First Decade of the American Revolution

At issue in this report is the question of whether the time period from 1776 to 1787 was truly "revolutionary." A simple answer lies in the fact, reported by historian Eric Foner (17) that for free men, "the democratization of freedom was dramatic, and nowhere more so than in challenges to the traditional limitation of political participation to those who owned property." For these men - largely white, educated, professional or landowning farmers - the American Revolution ushered in an era of dramatic change in which new freedoms were affirmed and guaranteed by common consent and the Constitution ultimately developed by the founding fathers. For other groups, the era from 1776 to 1787 when the Bill of Rights was created, it was less revolutionary on the political, economic, and social fronts.

In the early Republic, the major winners were males, whether they owned property or not. Women, indentured servants, and slaves had few political or economic rights such as the right to vote or hold citizenship or run for electoral

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Category: History - F