Was the American Revolution Conservative or Radical?
Essay Preview: Was the American Revolution Conservative or Radical?
Report this essay
Was the American Revolution essentially conservative or radical?
In the chronological life of the American colonies, and the various causes of the American Revolution, it is evident that it was radical. It transformed a monarchical society, and the subjects of the crown, into a republic where the citizens were participants in the political process. The American Revolution was one of the most radical revolutions known up to that point. Initially it was against the standards of most of the population, but it rapidly grew in popularity as the war progressed. It inspired radical ideas among the young Americans, giving these Americans a strong determination to succeed in their goal of bringing about a new, free, nation.
The big issue of the American Revolution “centered on the question of no taxation without representation” (Commager, Leuchtenburg, and Morison 147). The colonies believed that they could not be represented in Parliament, because it did not elect members to the House of Commons. This idea conflicted with English principals. Most British officials held that Parliament represented the same authority over the colonies as over England. The American leaders argued their only legal relations were with the King. The King established the colonies, and provided them with governments, and was King of the colonies; but colonists insisted that Parliament had no right to pass laws for the colonies.
The start of this revolution might well have begun in 1764, when the British Parliament enacted a currency act, which prevented paper bills from being made legal tender. “This act served to create a common grievance uniting the more commercial northern colonies with the agricultural southern colonies” (Schlesinger 99). Equally as harsh from a colonial viewpoint, was the quartering act, passed in 1765. This act forced the American colonists to provide food and shelter to British troops, but the most offensive was the Stamp Act. This act imposed a tax on all paper used for various documents, pamphlets, and newspapers. Britain hired local stamp distributors for each colony that were paid well to collect this revenue.
The colonists were independent people who possessed pioneering sprits, and were indignant to Britains attempt to control their revenue. They had no objection to the taxes they paid to support their local government, but these taxing bodies consisted of their own colonial assemblies. They did not agree to pay tax to reduce the large debt incurred from Great Britains war with France.
Parliament was unwilling to accept these colonists views, but feeling the effects of an American boycott, Parliament repealed the Stamp Act in March 1766. On March 5, 1770, a confrontation between British soldiers and a group of colonists escalated into mob violence. When the soldiers fired into this mob, killing three, the incident dubbed the “Boston Massacre,” provided proof to the colonists of British tyranny. Although six of these soldiers were ultimately acquitted, two other soldiers were found guilty of manslaughter, punished by branding, and released.
In 1772 the British customs schooner, the “Gaspee,”