American Revolution Dbq Essay

The American Revolution can be seen as one of the most significant events of the eighteenth century. It marked the first of any revolution that succeeded in declaring independence and differentiating themselves from their former parent nation. Although the American revolution is often referred to as a revolutionary movement, the extent to which it can truly be characterized as “revolutionary” is arguable. When examining the different parts of the revolution, as well as the various effects on the people in America, it becomes apparent that the benefits of equality were unequally distributed among the American people. In fact, inequality specifically affected groups such as African-Americans, Native Americans, and women. For this reason, the

For one, many African Americans were still not free during this time. In a map infographic titled “The Abolition of Slavery 1777-1865” it details (by state) the dates in which slavery was abolished. Abolition began in the North as early as 1777. By 1787, the Northwest Ordinance passed which outlawed slavery in the northern states. In 1863, the Emancipation Proclamation was passed and it ended all slavery in America by 1865. (Document K) Despite the eventual abolition of slavery in America, it cannot be justified that the revolution had any causation in the matter. This is due to the timeline in which the revolution ended compared to when slavery was abolished. The revolution ended in 1783 when the Treaty of Paris was signed and the dates reveal the fact that it took nearly a century after the revolution to end for slavery to end as well. The majority of slave abolition that took place after the revolution cannot be directly attributed to it. Free Africans in the north also suffered as a result of the reality of African American peoples during this post-revolutionary era. An example that encapsulates the African American struggle is a speech given by a young valedictorian at a New York African free school. In this speech, the young black man describes how he will not be able to work for white employers, despite his academic excellence. He expresses that

The desire for land has led to many brutal conflicts between colonists and native Americans, with colonists usually victorious to great extent. As a result of these conflicts that have taken place throughout the course of America’s history, colonists and native Americans generally share negative perceptions of each other. An example of the native Americans negative perception of the post-Colonization Americans is a letter written by three Seneca Indian leaders to the president, George Washington in 1790. It reads, “when your army entered the country of the six (Iroquois) nations, we called you the town destroyer. To this day, when your name is heard, our women look behind them and turn pale.” (Document Q) This letter captures native Americans view on the colonists and how they have fear instilled in them by the colonists. Three years prior to this letter being written, a clause in the northern ordinance was written with the intent to put an end to violence against the natives. The “utmost good faith” clause that was issued in 1787 stated that there shall always be “good faith” between the present day Americans and the natives. It also assured their “property, rights, and liberty.” (Document P) However, when comparing the two documents the clause directly contradicts the account written by the three Seneca leaders.The letter