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The American Revolution was unlike any others in the
history of revolutions. It "occurred in the empire
distinguished above all others in the eighteenth century by the
large measure of political, religious, and economic freedom it
allowed its colonies overseas" (Miller, xiii). Thus, Ameri-
cans, unlike other revolutionary people, had already
experienced some forms of freedom. An important reason for the
Revolution was the desire for even more than they already had.
"Like all revolutions, the American one started with small,
relatively unimportant demands that grew, during and after the
conflict, far beyond the vision of the original participants"
( Lipset, 22). Would the American colonies not rebelled had
they not been taxed without representation? Or would they
have found another issue of discontent? Some historians view
the American revolutionaries as clearly intending "to make a
break with [their] European past" (Miller, xvii). These
scholars believe the American Revolution was staged
against Europe - against monarchy, imperialistic
wars, feudalism, colonialism, mercantilism,
established churches, the oppression of the many by the few.
In this sense the United States declared itself independent in
1776 not only of Great Britain but of Europe (xvii).
"...The revolutionary generation wanted benefits, not just
protection," (Banning, 105) from the British Crown. Some
argue that "separation...was the act of the British Parliament
itself, which had thrown the thirteen colonies out of the
protection of the Crown" (Lecky, 237). Had it not been for
taxation, more grievances are apt to have arisen. The American Revolution was inevitable.
In many respects, the American Revolution was the first
of its kind. USA is one of the very few states in the world
that underwent only one revolution. It is also among the
small minority of the states, whose revolution, ideologies,
and the regime established under it, lasted. There may be
many theories of what constitutes a revolution but the
simplest one is the definition of revolution.
"While some elements in the definition of revolution have a
degree of commonness, still no single one is to be found common to all"
(Paynton and Blackey, 26).
However, a sudden change in the government structure signifies
a revolution. And the government
that ensued in the late 1700s was very different from its
Royal English predecessor. The people of America and the
people of Great Britain view authority, and thus, government,
in distinct terms. This is due to the varied experiences and
points of view of the American and the English people towards
their government.
In contrast to the great revolutions that have marked the
twentieth century, the American Revolution succeeded in
accomplishing what it set out to do - "to give men more liberty
than they had previously possessed" (Miller, xviii-xix).
While the question of how revolutionary the American Revolution was remains an inherently unresolved issue (Lipset, 10), there is no doubt that the American experience was a real Revolution. It was a struggle to progress from dependent colonies to independent states, from monarchy to republic, from membership in an extended empire in which the several members were connected only through the center to participation in a singly federal nation... (Greene, 1). And it succeeded.
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