'The Birth of the American Nation\r'

'The American Revolution was not only a mesh against the British; it was in addition a period of changeover from a colony to a newly-formed land. Belonging to country that was just liberated from colonial rule, the Americans attempted to fall in revolutionary ideology to the building of their nation and the ma fag of their society.They managed to do so by first basing the promulgation of license on political surrenderdom, social allowance and economic opport social unity. (http://www. megaessays. com, n. d.) governing bodyal freedom played a huge influence on the ideas and ambitions of the revolutionaries and also resulted in social tolerance and economic opportunity. (http://www. megaessays. com, n. d. )Hence, the Declaration of Independence was not a promise or an prune to wage war with Britain †it was a challenge to the Americans to conduct their sovereignty and develop as a nation. (http://www. megaessays. com, n. d. ) Political freedom for the 13 colonies mea nt â€Å"brea faggot away from England and organism able to develop a sense of individuation and a sense of self- governing.” (http://megaessays. com, n. d. ) â€Å"Sense of identity and a sense of self-govern ment” referred to a central government that they themselves elected and in whose personal matters they have a say. (http://megaessays. com, n. d. ) Indeed, the lack of political representation angered the Americans to a greater extent than any other atrocity committed against them by the British. (http://megaessays. com, n. d. ) The absence of their opinion in government policy-making allowed the British to enact unjust virtues, such as the swag Act (1764) and the Stamp Act (1765).The Sugar Act imposed a three-cent tax on imported refined sugar and increased taxes on coffee, indigo and certain casings of wine. (http://www. socialstudiesforkids. com, n. d. ) Meanwhile, the Stamp Act needful taxation for every printed paper that American colonists used. (htt p://www. socialstudiesforkids. com, n. d. ) With the 13 colonies free from the grasp of the British government, the Americans then proceeded to wee laws that campaignd economic and social liberty. On March 1, 1784, doubting doubting Thomas Jefferson proposed a prohibition on bondage in the entire United States after 1800 (this was narrowly defeated).(http://www. historyplace. com, n. d. ) On May 8, 1785, the US Congress passed the Land mandate of 1785, which divided the northwest territories into â€Å"townships set at 6 square miles, subdivided into 36 lots of 640 acres from each one, with each lot selling for no less than $640. ” (http://www. historyplace. com, n. d. ) Thomas Jeffersons Ordinance of Religious Freedom (1786) dictated that â€Å"no man may be forced to wait or support any church or be discriminated against because of his religious preference. ” (http://www. historyplace. com, n. d.) The first amendment to the US makeup was later patterned after this regulation. (http://www. historyplace. com, n. d. ) Despite their nations independence, the Americans go on using some long-held conventions, laws and customs. For instance, the US Constitution espoused the topic governments division into three telles: the legislative, the executive and the judiciary. The legislative setoff creates the laws, the executive enforces the laws and the judicial come apart interprets the laws. The colonial government has a similar structure. The governor headed the executive branch in each colony.He was â€Å"appointed by the king in the royal colonies, named by the proprietor in the proprietary colonies, and chosen by the voters in the take up colonies. ” (www. grazian-archive. com, n. d. ) The governor was assisted by a council (appointed by the same agent that appointed the governor) in administering to the affairs of the colony. The governor (in the royal and proprietary colonies) can also exercise a suspensive (temporary) or fully veto upon the colonial legislatures. The legislative branch in the colonial government was a bicameral unit that was tasked to enact laws.It also had the authority to appoint some(prenominal) administrative officials, starting with the colonial treasurer. (www. grazian-archive. com, n. d) The judicial branch of the colonial government dealt with all cases in the colonies. compound judges were either appointed by the king or elected by the people, depending on the type of colony. They were tasked to provide colonists judicial rights that the British people enjoyed at home. (www. grazian-archive. com, n. d) Another long-held convention that the Americans used was the development of soul host institutions for each state.(http://www. americanrevolution. com, n. d. ) This ran parallel to Britain, which had separate military units for the colonies and the mother country. (http://www. americanrevolution. com, n. d. ) A civil war bust out in Britain in 1642, resulting in the abolition o f the monarchy and the House of Lords and the relinquishment of power to General Oliver Cromwell and the army. (http://www. americanrevolution. com, n. d. ) under Cromwells dictatorship, the size of the military establishment under the British king was limited.This had a negative effect on the colonies, where Cromwells absolutism fue lead distrust of standing armies and the employment of professional soldiers. (http://www. americanrevolution. com, n. d. ) To compensate for the lack of soldiers, the colonies resorted to citizen-soldiers. (http://www. americanrevolution. com, n. d. ) A law passed in 1777 required able young men (except for slaves) to render military service to the colonies. They were trained in the basics of war and law enforcement and were also considered probable recruits for short military offensives in the frontier.Land grants were often provided in exchange for able soldiering, turning the military into an entrancing prospect for laborers with no stead of the ir own and their sons. (http://www. americanrevolution. com, n. d. ) moreover the American Revolution left some problems unresolved, if not created new ones. The Americans remained divided on the topic of thraldom (Brinkley150). Slavery was abolished in states where either slobbery was negligible or was non-existent at all, such as in New England and Pennsylvania, respectively (Brinkley 150).Even the confederation experienced draw to rectify or even abolish the custom. every southern states except South Carolina and Georgia outlaw further importation of slaves from other countries, while South Carolina also prohibited slave trade during the war (Brinkley 150). Virginia created a law calling for manumission (the freeing of slaves) (Brinkley 150). However, slavery still survived in all southern and margin states. The American Revolution also did little to promote the rights of women.Although the war made it easier for women in some states to achieve divorces and allowed wome n in New Jersey to vote, they still remained lacking(p) and dependent on men (Brinkley 147). They had no nark to education and had no legal protection from abusive and tyrannical men (Brinkley 146). Married women had no property rights of their own, making it difficult for widows of revolutionaries to regain their dowries from their husbands estates (Brinkley 147). Aside from the issues of slaver and the emancipation of women, the Americans had to deal with post-war economic depression as well.(http://www. historyplace. com, n. d. ) The hostilities left Americans with a host of economic problems, such as shortage of currency, high taxes, nagging creditors, grow foreclosures and bankruptcies. (http://www. historyplace. com, n. d. ) Increasing poverty at this period light-emitting diode to rebellion and violence. On August 31, 1786, to avoid the endeavor and imprisonment of debtors, former war captain Daniel Shays led an armed throng and stopped the Northampton Court from observi ng a hearing (Shays was already an impoverished sodbuster at the time of the revolt).Shays and his followers later instigated some(prenominal) related uprisings. The American Revolution served as a model for later revolutions in Europe and Latin America. It served as the primary influence in the french Revolution (1798-1799), the Haitian Revolution (1791-1804) and the South American wars of independence (Venezuela †1811; Argentina †1810 and Chile †1810). But the closely important lesson it taught was that while the oppressed can free themselves from a tyrant, they should ensure that they deserve the freedom that they won. whole kit and caboodle Cited Brinkley, Alan.A Survey: American storey. New York: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2007. â€Å"Essay on Declaration of Independence and American muniment. ” n. d. Megaessays. com. 16 January 2007 <http://www. megaessays. com/viewpaper/4738. hypertext mark-up language>. â€Å"Sugar Act. ” n. d. Social St udies for Kids. 15 January 2008 <http://www. socialstudiesforkids. com/wwww/us/sugaractdef. htm>. â€Å"A Summary of the 1765 Stamp Act. ” n. d. Colonial Williamsburg. 15 January 2008 <http://www. history. org/History/teaching/tchcrsta. cfm>. â€Å"A New Nation: 1784 to 1790. ” n. d. The History Place. 15 January 2008<http://www. historyplace. com/unitedstates/revolution/rev-nation. htm>. â€Å"Three Branches of Government. ” n. d. Utah genteelness Network. 15 January 2008 <http://www. uen. org/themepark/liberty/3branches. shtml>. â€Å"Early American Governments and the Confederation. ” n. d. Grazian-Archive. com. 15 January 2008 <www. grazian- archive. com/governing/american_way_of_government/03_Part_I. pdf ->. â€Å"The US Army and the Founding of the Republic. ” n. d. AmericanRevolution. com 16 January 2008 <http://www. americanrevolution. com/his_army_founding. html>.\r\n'