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Examples Of How Revolutionary Was The American Revolution Dbq

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How Revolutionary was the American Revolution? The American Revolution was tremendously revolutionary in the sense that it completely changed the culture and way of thinking of the American people. The changes occurred in the way of thinking, religion, feelings about slavery, and the country itself. Although the American Revolution technically ended in 1783, there was a social and political revolution occurring for a long period afterward. After the Revolution, Americans shifted from a British colonist way of thought to a purely American one. This change shaped America and made it what it is today.

First, the American Revolution completely changed the way of thinking of the American people, resulting in a purely American mindset. This …show more content…

The entirety of American people felt more unified as a country rather than separate colonies or classes. The drawing Billiards in Hanover-Town (Virginia) by Benjamin Henry Latrobe, which depicts an upper-class, well dressed male playing billiards with a lower-class male who is wearing raggedy clothes and no shows, shows that Americans came together and enjoyed each other’s company no matter their wealth or social standing(Document D). Another large change in the country was the fact that common people were becoming more involved in the government, as they had never done before. Lower-class people, who had previously been seen as unimportant and useless, were now having their voice heard, which was a new experience for them. America saw a substantial change in the representatives in state legislatures. There was a dramatic decrease in wealthy people as representatives, and an immense increase in well-to-do or moderate income people as representatives(Document I). This proves that more and more “common” people were getting …show more content…

Many Americans started to feel that slavery was wrong, and wanted it outlawed. In US Constitution on banning the slave trade, it states “there was a push to eliminate the trans-Atlantic slave trade, and slavery itself, amongst many Americans”(Document J). This shows that although slavery did not completely end until 1865, many Americans wished it gone. This was an enormous change from before the revolution, because before, most Americans either owned slaves or did not care about slavery. In fact, some states, such as Maine, Vermont, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania, abolished or made efforts to abolish slavery within five years after the American Revolution(Document K). In Massachusetts, slavery was outlawed because of the Mum Bett or Brom and Bett v. Ashley case. This case brought to light how slavery was made illegal by the Massachusetts Constitution(Document R). This was revolutionary because slaves were finally getting freedom after several hundred years of

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