The creation of the American nation became what it is today from years of struggle in which the common people, as well as the Founding Fathers, played a vital part for independence. The promise of the Revolution, a nation based on the republican ideals of liberty, independence, and equality, was to some extent achieved. Yet the great principles of the Revolution have long shaped our thoughts of what it means to be an American. All the events leading up and after the American Revolution will have effects on the common people. The story of George Robert Twelves Hewes helps historians comprehend the part that the common people played in their struggle for freedom and republican ideals they wanted to achieve for the generations to come in the new nation. The common people were important because if they didn’t join John Hancock, Samuel Adams, and other wealthy leaders then the American Revolution would have never taken place. The common people made up the bulk of the Continental Army, without convincing the bulk of those people, they would have stayed loyal the King George III. The common people in the colonial era of the United States were made mostly up of people that worked in trade areas such as shoemakers, smiths, carpenters, and other trades within that time. Most of them were poor, especially if a colonist was in the shoemaking trade. John Adams, said that shoemaking was, “too mean and diminutive an occupation, to hold a client of his who wanted to rise in the world.”1
This book, “The Shoemaker and The Tea Party” is split into two different sections. The first part is about the events that happened in Boston through the eyes of George Robert Twelves Hewes. The second part is written about the Author, Alfred Young, who asks the question “When Did They Start Calling It the Boston Tea Party”. This book is written about the memory that Hewes had of the many events that he participated in. These events included the Boston Massacre, The Boston Tea Party, and the tarring and feathering of people. The recollections of Hewes helped Americans to realize that we are all equal, and all capable of doing great things to help our country.
prolonged life, in such a polarizing period in Boston, Massachusetts Hewes was an effective vessel to examine the larger issues of the American Revolution. Through the life of George Hewes, Alfred Young was able to offer an effective analysis of public and private memory. Young successfully uses the mechanism of micro history to integrate a very specific case study to a national event.
In regards to the American Revolution, the point that armed rebellion became inevitable arrived when after nearly five constant years of American colonist protesting. American 's had enough and needed to take a stand for the numerous inequalities they were forced to deal with. It was foreseeable that the American Revolution took place due to the unfair taxes that the British were giving Americans. Also, England was not allowing Americans their freedom, along with violence and the political dominance by the Parliament over the colonies by announcing the Stamp Act in 1765, which happened to nearly affect all Americans tremendously.
The American Revolution was a great time of change for America as a nation. With this change new heroes and ideals of life, liberty, and freedom were formed. Spearheading these new ideals was General George Washington and his continental army, but the road ahead of Washington and his men was not an unproblematic one. The winter at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania proved this to Washington and his men. Yet the true American ideal of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness were never forgotten in their battle.
Between 1770 and 1776, resistance to imperial change turned into a full-on revolution. The American Revolution, also known as the Revolutionary War, was a time of revolting and political uprising, in which the 13 colonies separated from the British Empire, forming the independent nation known as the United States of America. Though the American Revolution began because the colonies wanted independence from Britain, many important historical events and revolts also lead to the tensions and resistance to what resulted in freedom and independence for the colonies from British rule. Events such as the Stamp and Sugar Acts, the Boston Massacre, Boston Tea Party, Intolerable Acts, and the Continental Congress led to expanding tensions and soon to the outbreak of the American Revolution.
“The revolution was effected before the war commenced. The revolution was in the minds and hearts of the people.” - John Adams, 1818
The American Revolution consisted of elite Whites, Native Americans, and enslaved African Americans, but these ethnicities had a variety of different perspectives. These uncertainties lead to conflicts amongst minorities, women and the poor white working class of America all because they were left without any rights to their social status due to the Constitution.
The American Revolution was precipitated by the irritation of the wealthy due to tax acts imposed by Britain on the colonies. The rich did not like the taxes because of the negative effect the tax acts had on personal financial interests, but the Colonial masses were convinced by men like John Dickinson and Patrick Henry; Dickinson wrote extensively on how the British collection of taxes on the Colonies was illegal and Henry believed taxation shouldn’t be allowed unless the Colonies were properly represented. The writings of John Locke were also influential in creating interest for breaking away from Great Britain.
The American Revolution (1775-1783) was a war between England and the colonies which were settled earlier by the English. There were many factors and events that led to the American Revolution. The Revolution was mainly an economic rebellion that was fueled by taxation without representation following the French and Indian War. The English Parliament was more often than not considered cruel and unfair by the colonists. With conflicts over trade, taxes and government representation, the colonies were at a starting line of a revolution that would later transform into the basis of the United States of America.
The American Revolution is typically looked at as a conservative movement, but it seems most of the actions taken were very radical. They were fighting to defend their rights, governed and natural. The American Revolution was as radical as any other revolution, in a special 18th century way, and this seems to hold true while looking at the new waves of thinking. It involves the Whigs and Tories, and while they are at opposite sides of the spectrum, they consecutively agreed to not address and higher-law principles so they would not have to rework their entire system.. The Revolution worked against this, and the parties chose to pretend it was not a serious movement and act, as they believed it would not take any effect. More people got involved and all aspects of life began to be questioned and revolutionized. The Revolution seems to be radical in a more definitive way as it caused segregation of beliefs, the Declaration of independence, and
war, it is a sign of radical action. Britains' army was four times as big
Leading up to the American Revolution, were a chain of events that created a spark in the colonists to obtain independence from Great Britain. The American Revolution could not be tied to one single event but instead by the feelings and determination brought on by this chain of disgraceful actions. Gordon S. Wood explains what he believes caused the rebellion of the American colonists from Great Britain and how those causes help explain the outcomes of the revolution in his essay, “Radical Possibilities of the American Revolution.” Wood argues that the colonists were motivated to rebel against the British monarchy due to their need to preserve their liberties and through this revolution a radical change in government and American life occurred.
American history is full of battles and freedom fighters. From the Boston tea party to voting rights. America fought against a king who was unfair and unjust. They may have had a civil war but it was also for the idea that rights were being taken away. The country has many amazing historical characters that made it the country it is today. This paper will discuss the Boston Tea Party, George Washington’s inaugural address, his warnings upon leaving office as well as the Boston Massacre, the Battles of Lexington and Concord, and John Adams on voting rights.
The American Revolution, perhaps the most significant event in the history of the United States, was indeed radical enough to be considered a true revolution. One historian stated that, “The founding generation articulated enduring political questions and provided the structures by which we still conduct our political lives” (Kerber 25) to emphasize the enormous impact that the revolutionaries had on contemporary American society. These questions and structures however do not only pertain to America’s political system and ideals; they also greatly changed American social standards and practices throughout the years directly preceding and following the revolution.
It is easy to interpret the American Revolution simply as a struggle for freedom. The magnanimous phrases of the Declaration of Independence have embedded in our hearts and minds glorious images of the Founding Fathers fighting for the natural rights of man. The American Revolution, however, also had a darker side to it, the side of self-interest and profit. The signers of the Declaration represented various classes – the working class, the wealthy land owners and merchants, the intellectuals, and the social elite. Each of these strata had its own set of expectations and fears, which lent a new dimension to the cause of the Revolution. The pressure of these internal, and often overlapping groups, combined with the oppressive external