Apush Dbq American Revolution

Though some may try to argue that the American Revolution was not a real revolution since the upper class was not displaced, it was in fact a revolution because it transferred power from an entrenched British monarchy into the hands of local state legislatures. The American Revolution was representative of a great change which occurred in the way that in Britain, parliament viewed Americans as a small cluster of people who could be taxed without representation, to where in America the government was able to see how each individual could contribute to the economy, government, and the overall well-being of America.

This idea came about from the increasingly more harsh and authoritarian taxes that were being placed on the colonies, without representation, from British monarchy. In reaction to the Tea Act, one of the taxes placed on imported goods to America, the New York Sons of Liberty wrote several resolutions to protest against it.

These resolutions were signed by all different social classes, which signifies a change in society, because while in Britain only the wealthy and educated were permitted to participate in governmental choices, a very broad spectrum of society was able to be an active participant in how they wanted their government to be run. Although the lower class was not necessarily in congress, their ideas were able to represented by the people that they elected to express their ideas.

Some who wish to argue the idea that the American Revolution was not a full revolution may bring into light the women of the revolution, and how there was not a huge change for them. Even though their was not an extremely significant change for them, American women were given a multitude of rights that were not given to women in Britain at the time. The women of America were able to go out to war with the men to protect them, and at times even take their place when a man was wounded and could not fulfill his duties on the battlefield.

Additionally, they were often left in charge of the business and upholding of the household when their husbands went out to war. In summation, American women played many roles that were not typical of them in that time period; showing a revolutionary new way of thinking that involved women. After the surrender at Yorktown, a cartoon by James Gillray was made as a warning to the British that since they were able to defeat the British once, they could do it again should they try to overtake America and their freedoms again.

While this act in itself was not a revolution, it was representative of the revolutionary ideas in the works of the United States of America. The American Revolution was the transference of power from a monarchial government to that of a representative democracy that was able to reflect the ideas and desires of all free white men of America; indicating that it was in actuality a revolution and not an expeditious rebellion.