Create a new account

It's simple, and free.

Subordinate People in Early American History

POWER OF SUBORDINATE PEOPLE IN COLONIAL, REVOLUTIONARY AND CONSTITUTIONAL ERAS

This research paper discusses the power of subordinate people over their lives and society during the colonial period and the changes in that power which were brought about by the changes in governance during the Revolutionary War and Constitutional eras. For most people in the colonies, life was hard during the colonial period which lasted almost as long as the life of the Republic since its founding in 1787. The great mass of people had little control over their lives or society, but substantial autonomy was enjoyed by the colonies and their legislatures from their colonial overlords which was a function of distances and different conditions in the harsh wilderness. A burgeoning middle class characterized all but the plantation economy of the South. And even the poorest freemen enjoyed liberties unknown in the mother country because of labor shortages, greater social mobility, and traditions of religious dissent.

The Revolution involved more a change in national loyalties than a social revolution. The Revolution generated a republican spirit and a spirit of common sacrifice for the cause of independence. However, republican ideals and privileges were never intended to apply to Native Americans, black slaves, the poor or other members of the so-called dangerous classes. Women and white males who did not own property remained disenfranchised. The Constitutional era brought about strong central authority, greater respect for propertied interests and conflict between the Eastern commercial and manufacturing interests and those of small farmers and backwoodsmen. The establishment of a strong national government and other constitutional reforms, however, set the stage for later measures which would ameliorate the status of some subordinate groups.

The early settlers brought with them the English common law legal system and its institutions which w...

Page 1 of 8 Next >

More on Subordinate People in Early American History...

Loading...
APA     MLA     Chicago
Subordinate People in Early American History. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 18:30, March 28, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1689862.html