RichieNgo

Wolf16
HonorsEssay#2:TheAmericanRevolution

The American Revolution began in 1765. This insurgence was brought on by political and
economic conflicts associated with God and money. Colonists were unhappy with the British
parliament because they felt like they were being abused with mercantilism, quartering, and
discrimination. During the French and Indian War the British accumulated a substantial amount of
debt. Afterwards, theBritishparliamenttookvery contentiousmeasures inorderto payoff theirdebt
whichfared unanimouslyunfavorable. TheBritish enforcedrestrictionsthatprohibitedcommercewith
other nations and inflated taxes on manycommonplaceitems liketea andsugar, whichcausedmuch
tension in the colonies. The Stamp Act also contributed to the unrest itwas imposedbythe British
Parliament in 1765 and mandated that official printed materials had to be made on stamped paper
imported from England. ColonistswerealsoobligatedbytheQuarteringActto provide provisionsto
British troops, which contributedtotheir resentmentof theBritishgovernment.The famouslineNo
taxation without representation was coined by the colonists resistance to the British Parliament,
which contained no representatives from the 13 colonies.Thisangered thecoloniesbecausetheyfelt
like they were being coerced intosubmittingtotheBritishgovernment.Inaddition,thecolonists felt
like they were being discriminated by the British. The British responded with thepolitical uprisings
with the Intolerable Acts, a series of laws enacted to punish the colonists for their defiance. Many
colonists viewedthese actsas violations oftheir naturalandconstitutional rightswhich furtherfueled
the dissension with the British Parliament. It was also during this time thatthe colonies sawa great
revival in Christian faith, which surfaced ideas about equality and religious freedom. This became
knownas theGreatAwakening,a precursortotherevolutionbecauseitinspireddemocraticthought.A
greatexampleof thisisthe line, All menarecreatedequalwhichwasincludedbyThomasJefferson

intheDeclarationof Independence. Thecolonistswanted therevolution becausetheyweremotivated

by their moral rights and they were tired of the monetary restrictions enforced by the British
Parliament.
The most notable propagandistsof theRevolution representedvaluesthat embodied thespirit
of the Revolution. These people include Samuel Adams, Patrick Henry, John Hancock, andThomas
Paine. Adams became a notable political writer and was one of theFoundingFathers of theUnited
States.HehelpedorganizetheBoston TeaPartyandlaterinspiredprinciplesofAmericanpolicies.He
was amajoropposer ofthe StampAct andurgedthecoloniststowithdrawfromtheBritishinfavorof
anewgovernment.Adams appealedmosttorevolutionarieswho weretiredoftheBritishParliament.
Patrick Henry was a highly influential speaker. He promoted radical ideas, urging people to revolt
against the British to stand up for their rights and liberty. He was widely known for delivering the
famous line: Give me liberty, or give me death! in his speech given at the Virginia Convention.
Henrys provocativeandcharismaticspeeches were what madehim anotablefigureinpromotingthe
Revolution. John Hancock was a prominent figure for the Revolution, he was considered oneof the
most wealthy people in thecoloniesand arguedfortheRevolutionin favorof economicreasonsthat
appealed tothe upper class. ThomasPaineplayedacriticalroleintheRevolution.Hewasdubbedthe
Father oftheAmerican Revolutionforwriting
CommonSense
, apamphletthat incited theAmerican
Revolution. ThedocumentsupportedthemotionoftheRevolutionbycombining rationalandempirical
arguments, insisting upon our moralrights againstmonetary restrictions,alongwithreferences tothe
bibleinorder topush hiscaseforindependenceamong thecolonies.Thestrongpropagandaralliedby
leaders andreinforcedbythepublicationof
CommonSense
effectively instigatedtheRevolution.They
convincedaverageandwealthiercolonistswhytherewasanimmediatecallforarevolution.
Thereweremanyeventsandopinionsthatinfluencedcoloniststowantarevolution.TheStamp
Act was a notable catalyst for the Revolution. Average citizens didnt support measures that were

imposedbya parliamentthatwas anoceanawayandwerenotproperlyrepresentedin.Otheracts,like

the Quartering Act,contributedtothisproblem,andwhentheIntolerable Actswerepassedtostifleany
dissidents,the problem boiled. TheBoston Massacre,anevent in1770whereBritishsoldiersopened
fired on protesters, also antagonized the British for their harsh treatment. Thesesituations inhistory
gave the colonists reasons to feel victimized by the British people, proving that a revolution wasin
theirbestinterest.
People who opposed the Revolution were mainly those who remained loyal to the British
government, Thoughsupportfor theRevolution wasstrong,it stillhaditsnumberofopposers.British
soldiers, newcomers to the English colonies, people affiliated with the British government, and a
number of slaves remained loyal for their own reasons. Loyalists were referred to as colonists who
wanted to remain part of the British government or still supported theBritishduringthetimeof the
Revolution. British soldierswhose allegianceweretiedwith Britain,orpeoplethathadstillhad strong
tiesin England werecommonlyloyalists. Britishgovernmentofficialswereloyalbecausetheyworked
for theBritishEmpire.SlaveswerepromisedfreedomiftheysupportedtheBritishEmpireduringthe
Revolution, which appealed to their best interest. A small number of wealthy class were also
proponents of the British government, because they felt like they were better off withtheBritishor
simplydidntcare,asitdidntaffectthemtoomuch.
Ultimatelythe colonistsprevailedand emergedvictoriousfromthe American Revolution.The
colonists had a homecourt edge over the British, they knew their territory and used it to their
advantage. Guerilla tactics were utilized by the colonists, which was effective efficiently against
fighting theBritishwho hadmoremanpower.Thecolonistsalsoreceivedsupportfromothercountries,
France notably providing supplies andaid.The Frenchsupportedthe colonistsas payback toweaken
Britain after the French and Indian War. Similarly, the Spanish and Dutch supported the colonists

unofficially. After the war most loyalists emigrated back to England, with some heading north into
Canada,andanumberremaininginthecolonies.
AftertheRevolution, thenewnationformed by thecolonieswasestablishedasaconfederation
named the United States of America. The U.Ss first constitution was called the Articles of
Confederation.TheArticlesestablishedaCongress,individualstates,andacommoncurrency.Citizens
had the right to vote for state representatives in Congress. The Articles gaveCongressthe abilityto
handleforeign relations,declarewar, andmake treaties. A postalservicewasalsocreated.Duringthis
timestatelegislatures werevery powerful,andtheexecutivepowershadvery littleauthorityover the
states due to the fear that a President could become a tyrant. The colonies were unified under the
UnitedStatesbutwereallverydifferent.
The new government system was popular among the states because there wasnt a strong
centralized government.Stateshadtheright tooperateveryautonomously. Theideaof freedom from
oppression carriedonfromtheRevolution. SincetheRevolutionwasstillfreshfromhistory, thenew
citizensdidntwantaPresidentthatresembledaking.
The first government outlined by the Articles proved to be unsuccessful. Because the States
didnt have a strong central government to unify them, it inherently couldnt control them from
becomingtoo disorderly.The newgovernmentfailedtocollecttaxesbecausetheyhadtobepassedby
each State legislature.As aresult,debtsfromtheRevolutioncouldntbepaid.Relationsbetweenstates
were also tense and conflict commonly arose, which made commerce difficult between states.
Eventuallythe commoncurrency hadlosta lotofitsvaluebecauseofthe lack ofinterstatetrade.The
lackof central influencecausedthe governmentto fail becauseofitsunsuccessfulabilitytodealwith
problems, There wasnonationalcourtsystem. Amendments tothe Articlesrequiredunanimousvote,
and laws required at least a 9/13 majority vote to pass Congress. The problem with a unregulated
governmentwasthatproblemscouldntbeeffectivelysolved,thenewgovernmentwastoounstable.

In 1787 a meeting was called in Philadelphia to address problems in the government. The
leaders that attended this convention were dubbed as the Framers and they proposed a new
Constitution. The new Constitution that they introduced recognized the flaws in the Articles of
Confederation and addressed them by changing the old constitution. They responded to the weak
government by strengthening the executive powerofthe President andcreatingthe three branchesof
power. Thethree branchesof governmentwerecreated tocheckandbalance executivepowerssothat
onecouldnotoverpower theother.It is madeupof theJudicial,Legislative, andExecutivebranches.
The branchesallowedthe President tohave moreexecutive powerandensuredthatpresidentialpower
was regulated. The new Constitution they presented also gave the federal government the ability to
impose taxes, which dealt with the debt America owed from the Revolution. Commerce was also
regulatedundertheCommerceClause,whichhelpedinterstatetrade.
The new Constitution gave rise to two early political groups, the Federalists and the
AntiFederalists. The agreements and disagreements between the two parties ultimately shaped the
Constitution. The Federalists favored the new Constitution, they supported a strong centralized
government that could effectively restore andmaintain order.The Antifederalistsdisagreedwiththe
new Constitution for strengthening presidential power, arguing that strong executive power would
become oppressive. Antifederalists wanted fair representation, alsofearing thatsmallerstates would
become underrepresented in the shadow of larger states. The Great Compromise was an agreement
between the two parties that made Congress into a collective body of two houses: The House of
Representatives,and theSenate. Only twosenatorscould beappointedbyeachstate,allowingforthe
Senatetoberepresentedfairly.Representativesallottedforeachstatein theHouseofRepresentatives
depended on the size of each state. The Compromise satisfiedbothparties, ensuringastrong central
governmentwithfairrepresentation.

The Bill of Rights outlined the firstten amendments tothe Constitution. The Antifederalists
pushed for the Bill of Rights, holding back their approval of the Constitution until it was signed,
making it crucial towards the Ratification. It gave citizens rights to defend against an oppressive
government.Theserightsincluded:freedomofspeech,therighttoassemble,andtherighttobeararms.
As our political traditions evolved, the Antifederalists became more of an icon. They
representedindividuallibertythatwasassertedbytheRevolution.Theseparationsofpowercomefrom
their fear of presidential power. They stoodfor equalrepresentationand theprotectionofminorities.
They had strong liberal values. The Antifederalists eventually became the Democratic party, which
stood forprotectingthepeople.Today,Democratsareknownfor supportingwelfare,marriageequality,
andabortionrights.
The Federalists represented order. They were conservative. They believed in strong federal
power and military. Their ideas come largely from the shortcomings of the first government. The
Federalistpartyeventually became theRepublicanparty.Republicansareknownforrepresentingstrict
laws, business, and security. They areproponents oftraditionalmarriage,freetrade,religious values,
andantiabortion.
Modern day, political parties tend to fluctuate. Republicans generally conform to federalist
ideasthat arerootedinSouthernvalues.Democratsaretheopposite.Democratsarestillseenprimarily
as antiFederalistbecausetheyaremoreconcernedwithsocialproblems.Republicansareseen asbeing
generally Federalist because of their economic outlook. Though their core values are different, they
both will try to gain advantages by appealing to the other party. Since competition for votes is
quintessential to our political system, they will often change their views to conform to a particular
audience toget votes.Competitionbetweenthetwo parties ensures thatwe coverallof ourbasesand
abstain from becoming an authoritarian regime. The competitive natureofourdemocracyallowsfor
balance.