The Pros And Cons Of The American Revolution

The 1700s presented a dire time for many colonists in America. While household names like George Washington, Abigail Adams, and Benjamin Franklin receive the most recognition for their roles in the American Revolution, the “95 percent of Americans who were not members of the Founding-era gentry” often go overlooked for their vast contributions prior to 1776 (Holton 18). This group included “Native Americans, enslaved blacks, and ordinary whites,” all of whom experienced significant hardships during the decades leading up to the American Revolution (Holton 21). For white farmers, statistics show a dramatic decrease in landholdings from the mid 1600s to the 1700s, leading to a desire for something to keep them afloat and help them to support

For one, “taxation without representation” attacked the “free colonists’ well-being” (Holton 18). The taxation started with the Sugar Act in 1764, which taxed molasses but ultimately raised revenue. Although the act would prove to be beneficial, the colonists believed that they should be represented in Parliament if their products would be taxed. When the British subjected the colonists to the first internal tax, the Stamp Act of 1765, the colonists became even more furious and the thought of independence seemed better than ever. Previously, the British had created the Proclamation Line of 1763, which protected Native American land but infuriated many including the Founding Fathers who “dreamed of vastly enhancing their wealth by speculating in western land” (Holton 18). Furthermore, the Quartering Act of 1765 as well as the loss of life at Lexington and Concord, among other factors, “conspired to convert free Americans to the cause of independence” (Holton

If any free male American fought, they were promised land by the end of the war, which sounded especially enticing due to the fact that the average New England Farm Size was down from 200-300 acres in the 1650s to under 100 acres in the 1750s, with a similar trend in Concord as the landholding decreased from 259 acres in 1663 to 56 acres in 1749 (Colonial Statistics 63). Many of the farmers of land in these areas were young, white males with no real future, and war seemed to be their best option. Also, the distribution of wealth showed negative trends as the richest 5% held 48.7% of the wealth in 1771, up from 30.2% in 1687 (Colonial Statistics 66). Things continued to get worse for the working people throughout the 1770s, and they wanted better. Another key group who saw potential for improvement in their quality of life were enslaved blacks, although they chose to fight for the opposing side of the Revolution. By the time of the Revolution, “about one fifth of the people in the rebelling colonies- approximately half a million souls- were enslaved” (Holton 20). The “widening gap between white Loyalists and Patriots” became more and more obvious to such a large group of colonists, and they took it upon themselves to step in (Holton 20). The