American Revolution free essay sample

This lecture examines the American Revolution from a broad perspective. The best part about her lecture is that she breaks it down into five easy steps to understand, and for her being a professor at Yale she probably is one of the top favorite teachers Just because of how easy she breaks her lectures down. Freeman relates herself to one of the Founders, John Adams, because he wasnt up to the status quo of every other Founder as she states it. John was humorous and blunt, but serious and revealing, and thats how she is in her lectures.Professor Joanne Freeman is a very intelligent woman that likes to see her students succeed in such a long and very detailed class. Freemans video starts off by unraveling her plan for the class, and predicts what she thinks her students thoughts are about the American Revolution. Joanne explains how in high school all that was mainly stressed about the American Revolution was the Declaration of Independence and George Washington, Paul Revere, and Just a bunch of battles. We will write a custom essay sample on American Revolution or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Freeman makes it clear to the students to be aware and get passed what youve been taught earlier in your life, and she breaks it down into five simple and comprehensive tips to help understand the Revolution and Just piece it altogether. The first tip that Freeman lectures about is by avoiding thinking about the Revolution in terms of a series of facts and dates, in her terms a fact bubble. (Freeman).In greater detail Freeman means that a lot of dates are involved with the Revolution and some are more important than others, and some are Just a string of facts that are there to explain the outcomes that occurred. Like the outcomes that occurred there was a word that disgusted the Founders of that time period, so tip number two is words like democracy, liberty and freedom, arent all that they seem to be. Democracy has little to no meaning in the colonial era, but you have to understand the subtle ways this was a moment of defining terms and transformation. (Freeman).In greater detail Joanne tells the students to think about the meaning of words, not to Just read the definitions, but also to not assume about the words and how they describe the event because they couldve meant something completely different now than what they did back then. An example of one of the many words that were brought up around the American Revolution era is democracy. The professor says that democracy is a good thing to us now, but not jack then. Especially Alexander Hamilton, she reads a quote from him and he states democracy as chaos, a disease in fact, and being a Founder it was part of the status quo.Speaking of The Founders, tip three from Freeman is: think of the Founders as real people rather than a mystical historic figure. In easier ways to understand, what Joanne means is that the Founders were normal people, she expressed that we tend to forget that they were people not deem-gods walking around with their chest and head held high. The professor also stressed about not getting caught up on trying to dead the way they spoke, reading and listening to their language from their era sounds more intelligent and inspiring than it really is.A big point that was brought to the students attention was the breakdown of looking over the opposing points and putting them together like a puzzle to better understand how it all happened and why. The fourth tip from Freeman was remembering the Founders arent the only people who made the Revolution. An easier way to understand this is to know that the Founders werent men that were dressed up to have a quiet conversation. The Revolution was a popular uprising by a vast amount of colonists fought on American ground by all kinds of Americans.The Founders arent the only one s who mattered, the Revolution grounded on the ideas and beliefs of the people throughout many levels of society. Last but not least the fifth tip is remembering the importance of historical contingency and that anything couldve happened during the Revolution and the outcome wasnt inevitable. The way Freeman explains this tip is that a lot of people assume too much of what went on about the colonists, and that its important to know body knew what was going to happen in that era because if they did it wouldve probably been much more dramatic. American Revolution free essay sample After the American Revolution, Americans, who had just broken free from the British, completely changed their politics, economy and society. The Founders decided to change how they wanted to run their society, even though, in the end, they went back to a more powerful federal government like Britain. Most people’s daily lives didn’t change much but the principles from the revolution made some try to look for better financial opportunities. Women, slaves, and loyalists were changed a lot in society. Women had more freedoms, some of the slaves were set free, and many loyalists left America. America did not go through much economic change, but it did experience social and political change. Since they had just fought a war to gain their freedom from them, Americans wanted their government not to be similar to Britain’s at all. This is why they implemented the Articles of Confederation that greatly limited federal power. We will write a custom essay sample on American Revolution or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page But this government couldn’t raise taxes, or do a plethora of other tasks that were desperately needed, so the people realized their need for a more centralized government. While the new Constitution was still being created and ratified, Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay were writing the Federalist Papers in hopes of convincing states to support it. James Madison, in number 51 of the papers wrote â€Å"Ambition must be made to counteract ambition† (Doc I). He was referring to the idea of checks and balances that would be used to ensure that anyone in the federal government would not be able to have too much power, which the people were very wary of. When it was finally ratified, the Constitution was similar to Britain’s government but also different because of their system of checks and balances. There was not much economic change in America after the revolution. The Philadelphia Society for the Promotion of Agriculture in 1786 gave out a medal, which said, â€Å"Venerate the plough† (Doc F). This exhibits how the elite were still trying to help the common people who weren’t financially better off than before the revolution, but it didn’t make much difference. Similarly, in Shay’s Rebellion, Yeoman farmers in Massachusetts, according to Abigail Adams’ letter to Thomas Jefferson, â€Å"were crying out for a paper currency, some for an equal distribution of property† (Doc G). Shay’s Rebellion symbolizes the economic troubles that the poor had to deal with. The social change was the biggest change that happened in America. After the Revolution, the place of women, slaves, and loyalists in society was greatly altered. In order to teach justice and liberty to their children, women were educated in the ideals of Republican Motherhood. In a woodcut of a patriot woman made in 1779, a woman is shown with a rifle and gunpowder horn (Doc A). Some women did play bigger roles in society by going with the fighting soldiers and sometimes even fighting with them in the revolution. However, not all women were satisfied to just go back to the earlier place in society they were at before the war as shown by Molly Wallace who said during her valedictory address in 1792, â€Å"if [taught] to read, why not to speak? † (Doc J). Many American women, like Wallace, sought after advancing their roles in society. But sadly, women suffrage didn’t happen for 140 years. For slaves in some regions, there was a lot of social change. In the years after the revolution, the slave owners in the North practiced manumission, and freed many slaves there. In the South, however, it would take many more years and a Civil War for the slaves to gain their freedom. There were more actions against slavery, though. The Northwest Ordinance in 1787 stated, â€Å"There shall be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude in said territory† (Doc H), outlawing the spread of slavery in new states in hopes that eventually, states without slavery would exceed the states with it and be able to abolish it everywhere. The loyalists or â€Å"Tories† also went through significant change in society. Since they had favored Britain during the way, after it, they were became a widely hated. The Pennsylvania Packet says â€Å"Never let [the Tories] return to this happy land† (Doc B). They went through so much change in society that countless loyalists left America, never to return. Politically, Americans underwent some change by creating a new government even though they still altered it in the end. Economically, there were still elites who ruled over the lower, poor class of people. And socially, a large amount of change occurred for women, slaves and loyalists, although the change in the place of loyalists was extremely negative. In these ways, American society was changed in respect to political and social life, but not economically. American Revolution free essay sample Ultimately, for Jefferson, it made no difference whether Indians were removed to the Rocky Mountains, extirpated from the earth, or allowed to remain in the United States. Indians as Indians could not be tolerated in the republican civilization the American Revolution had created. The new nation must have a homogeneous population. After the American Revolution, the newly formed United States of America refocused their attention from deciding on what kind of society they wanted, to how they were going to get this society. Thomas Jefferson was the mastermind behind the raptors of a republican society, a society rooted in a civilization made up of people that were homogeneous and virtuous, centered on pure morality. However, now that America was a multiracial society, with the presence of Blacks and Native Americans, a new conflict arose. How could Americans produce a homogeneous population despite the existence of non-Americans? Jefferson had a complex relationship with the Indians and believed that a homogeneous population would only be attainable by fully changing the ways of Native American life. We will write a custom essay sample on American Revolution or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Although Jefferson had notable seasons for his opposition of Indians, he failed to recognize that his goals were far too unrealistic and the problem of obtaining a pure republican society would not be hindered by the presence of Indians, but rather, hindered by the American people themselves. Jefferson was a strong advocate for removing the Indians from their natural habitat, whether it was by exterminating them, shipping them somewhere else, or striping them of their culture and forcing them to become White. There were many proponents for this idea and had convincing reasons as to why Native Americans were unfit for American society. The main supporting argument was that Native Americans were too deficient as human beings to function in society. Their undeveloped intelligence, uncleanness, and lack of self-control were all seen as hindrances in transforming them away from savagery and towards an urban civilization lifestyle through agriculture and commerce. A people so reliant on their environment, where it was the norm to wear animal skin and hunt for food that was eaten by their hands, were being forced to adapt to the Americans way of living, where it meant raising domestic animals, wearing cloth and adapting to manufacturing processes and houses. Assimilating them would be a difficult task because although Jefferson wanted them to amputate their way of life and adopt the expansion of white agrarian society, Native Americans were children of nature and would not easily be changed (Attack 60). Jefferson fault lay in his belief that Native Americans living in the uncultivated wilderness would leave their identity, culture, and land so readily, Just so that they could help Americans expand civilization, without any worthy compensation in return. Another reason supporting he removal of Indians was their intelligence. An important criterion for a republican society was having the same language. The lack of communication between Indians and Americans was Justified by the belief that the Indians were too dumb to converse, making them a liability in creating an educationally rich society. However, this was where Jefferson complex feelings for Native Americans came in. He believed that the only thing that made an Indian equal or potentially so was his intelligence (Attack 58). He believed that unlike Blacks, Indians could be educated enough so that they could live among whites. In his mind, they had the intelligence capable of development which would enable them to carry out the commands of their moral sense (Attack 58). This high expectation of Indians was impractical because Jefferson never asked the Indians if they would be willing to learn English. In fact, Jefferson never asked the Indians if they would be willing to assimilate in the first place. Although the United States had an upper hand in this matter, and could result to force to get what they wanted, it is ridiculous that they never gave the Indians an option that had more benefits than losses. A mistake during this attempt to create a republican society was failing to communicate with the Indians directly. Yes, there was trade between the two groups and alliances during the war; however, a civil and proper discussion about the issues at hand was not made. The constant struggle the Native Americans had with staying true to their own culture and keeping their own language, while being bombarded by American culture brought tension between the Indians and white civilization, making it exceedingly difficult to integrate hem amongst the Whites. While the struggle between assimilating and exterminating Native Americans from civilization was occurring, Jefferson was also debating on what was needed to support his republican ideology. He grounded this idea on civic virtue, also known as republican virtue. This was the hope that citizens would act responsibly, be sober- minded and morally right, behaving virtuously, honorably, and purely. The democracy struggled with this goal because it was a long tug-of-war between the belief that the people themselves should be responsible for their own lives and the belief that the overspent should step in and bring in laws. This brought up the conflict of maximizing liberty while still maintaining some type of order and control. While this push and pull was occurring, America was also focused on creating a homogeneous population. The word homogeneous was used often while the government was exploring what they wanted in a society. Homogeneous meaner composed of parts or elements that are all of the same kind or have the same kind or nature (dictionary. Com). In other words, Jefferson wanted a society where everyone would be equal, unchanging, and essentially, all the same. If the United States was a Utopian society, where everything was perfect socially, politically, and morally, a homogeneous population would definitely be possible; however, the people did not realize that being identical would never be possible, even without the presence of Indians. The first thing Jefferson wanted in a citizen was the ability to distinguish between right and wrong. This would be easier said than done. Having a moral sense was what he thought something man felt within him In short, his conscience and that this moral perfection was something attainable by all whites (Attack 37). Did he also insider all the temptations that came with this world, including women, alcohol, gambling, and pure lust for luxury? Did he really think that all men could be perfect? Yes, he did. Although having some predispositions, he still maintained faith in his people. He strongly trusted that all men and a conscience and would use it wisely. This was faulty on his part because even though he knew his men could be morally grounded, he didnt contemplate the possibility that not all men were as righteous as Jefferson himself, and may not be able to realize what is right from wrong, and possibly not even care if their actions were immoral. Failing to keep tabs on his own people, he incorrectly focused his attention on making sure the Indians would be able to gain a moral sense. Now that the need for luxury was slowly growing, Jefferson urged everyone to be industrious and active. If a man was busy and preoccupied by responsibilities, Jefferson believed that this would distract him from losing focus. He believed that through proper education and training to restrain vigilantly their passions, order would be maintained (Attack 39). The main threat he found to be disastrous was women. The female power on men was too strong, but Jefferson emphasized that the passions had to be governed (Attack 40). One faulty thing he did here was not taking enough action. He solely told Americans what to do, having trust in them that they would oblige. Just by saying hey, dont get tempted by the ladies! Or no drinking on Sundays! was not enough to secure order and restrain on his men. Jefferson did not ensure that the Americans were educated and could maintain control over their own actions, but rather focused more specifically on how he would educate the Native Americans. Another quality Jefferson needed in order to create a republic was an agrarian ultra, where ownership of p roperty would provide stability in American homes and further develop civilization. Private property and laboring on land would create a self-governing and self-disciplined people, Jefferson believed. However, he forgot to consider the possibility that not all men could maintain their own property or the fact that some could not even obtain their own property. Jefferson had high expectations for his people, but did not take into consideration the different type of men in his society, some that might not be interested in supporting this law and order system e was attempting to create. This homogeneous population that Jefferson dreamt about would only be attainable if everyone was converted into Lockers or what Dry. Rush called republican machines (Attack 39). Peace would only exist in this ideal republic if every single person came to a consensus on the rules, values and interests of the country and in order to lay a solid foundation. The main flaw in his plan was the fact that he did not take into account the diversity of society. Because there were three succinct groups of people ?Whites, Blacks, and Native Americans?he used skin color as the primary ND only division between people. He did not believe in diversity, and rather found it as a threat to a republican society. Little did he know that homogeneity was unreachable because although Whites were all the same color, they were all individual. Diversity should have been seen as a strength, and homogeneity as a weakness. Forcing Americans into a single mold would be ineffective and would only deprive each American from his or her own identity and require them to settle and tolerate the governmental rules. Every white had his own opinions and views of the overspent, preventing the creation of Jefferson ideal White America. Although faulty in his thinking, Jefferson had a strong and respectable goal, in eliminating injustice in society and giving power back to the people, rather than the government. Fearing tyranny, en wanted to maximize individual libel w e Alexander Hamilton wanted to have a greater federal power and restrict some liberties. Blacks and Indians were seen as hindrances in creating an equal population and a threat to the formation of a republic, but many people forgot to also focus on themselves, and see how they could change before changing others. Self- intro and rational command were definitely attainable in everyone, but not concretely possible. Homogeneity would only strip away the individual importance of each citizen and give no unique value to him. Jefferson wanted a perfect society, centered on the rule of reason and absence of enemies that would prevent this. Instead of focusing on outsiders, he should have realized that the transformation into a republic was for the people, led by the people, and therefore, should have started within the people. Sources Attack, Ronald T. Iron Cages: Race and Culture in 19th-Century America. New York: oxford up, 1990. Print.