country, which had been taken over by the British. This essay is a critical evaluation of the statement that, “the American revolution had commenced long before the war of independence”, and that “it was a change in the hearts and minds of the people” (John Adams 1818 in Mark 2006 p. 96). American Revolution The Americans expressed their discontentment through circulation of pamphlets, letters, and newspapers amongst other painted material that developed passion in the minds of the Americans towards securing their lost freedom and glory of their country. The information conveyed through these materials was meaningful in linking the thirteen colonies which had all along been separated by physical, cultural, political and socio-economic factors. This was after the realization that Americans could not get their freedom unless the three colonies united with one voice. Their unity was enhanced by the common independent ideas of the Americans. Even to day, they are known to advocate for freedom amongst the peoples of the world, which is evidenced by the manner in which the country set out to free several countries under colonial rule in the late 19th century, such as Cuba, Philippines and many other islands that were under the Spanish rule (Richard 1978 p 78). The religious attitude of the people in regard to their responsibilities had changed before the war. This had been as a result of the fact that the faith that the people had in the king was diminishing after the Americans realized that his rule was not following the doctrines of the authority that had been conferred to him by God through the laws as well as the constitution. He was initially believed to rule with mercy and impartiality over. With this understanding, Carol (2006 p. 81) states that “the Americans had felt obligated to pray for the king and queen and all the royal family, and all in authority under them”. This is because they were believed to have been predestined for their wellbeing as well as the good of their country by God. Instead, the people realized that their lives, freedom and their possessions were not secure with the king’s rule. It was focused on destroying rather than supporting. Instead of feeling obligated to pray for the king, Carol (2006 p. 89) further notes that the Americans found it their responsibility “to pray for the continental congress and all the thirteen State congresses, and the young men of letters in all the States”. Their responsibility was to work hard towards agitating the people and changing their view point towards the king’s rule. This was done through engaging in the difficult task of looking for and gathering essential information from records, leaflets, newsprints and any other material that could be read in order to raise the people’s displeasure in regard to the rule in the thirteen colonies. They had a goal of uniting the colonies in to one independent country. Some Americans had acquired education and had less attachment to religion and sense of right and wrong. However, they had a consistent attitude of loyalty and faithfulness, which was mainly due to their education. They believed that their loyalty and faithfulness needed to be reciprocated with security from the government. The government seemed to have abandoned their security and therefore they had no reason for allegiance. The affection that the Americans had for England which was taken to be their mother country was no more after they realized that it was wrong to regard England as a tender mother. Instead, the country’s cruelty was indicated by the indignity that its government was causing in the American people (Breen 2005 p. 66). This was perpetual, and therefore the people’s irritability developed over time, never to develop any friendly attitude or loyalty to the government. The indignation and dissatisfaction caused a radical shift in the American people’s doctrines, viewpoint, attitudes and friendliness, which formed the basis of the revolution. It is from this point that the people were set to fight for their freedom and dignity of their country. There was a major awakening in the early 1760s, which was as a result of this displeasure and irritability amongst the Americans. The American doctrines and attitudes were revived to a great extent coupled with the enthusiasm of fighting for their freedom. This formed the ingredients of the outburst of the resistance that arose in 1775. Before the major resistance, the colonial system had ignited protests through the new acts that focused on increasing revenue. The first act that sparked a major resistance was the “stamp act” which targeted the newsprints, brochures, licenses, and any other document that was deemed to be legal. These funds were meant for strengthening the colonial rule in America. It was seen by the Americans as a hindrance for their ability to communicate effectively amongst the thirteen colonies. More over, the funds would be used to defend the colonies as well as securing and protecting it against its own people, that is, the Americans (Carol 2006 p. 56). Doing business in America was subject to the Stamp Act on equal basis amongst all the people. This received strong antagonism especially amongst the powerful and expressive groups in America. These included; newsprints, the legal professionals, the clergy as well as traders all over America. The traders were the first to strongly oppose this move, leading to the formation of resistance groupings such as the non-importation links. By mid 1960s, Americans had significantly dropped their trade with England, as a way of resistance to the stamp act. There were formation of other resistance groupings such as the “sons of liberty”, a resistance organization formed by prominent American men to stand in protest against the stamp act. Violence was involved in their protests, leading to the nullification of the stamp act, and in all the colonies, the customs agents were compelled to resign and the stamps destroyed (Richard 2002 p 46). The increasingly unpopularity of the British government led to the establishment of patriot groupings aimed at resisting against the colonial government policies aimed at strengthening their power in America. According to Breen (2005 p. 58), “committees of correspondence were created in the early 1770s”. They were important in spearheading the rejection of the parliament as well as the replacement of the structure of British rule in many of the colonies. This was accomplished through the provincial congress that was formed under their auspices. The “committees of correspondence were in charge of coordinating communication in all the colonies”. They played a significant role in setting up the stage for the revolution. It united the thirteen colonies against the colonial rule. They interpreted the British actions against the Americans and formed a strong opposition within the thirteen colonies. This is how plans were made for rallying them along a common course (Piers 1992 p 47). In conclusion, it is clear that the statement which states that “the American revolution had commenced long before the war of independence”, and that “it was a change in the hearts and minds of the people” is true. By the time the war for independence began, the stage had already been set through what had transpired in the earlier revolution. Bibliography 1. Breen, T. 2005. The Marketplace of Revolution: How Consumer Politics Shaped American Independence, Oxford University Press. 2. Carol B. 2006. Revolutionary Mothers: Women in the Struggle for Americas Independence, Chapel Hill. 3. Mark P. 2006. Samuel Adams, father of the American Revolution, New York: Palgrave. 4. Piers M. 1992. The War for America: 1775-1783, British military study, Ohio University Press. 5. Richard A. 1978. The Revolution is Now Begun: the Radical Committees of Philadelphia, 1765-1776. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. 6. Richard K. 2002. Divided Loyalties, How the American Revolution came to New York, Frostburg State University. Read More