American Revolution Dbq Essay

Jessica Duelm

Period 2

APUSH

28 September 2014

LEQ

A revolution is defined by Meriam-Webster Dictionary as a sudden, radical, or complete change ("Revolution"). If one is to use that definition to define revolution, then one could question, was the American Revolution really a revolution? There was no sudden, radical, or complete change from before the revolution to after the revolution, so was it really a revolution or just an evolution of the government? The American Revolution was a group of upper class colonial men trying to preserve their freedoms by getting away from Great Britain because independence resulted in political separation with the ability to govern, little economic status change, and it preserved the social order. The

The elites still were above the common people even though they tried to encourage success through agriculture. The Venerate the Plough was a metal of encouragement given to the common people yet it didn’t help eliminate the divide between the social classes ("Political, Social, and Economic Change after the American Revolution”). The common people weren’t better off after the revolution. Although some can argue that taxes were lowered, taxes still existed. Before the war, the colonists were heavily taxed on common day items through the Stamp Act. Post Revolutionary War, the United States were heavily in debt and had to pay for it on their own, unlike the help they got from Great Britain before. The poor were expected to pay for a war that they didn’t even want but the poor had no money since they were fighting in the war instead of working. The citizens were taxed unfairly. Another problem post revolution was that the colonists were cut off from trading with Britain and the sugar colonies. This affected the economy since they were the major trading partners of the United States. There was not radical reconstructing of the economy; the economy was mainly the same as before. It did not create a new economic structure, rather it reinforced the political and economic status

Post American Revolution still allowed the elites to have the power over the common people. The elites had more power for they drove the revolution. The rich men had all the property, further creating a class division. In the Declaration of Independence, the elite white men changed John Locke’s point from life, liberty, and property to life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness since the white men didn’t want to give up their property. The upper class men fought for the upper class men, meaning they did what was best for them—they structured the revolution and create the Declaration of Independence to benefit themselves. Women and slaves still were inferior to the white upper class men since those were the only people who could own land. Women had no role in government and viewed solely as mothers in the house. In order to vote, you must be a white, male property owner over the age of twenty-one (Crews). There was a huge gender inequality. The treatment of natives was still poor too. The Proclamation of 1763 did not solve the issues with the natives. Native Americans were unhappy with the colonists’ ignorance of the proclamation, thus tension and conflict continued (“Proclamation of 1763 – Ohio History Central”). Add advancement? Very little changed socially from before the American Revolution to after the