Prd3. How revolutionary was the American Revolution? The American Revolution was both revolutionary and not revolutionary, because for the most part things that the African American race was fighting for such as equal rights are still not how the government portrays them to be. Economically the war was revolutionary because still till this day the Americans are still protected or in relation with another country to help them out. Socially the war was not revolutionary because, there was still that one race that was not treated like they belonged and felt like they were taking up space.
How important was the issue of slavery in causing the American Civil war? Due to slavery America was divided into two halves, the North and the South, both had very different and in some cases radical views. Firstly the more industrialised North generally was through and through against slavery as many felt it was immoral but also realised that if you paid your workforce you would increase your means of production and efficiency which helped them become more industrialised. However the south was reluctant to give up their slaves and felt that they were doing the slaves a favour in keeping them, housing them and feeding them. They were like children and would not survive by themselves.
The American Revolutions was initiated due to the tension that existed between the thirteen American colonies, and Great Britain. There was a war debt that Great Britain had obtained while defending the American colonists after seven years of war along with helping out financially. As a solution to the debt, the British began passing legislation which raised taxes for the American colonies. The British believed or envisioned a single empire with Parliament as the supreme authority. Only Parliament could make laws for all the people, including the American colonists.
Slaves had resisted their being traded since slavery had started. Adding to this, slaves had been inspired by the many people that had led the major slave revolutions like in Barbados, Demerara and Jamaica. The revolutions shocked the British Government and made them start to understand that the costs keeping the trade were too high. Eventually that led to the abolition of the slave trade because the plantation owners and the traders started to understand and accept the abolition rather than having a large world war which was what it could have come to if the abolition hadn’t taken place. Some slaves resisted in passive ways against the trade and slavery.
The final draft of the United States constitution was approved by the twelve state delegations on September 17, 1787. The document provided the laws of the land as well as the rights of its people. The document tries to cover all the many problems of the country, but seems it came on as a great challenge due to the fact that we all have different views and interpretations. The laws were made pretty clearly as they were extremely elaborated, but when it came down to slavery, it wasn’t clear whether any laws were made because the word black or slaves was not mentioned at all. The United States constitution was neither pro-slavery nor anti-slavery.
A revolution is a total or radical change. Did the 18th century American Revolution bring about change? Many historians would say that it did, however, there is much evidence supporting the opposing view. The question is, should the American Revolution be thought of as a true revolution or merely a civil war where there was a change in power, but the elements of daily life remained the same. Contrary to popular belief, the American Revolution did not bring about change, because the rights, class structure and government remained the status quo in the colonies.
Later, on the West African coast, these goods would be traded for men, women and children who had been captured by slave traders or bought from African chiefs. The members of the Society for the Abolition of the Slave Trade decided to concentrate on a campaign to persuade Parliament to prohibit the trading in slaves, for tactical reasons. They felt they were more likely to succeed, than if they demanded the abolition of slavery itself throughout the empire. They also believed that, if the trade was ceased, slavery would eventually wither away. In the early years of the campaign, the abolitionists had great success in raising awareness and obtaining public support.
While Inventions, such as the cotton gin, enhanced the necessity for slaves in the south, slavery was disappearing from the rest of the world. This is why slavery was called the ‘Peculiar Institution’. Americans that did not live in the south or see the true colors of slavery believed that paternalism existed in there, which delayed violence and revolting needed to start the revolution. It was due to the influence of the Haitian Revolution that allowed Americans and slaves to use more violent tactics to get their point across. Violence played a huge role in the outcome of the Civil War.
The main reason the British practiced imperialism in Africa was to bring forth Christianity and many European civilizations to African countries. Britain’s economy fed on trade, and they did not want the West Coast of Africa for its palm oil. They believed it was too unstable for good commerce without their control. Their main objective was to protect their high paying countries; India and the Caribbean. Since the slave trade in the 1830’s, Africa didn’t impress the British.
Although each of them had their own perspectives, their main objective was the same. Reparations in this society can be defined by stating that the U.S. government needs to make a formal apology to blacks for the damage caused by the transatlantic slave trade due to social and economic consequences in the United States. Advocates also feel the U.S. government owes the black people. Blacks remain behind due to many things, the most important being slavery. The Constitution, until recently, did not apply to blacks; blacks feel they deserve payments from 310 years of slavery, destruction to their minds and culture.