How Revolutionary Was The American Revolution?

How Revolutionary Was The American Revolution?

A revolution is a total or radical change. Did the 18th century American Revolution bring about change? Many historians would say that it did, however, there is much evidence supporting the opposing view. The question is, should the American Revolution be thought of as a true revolution or merely a civil war where there was a change in power, but the elements of daily life remained the same. Contrary to popular belief, the American Revolution did not bring about change, because the rights, class structure and government remained the status quo in the colonies.
For the most part, the rights of the colonists did undergo a transformation because of the Revolutionary War. It is a widely held belief that the war was declared in defense of the natural rights: life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Unfortunately, the war did little in protecting these rights. After the war, there was still no liberty for blacks; in fact, the colonists disliked the idea of granting freedom to Blacks that they refused their offer to fight on the side of the patriots. George Washington had turned down the requests of blacks, seeking freedom, to fight in the Revolutionary army. Furthermore, many other rights, such as the right of, "no taxation without representation” was violated even after the war. Actually, after the war, the majority of the population still lacked representation, because voting was restricted to land owning, white males, which only made up a fraction of the population. "The Continental Congress, which governed the colonies through the war, was dominated by rich men. Another right that did not see any progress was freedom of religion. This (America) is a Christian nation, far from being left to itself; religion was imbedded into every aspect and institution of American life. Finally, there was no freedom of speech after the war, as the United States Constitution promised. Seven years after the first amendment became part of the constitution, congress passed a law...

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