The Radicalism of the American Revolution

One of the more intriguing questions in the field of American history is this: How ôradicalö was the American Revolution? Historian George Wood believes that the true radicalism of the American Revolution lay in its destruction of an older hierarchical order, i.e., the monarchy, and the development of an entirely new set of normative social relationships that were not primarily dependency relationships, with people tied together by patronage, blood, and kinship. With few exceptions, Wood was for many years alone in his belief that the American Revolution was a very radical revolution indeed; many other historians saw the Revolution as an essentially conservative rejection not of monarchy per se, but of the immediate acts of a monarch and a British Parliament.

Wood, in contrast, has made the case that part of the radicalism of this Revolution rested upon his commercialism, its capitalist underpinnings, and its materialism. The ôyeoman farmerö so revered by Thomas Jefferson was a less viable stereotype of the colonial era than the mercantile capitalist. Other historians are also looking again at key acts and actors in the American Revolution and coming to the conclusion that it was a very radical event after all. This thesis will be explored herein with respect to the literature.

The period leading to the American Revolution was one in which British colonial rule became increasingly harsh and repressiv

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became a natural center for revolutionary and radical activity in part because the community was a self-contained entity in which a number of the leading early patriots and resistance leaders were positioned. The quartering of British officers in Boston and their frequent parading on the Boston Common caused unrest among the ôleather apronö workersÆ association and on March 2, 1770, some workers attacked British soldiers looking for work during their off-duty hours. On March 5, 1770, a public protest by these workers led British sentries at the Customs House to disobey orders and fire on the crowd, killing and wounding eight colonists. Adams, joined by others such as Paul Revere, used the Boston Massacre as a propaganda opportunity. Even at this juncture, patriots such as John Adams and Josiah Quincy found themselves defending the British soldiers, while others called for calm and a restoration of order. Few, other than Sam Adams himself, were actively advocating compete independence from England. The primary demand of the colonists was freedom from parliamentary authority or, alternatively, a larger voice in parliamentary decisions impacting on the colonies. By 1772, portions of the Townshend Acts were implemented un
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Approximate Word count = 3068
Approximate Pages = 12 (250 words per page)