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Was the American Revolution Really a Revolution?

 

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             According to Funk and Wagnall's desk dictionary, a revolution is the overthrow and replacement of a government or political system by those governed. When armed with this definition many are able to argue that the American Revolution was an obvious shift from English rule to American rule. Nevertheless, once the war was over, the battles won, and the blood shed, those who were free before the war remained free and the enslaved remained working. In all truthfulness the constitution cleverly avoids any subject that would interfere with equality and individuality. (Zinn,1995). The idea of freedom fueled the revolution, but it is impossible for equal freedoms to be distributed when the idea of what is equal remains dangerously vague. Furthermore, when said freedom is not granted to those who dreamt of it most because of sneaky clauses in the Constitution, it can be said that no significant changes ever took place. .
             However, when liberty and equality did begin to take shape, it did so ironically accompanied by slavery. Although contradictory, it was impossible for freedom to be achieved without slavery. The ownership of other humans continued long after the revolution. Often argued as being property, slaves received little benefits in our new country. (Morgan, 1976) Our founding fathers even went as far as to ignore slaves as whole people. This is evident in the three-fifths compromise. (Funk and Wagnall's New Encyclopedia, 1993) Ironically slavery continued to be an extremely prominent force, even after freedom was won. In fact, two days after the Declaration of Independence was written Landon Carter said, "If you free the slaves, you must send them out of the country or they must steal for their support." .
             Nonetheless, slaves were not the only minority denied the pleasures of the freedom. Women were also ignored and disregarded in the land of the free. Truthfully Jefferson often failed to include women in his equation of equality.


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