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American Revolution

Although considerable scholarship has been devoted to the accomplishments of the founding fathers and their role in liberating the colonies from Great Britain, the real heroes of the American Revolution were ordinary men. These men hailed from the lower strata of society, and included working class urbanites, rural peasants, immigrants, and blacks, both free and slave. Such men provided the muscle and participated in mob action against British tyranny. Mass movements such as these led to war in the American colonies.

Economic interests played a larger role in the American Revolution than many historians care to acknowledge. Granted, the ideals of freedom, liberty, and the rights of man were at the forefront in much of the rhetoric espoused by the founding fathers, but even this group, most who were property owners with considerable wealth, had many economic interests to protect: "All things considered, it seems clear that in most states the strength of the revolutionary party lay most largely in the plain people, as distinguished from the aristocracy" (Jameson 18). The common man who participated in the insurrections that preceded the declaration of war was often prompted by a strong sense of injustice. Free blacks who served in the colonial forces had their personal freedom at stake, since many of them were treated no better than slaves. Slaves who enlisted did so because of the promise of emancipation after military service. Thus core issues of freedom were closer to the cause of the common man and blacks in the American Revolution than to upper class whites, who were often motivated by economic gain.

As much of an economic burden that British tyranny imposed on the merchant and wealthy classes in colonial America, the lower classes were subjected to even more distress. Whereas the merchant could often pass the additional expense of British duties on to their customers or rely on their own means of credit, people...

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American Revolution. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 00:00, March 19, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1687089.html