How Important Was The American Revolution

The 4th of July marks independence day in which americans commemorate the thirteen colonies claiming independence, as well as the events that led up to it. They recall the oppressed colonist who fought against the tyrannical King George and his army of redcoats. Heroes are commemorated, tyrants are cursed, and liberty is celebrated. En masse, this all accumulates to a jubilee of what would later be known as the American Revolution. Despite the regard to which the revolution is held, one questions still stands - just how influential was the American Revolution?

To decide just how much of a revolution the American Revolution was, one must first see if it fits the definition. As defined by Princeton University, a revolution is “The overthrow
Partaking in a war comes with costs, quite literally. During the war, the government put forth a lot of money equipping soldiers and funding the necessities to continue the skirmish against the British. Fighting the war was costly and the colonies soon found themselves engulfed in a large amount of debt, which slowly accumulated over time. With a lack of authority, the government was at a loss and remained futile. As James Ferguson wrote in his book Nations Unity on Trial: "Congress, it is true, had authority to contract loans, but, since it lacked the taxing power, it could not guarantee repayment.” (54). It appeared that with no source of formidable income the American colonies would collapse in heap of self-imposed debt. It was not until after the revolution was over that the government was able to establish an adequate economy, through a series of innovations. One of which was the creation of banks and paper money in place of gold and silver. Citizens began going to business and government as a means of trying to increase the
Throughout the war women took on unconventional roles; some took on the duties of their husbands in agriculture and business, and others even went far as to fight alongside men as soldiers or nurses. With regards to the role women played, many believed that upon returning to their normal lives, things would be different but they would later find out that there would be little to no change. In fact, the eminent fight for women's equality would not unfold until the women’s right movement ensued many years later. The change which women experienced was relatively minimal for the time being, but the revolution did mark the beginning of the recognition of gender equality. On the other hand, slaves - another underrepresented group - experienced exceptional change during this time. The ideology of American being the land of free men began to emerge, and it was demonstrated on a multitude of occasions. One of the most outstanding examples was an Ordinance for the government of the territory northwest of the Ohio River, which when put in place banned slavery. It was around this time that the ⅗ compromise came into play which further demonstrated social change as slaves were progressively being considered people as opposed to objects. Insert