Compare And Contrast The American Revolution And Gordon Wood

In The War for Independence was not a Social Revolution and The Radicalism of the American Revolution, authors Howard Zinn and Gordon Wood each pose their view on why or why not the American Revolution was a social movement. Gordon Wood’s essay was more persuasive because he contrasted common revolution assumption with the american revolution, and gave an example that illustrated how the social effect actually impacted society.
Wood’s position on the American Revolution is that it was a revolution driven by differences in the social classes. He begins his argument by saying the revolution was not like the classic revolutions of its time. The American people were not actually an oppressed people, there was no overwhelming poverty or major

The revolutionary leaders were not your typical scrappy, bloodthirsty people who killed people and destroyed property. They were more like “gentlemen” and could be found in drawing rooms or legislative halls. Wood then says that because of this we do not think of the American Revolution a having “social character” and being a social movement, when it really is one. He argues that monopolies, business contracts, and social honors and distinction were all controlled by the government. The lower class wanted this to change, and after the revolution had taken its course no only did America's government change but their society changed. Wood says that “one class did not overthrow another”, but that social relationships changed. This made everyone more socially equal; the lower class now how had more dignity, and there was a sense of respectability for

He argues that the american elite class “molded laboring-class opinion… into action” by shaping their behavior. The rich saw that in order to have a successful revolutionary movement that they would need the support of the lower class because they made up the majority of the American population. He gives two examples of things that helped to influence the lower class’s opinion: the popular pamphlet called “Common Sense”, and the Declaration of Independence. Common Sense was a popular pamphlet that emphasized a central government. It’s purpose was to attempt to speak for everyone and unite the colonists. The Declaration of Independence was a document that declared independence from Britain written by the founding father of America. It used radical and fiery language in order to “mobilize certain groups of americans”. It was read from the balcony of the Boston town hall and through this accomplished its goal of uniting the people against Britain; riots erupted with the slogan “Tyranny is tyranny let it come from whom it may!". Zinn concludes that the colonial elite organized the lower class to work towards a common cause which was to remove British control from America. He argues that this gave the elite many benefits including allowing them to replace the British royals, while only giving minimal benefits to small landowners, and leaving the lower class more or less