The American Revolution

We were assigned to read a book from different historical events in US History, and I chose the one set during the American Revolution. I like that this class fosters a lot of involvement amongst the students and TA's, and I also like how what we learn causes me to think and identify similarities and differences from our nation's history then to now and become passionate about it. 

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American patriotism has, in recent times, been a controversial topic for many; it has become increasingly politicized, with some viewing it as lying too far to one side of the spectrum, while others embrace national holidays and symbols as expressions of pride and love for our country. However, The American Revolution by Gordon S. Wood reminds us what it truly means to be an American citizen. It takes the reader back to a time when the core of American belief was, in essence, little more than self-evident truths applicable to all men. From the origins of the Revolution to the ratification of the Constitution and its effects on society and politics today, this book covers a breadth of topics while never losing contact with the root questions with which the struggle for American independence was wrought.

Before the official war against Britain was declared, the colonies had already been lashing out against royal authority for over a decade because of its encroachment on American liberties. The “first deliberately intercolonial protest” was formed in 1764 over the Sugar Act passed by Parliament, which the colonies claimed was causing them great economic injury. They drew up official petitions protesting the Sugar Act and sent them to the royal authorities in England, but they were ignored, and Parliament continued passing Acts (like the Stamp Act), angering the colonists even more. Gordon S. Wood describes this predicament well in a single sentence: “This parliamentary tax, however justifiable it may have been in fiscal terms, posed such a distinct threat to Americans’ liberties and the autonomy of their legislatures that they could no longer contain their opposition within the traditional channels of complaints and lobbying.” This early resistance against British oppression, like the Sugar Act protest, laid the foundation for American identity, rooted in independence and liberties. Over time, as we know, Britain’s tyranny over America caused the colonists to declare their independence, fight a long war against Britain, and grow to become the country we live in today. However, I think the first initial action taken by the colonists is what truly encapsulates the meaning of being American. The moment the colonists realized they were being unfairly treated and raised to be slaves under the King, they banded together to fight against their oppressors and defend their liberties and God-given rights. 

These events eventually led to the drafting of the Declaration of Independence. To me, this is a document that outlines the basis of Republicanism (republicanism as it was known back then: legitimate power coming from the people, limited by the rule of law), shows the root beliefs of the United States, and paints an image of American patriotism that we can look back on to remember what we stand for: “That all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” This philosophy of human rights is embedded in the foundations of our country; it lives in the bone and marrow of our beginnings and burrows into the depths of America’s essence. While the Declaration, at its time of release, had flaws and glaring contradictions (like slavery and women’s rights), its principles, radical though it might have seemed in the eighteenth century, are an account from which Americans draw their credence.

Written in the graceful hand of Gordon S. Wood, The American Revolution epitomizes America at its nucleus. In less than 170 pages, we are powerfully reminded of how liberty and equality ideals, though imperfect in their original implementations, characterized what it means to be American then and continue to define it today. In the present, as we face oppression — or see others facing the same — and are called back into the tyrannical clutches from which we once escaped, the possibility of falling into the hole we crawled out from should be a cause to rouse the American identity we all hold inside of ourselves. Let us be reminded of what it means to be American, and encapsulate it in our thoughts, minds, and actions, especially in times when it is most needed.