US History: How The Revolutionists Formed In Crowds Of Mixed Classes

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AP US History Chapter 1 Edward Countryman describes how the revolutionists acted in crowds of mixed classes. From middle-class men, working people and sailors, to Negroes and boys, the crowds defended their interests and each other. One factor that that unified these revolutionists was the European traditions of mischief. One included ‘Carnival’, where one day a year roles were switched. In the midst of celebrating, a lord could be a peasant and a commoner a king. Another factor was historical events. In Boston particularly, Bostonians celebrate Pope Day on November 5th. It signifies the punishment of the Gunpowder Plot which planned to burn parliament. Guy Fawkes and his followers were burned at the stake, where crowds watched and paraded around with their own effigies for honor. Many wonder what it actually meant to be a member of the British Empire. Truthfully, if one was British, one was alive. To almost all white colonists, it meant remaining a human being. The British had all the power and control economically and politically. Yet even in the midst of the power, not one aspect of being British was even remotely close to being perfect. Religion and…show more content…
Economically Philadelphia and Boston were the most different regarding what they exported; Philadelphia exported wheat and Boston did not. Boston’s economy was actually not doing so well. Its shipbuilding industry was moving elsewhere and its population had decreased to about 15,000. On the other hand, the populations of New York and Philadelphia were growing. Philadelphia had become British America’s largest city with about 30,000 people by 1774. New York’s population had reached about 25,000. The slave numbers of the towns varied however with seven percent of Philadelphia’s population being slaves while twenty percent of Boston’s was

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