Hollitz ch. 4 analysis

Jasmina Courtenay
U.S. History 1301
Professor Karnavas
September 9, 2014
Unknown American Revolution
The American Revolution is one of the biggest goals accomplished in the U.S. Many believe it couldn’t have been done without the success of the war without our great founding fathers and generals. Gary Nash begs to differ and sheds light on the roles other groups played greatly on the American Revolution. In Nash’s article prior to readers reading this excerpt he hopes for us to find “hope, an antidote for historical amnesia.” Nash successfully argues in the “Unknown American Revolution,” the up rival of the revolution with the upheaval of female equality, slavery, and common farmers which are proven by secondary sources in the chapter.
Nash helped people remember all those who influenced the revolution that were lost in history amnesia. Such influences were common farmers who created mass mobs and in short did almost “civil” acts of militia men. As Nash wrote in the secondary source, the men “turned the city upside down,” meaning Boston. In a letter written by Governor Morris in New York, writes his comments on the “mob.” It goes as follows,”the heads of the mobility grow dangerous to the gentry, and how to keep them down is the question.” Riots were all along the north and seemed to have affected New York in this pressing matter on taxations. In Nash’s article, many Aristocrats feared the impact the riots would have on other groups such as those that are slaved.
In primary source 8 in the book of Hollitz, it is fair to believe that it was a contradiction of workers wanting “freedom” from the British when slavery was still active. Notice in the Nash’s earlier writing that the freedom of slaves was one of the “fears” that was brought up due to the actions of arising mobs. Even then it was known between many others that this upheaval was a walking contradiction, but helped so greatly as well. Not only was the revolution fought by the farmers, females for equalities, and slavery, but also helped in the near future for equality in general. Later with letters of abolition of slavery, it wasn’t abolished but was considered unconstitutional by the legislature which is one step forward to equal opportunities to everyone. Nash’s shedding of light to such groups helped rewrite history in a different stand point of view and is supported by those who were in it.
In Abigail Adams infamous letter to her husband John Adam, we can tell Nash references her a lot to the voice of the first encounter of female equality. The American Revolution left females wondering the prevailing attitude toward woman. An excerpt form Abigail's letter to John goes as follows “If particular care and attention is not paid to the ladies, we are determined to foment a rebellion, and will not hold ourselves bound by any laws in which we have no voice or representation.” Abigail clearly mention the words rebellion thus making this a social issue on the home front. Such as the workers rebelling in all along the coast, who goes to say that females won’t rise and rebel for the same parallel issue of liberty and freedom for themselves.
It is noted to be careful of the situation that Nash explains of these events that other historians make a mistake of labeling it as “primarily” issues which is not the case. Here in this chapter Nash takes away the amnesia from readers and enlightening us the truth on the American Revolution which is seen through the eyes of those in the primary sources. The primary sources were from all social scales relaying what Nash has recognized in his excerpt. The American Revolution was a form of freedom from farmers, to females, and slaves.