Evaluate the extent to which the colonial independence movement changed American society socially,
politically, and economically in the period 1775 to 1800.
From 1775 to 1800 in the United States, the American Revolution became a significant turning point in
American society. The American Revolution instigated much change within the newly independent
nation, particularly political and social, and to a smaller extent, economically. After breaking away from
what appeared to be a tyrannical government in England, leaders in America formed their concept of a
perfect ideology. Although at the time they believed that these ideas would help them escape from the
British style of government, in reality, they reverted to a style that was much more centralized, similar to
that of England's. The ideas behind the revolution pushed many individuals to seek economic prosperity
but, unfortunately, the uneducated population of America did not experience as much, if any of this
change. Women and slaves experienced a slow but crucial change in society as women gained more
freedoms and many slaves were set free. Overall, our nation experienced the majority of its change in
politics and social matters, but the change was still seen to a lesser degree economically.
Politically, when America first gained independence from Britain, the founders attempted to form it to
have the least amount of similarities with Britain's as possible. To reach this goal, they ratified the
Articles of Confederation. The ideas that made up the Articles of the Confederation ended up being the
exact opposite of the functioning government everyone thought it would be. The state and federal
governments had no authority to tax citizens or regulate a sound system of money management and
there was no concept of an executive branch or balance of power as shown by the split government
systems in Document 7. These flaws caused many difficulties which are emphasized in a letter written by
Abigail Adams to Thomas Jefferson in 1787 as addressed in Document 5. The letter stated that there was
“alarming” civil unrest within many areas of the United States and that the government may not have
been strong enough to repress uprisings and assure stability. This suggested, for one of the first times,
that the founders would be in need of a stronger, more centralized and balanced government and for
that reason, they began the drafting of the Constitution which was an extreme political change.
Many ideas were proposed during the drafting of the constitution but perhaps none as important as that
of checks and balances. As stated previously, the government needed a form of balance and stability.
This idea of checks and balances is demonstrated in James Madison's The Federalist, number 51; or,
Document 2. He illustrates the concepts behind checks and balances by indicating that checks on both
the government and the people were necessary for a stable and practical society. He also does this by
showing that the government must have the necessary measures to control itself and the people within
it. His ideas were therefore greatly in favor of the ratification of the Constitution. These ideas also
prompted the first American party system, being the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists, along with the
notions of losing and strict constructionism. These ideas are still fought over today where republicans
take the side of strict constructionists, believing that the Constitution should be followed word-for-word,
and democrats take the side of loose constructionists, believing that there must be room for
interpretation. Overall, the American Revolution incited these great political revelations and gave the
founders important political concepts included in the Constitution that they would not have become
aware of otherwise.
This study source was downloaded by 100000858936669 from CourseHero.com on 02-06-2023 00:07:38 GMT -06:00
https://www.coursehero.com/file/55576180/Evaluate-the-extent-to-which-the-colonial-independence-movement-changed-American-society-sociallydo/
politically, and economically in the period 1775 to 1800.
From 1775 to 1800 in the United States, the American Revolution became a significant turning point in
American society. The American Revolution instigated much change within the newly independent
nation, particularly political and social, and to a smaller extent, economically. After breaking away from
what appeared to be a tyrannical government in England, leaders in America formed their concept of a
perfect ideology. Although at the time they believed that these ideas would help them escape from the
British style of government, in reality, they reverted to a style that was much more centralized, similar to
that of England's. The ideas behind the revolution pushed many individuals to seek economic prosperity
but, unfortunately, the uneducated population of America did not experience as much, if any of this
change. Women and slaves experienced a slow but crucial change in society as women gained more
freedoms and many slaves were set free. Overall, our nation experienced the majority of its change in
politics and social matters, but the change was still seen to a lesser degree economically.
Politically, when America first gained independence from Britain, the founders attempted to form it to
have the least amount of similarities with Britain's as possible. To reach this goal, they ratified the
Articles of Confederation. The ideas that made up the Articles of the Confederation ended up being the
exact opposite of the functioning government everyone thought it would be. The state and federal
governments had no authority to tax citizens or regulate a sound system of money management and
there was no concept of an executive branch or balance of power as shown by the split government
systems in Document 7. These flaws caused many difficulties which are emphasized in a letter written by
Abigail Adams to Thomas Jefferson in 1787 as addressed in Document 5. The letter stated that there was
“alarming” civil unrest within many areas of the United States and that the government may not have
been strong enough to repress uprisings and assure stability. This suggested, for one of the first times,
that the founders would be in need of a stronger, more centralized and balanced government and for
that reason, they began the drafting of the Constitution which was an extreme political change.
Many ideas were proposed during the drafting of the constitution but perhaps none as important as that
of checks and balances. As stated previously, the government needed a form of balance and stability.
This idea of checks and balances is demonstrated in James Madison's The Federalist, number 51; or,
Document 2. He illustrates the concepts behind checks and balances by indicating that checks on both
the government and the people were necessary for a stable and practical society. He also does this by
showing that the government must have the necessary measures to control itself and the people within
it. His ideas were therefore greatly in favor of the ratification of the Constitution. These ideas also
prompted the first American party system, being the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists, along with the
notions of losing and strict constructionism. These ideas are still fought over today where republicans
take the side of strict constructionists, believing that the Constitution should be followed word-for-word,
and democrats take the side of loose constructionists, believing that there must be room for
interpretation. Overall, the American Revolution incited these great political revelations and gave the
founders important political concepts included in the Constitution that they would not have become
aware of otherwise.
This study source was downloaded by 100000858936669 from CourseHero.com on 02-06-2023 00:07:38 GMT -06:00
https://www.coursehero.com/file/55576180/Evaluate-the-extent-to-which-the-colonial-independence-movement-changed-American-society-sociallydo/
