Daeja Thomas
Nelson
20 May 2016
The American Revolution “The American Revolution, on the one hand, brought forth great vices; but on the other hand, it called forth many virtues…” claimed Dr. David Ramsay in 1789, warning that victory does not come without adversity, or in other words, has both negative and positive consequences (Ramsay). As the nation prepared to implement its first government under a new constitution, Ramsay published The History of The American Revolution, analyzing the advantages and disadvantages the war had on Americans. While he praised the “abilities, virtues, and vast expansion of the human mind” fostered by the Revolution, he also warned Americans to rid themselves of the “great vices” brought on as a result of
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Prejudice between the local colonies became less intense after men from all the states assimilated into the Continental Army. Intermarriages were more common, further unifying the states. Americans no longer feared the Church of England being the dominant religious denomination; Ramsay considered this a mere experiment in politics where the world would see if the “happiness of a society was increased by religious establishments or diminished by the want of them” (Ramsay). Americans better understood politics because they needed to establish their own government, and the war promoted discoveries of new lands that would have otherwise been …show more content…
As a new country, America had to decide on a way to govern their settlements as they acquired more land. Started without any money or regular establishments, America implemented the Articles of Confederation as their new government, which established a unicameral legislation and one vote per state but did not define any executive or judicial powers. The weak central government failed to unify the states and gave them the authority to regulate themselves and enforce taxes, causing economical problems later, such as fishing rights between Maryland and Virginia. Lack of executive and judicial authority made it nearly impossible for the Articles to make revenue, regulate commerce, negotiate trade relations, or mediate disputes between the states. The question of who should be counted in representation based on population would continuously fuel debates for