Lynnelle Howell

American Civilization
Research Paper
7/1/11
Many people of different intellectual thinin! have "uestioned what reasons led the
American colonists to decide to declare their independence from #reat $ritain% &t is su!!ested
that the social environment of $ritain was a factor in the colonists' (ehavior% Another theory was
that an economic (urden could have initiated the start of the Revolution% Possi(ly) it was the 1*
th
century opportunities that encoura!ed men and women to free themselves from the restraint of
family) church and town !overnment) as well as the acceleration of economic and population
!rowth% Perhaps) +ust may(e) it was the ma+ority views of Protestant colonists that !ave them the
idea of li(erty as well as the illusion of power they held) thinin! $ritain depended on them
throu!h commerce more than they depended on $ritain for protection of their ri!hts and security%
,ither way) most colonists (elieved in! #eor!e &&& was not !overnin! $ritain in a fairly manner%
Parliament's authority was also in "uestion when they issued many ta-es in order to pay for de(ts
and any other financial pro(lems% &t is unclear which reasons is the truth to our independence) (ut
it is part of our herita!e that was made possi(le (y our foundin! fathers to let us live the lives we
lead today%
As stated in .ac P% #reene's article) a few scholars have discussed the American
Revolution as a social struggle by underprivileged groups against the special privileges and
political dominance of the old colonial aristocracy. /urin! the 1*
th
century) colonial society
was full of class conflict) with an increase in the aristocratic political system that also increased
the hatred amon! the people that were denied of realizin! their own economic and political
aspirations% &t later resulted in the social !roups' tensions risin! to the surface durin! 170121770%
3he American Revolution had (een thou!ht to (e deep fractures within colonial society and seen
as social disarray% A theory of social strain (ein! so intensive and e-tensive that colonial society
was prone towards revolution (y either creatin! a sin!le) massive social crisis or a multitude of
local) !roup) and personal crises that ri!orously interfered many parts of colonial society) was
opposed (y other scholars who had a different theory to offer 4#reene) p!s 526) 172118%
Heimert and others su!!ested that it was the #reat Awaenin! and the other chan!es that
contri(uted to the social uproar which prepared the colonists intellectually as well as emotionally
for the re(uff of $ritish authority after 1706 (y underminin! confidence in the authority of
traditional) reli!ious) social) and political institutions includin! the leaders% Another alternative is
su!!ested (y com(inin! two of the theories9 the economic and demo!raphic !rowth and social
turmoil throu!h the first five decades of the 1*
th
century created risin! economic and social
e-pectations amon! the rest of society) which were later pertur(ed (y a decline of opportunity%
3hus far) all of these hypotheses su!!est that the (ehavior of the colonists to separate themselves
from $ritain somehow was conditioned (y the social environment% :tudies of the sym(olic
representations of internal social strains in Revolutionary e-pression have shown how the
colonists' fears a(out moral decline and the increase in self2oriented (ehavior in their societies
mer!ed with the opposition to $ritain) which made them loo forward to the re!eneration of
American society 4#reene) p!s 112178%
&n another article) .oseph Reid .r% imparts that economic (urdens helped ;spar< the
Revolution% He e-plains his reasonin! throu!h financial terms and e-amples to illustrate the
response of colonists' Revolutionary ideals for the means of securin! place and wealth to
particular colonists% &n short) the Revolution came to concern redistri(ution within the colonies)
as well as (etween the colonies and $ritain% :tudies of the Revolution's ori!in cannott stop with
a chan!e in the demand or supply of $ritish colonial rule% &t su!!ests that other o(+ects (e
replaced for demand and supply) which are9 sentiment=how many people want a certain outcome
ex ante; loyalty=how many people want a certain outcome ex post> and ac"uiescence=the level
of ex post sentiment needed to sustain an outcome) as e-planations of political outcomes%
:entiment indicates outcomes that the populace wants (efore an outcome is determined% 3o !ain
or eep political power) potential and current !overnors try to mold sentiments% A direct way was
(y voter education 4i%e% Common :ense and the /eclaration of &ndependence8% Another way to
alter sentiments was to affect an outcome% 3he re(els emphasized the cost of remainin! under
$ritish rule) enslavement) and misery% 3heir importance was reco!nizin! that for an outcome to
(e sustained) loyalty must e-ceed that minimum level of sentiment in order to !ain ac"uiescence%
3herefore) the re(els stressed the hi!h cost of acceptin! $ritish measures) ran!in! from the threat
of (ein! run out of town/(usiness to the future loss of wealth from $ritish trade re!ulations and
ta-es 4Reid) p!s *12*5) *02*78%
3hey also strained the unfairness and depravity of Parliament% After 1706) $ritain
increased the (urden on traders and staples producers% &n 1707) the (urden was much !reater for
ships (ecause they needed (onds assurin! the source of each piece of its !oods% 3he :tamp Act
re"uired that every form) a!reement) (ond) newspaper) le!al documents) land title) etc% was to
carry the correct ta- stamps% Colonists did not want these (urdens so they re"uested Parliament
to revoe the act with ar!uments (oth economic) statin! that it would hinder trade) and
constitutionally it was un+ust to (e forcin! these acts on them% Parliament repealed the :tamp
Act) (ut re+ected the constitutional claims% :oon) they later imposed the 3ownshend duties% ?rom
studyin! the patterns of colonial disputes) Reid concluded that particular economic interests
provoed the masses of (oth sides to and throu!h the Revolution% 3he contri(ution of the radical
orators to main! the Revolution was their effect on colonial ac"uiescence9 (y esta(lishin! and
recruitin! a !overnment as another option to that of $ritain's Parliament) they are said to have
reduced the costs to other colonists of opposin! $ritish rule 4Reid) p!s @A2@1) @62@7) 1AA8%
Bnlie the previous articles that have (een cited) .oyce Apple(y !ives an allurin! theory
a(out what made the colonists decide to declare independence% &nstead of the slow process of
cultural differentiation associated with the colonial maturity view) there is evidence of a
dis+uncture in colonial life in the 1*
th
century% A social order of su(ordination servin! in varyin!
de!rees upon all mem(ers of the community !ave way) after 176A) to a fra!mented society% 3he
distur(ance of the contained) community2oriented societies produced new situations of
si!nificance% ?or a num(er of men comin! of a!e in the 177A's2 171A's) the distinct statuses of
free and unfree) dependent and independent) came to represent harsh alternatives% 3o (e
dependent in a society of mutual dependence was different from (ein! dependent or fearin!
dependence in a society in which institutions no lon!er inte!rated people's lives into a social
order% 3his new social situation made contemporaries sensitive to threats a!ainst their personal
freedom% Historical research on the 17
th
century has ena(led us to comprehend the efforts
colonists made to esta(lish traditionally structured) interdependent communities% &nformed (y an
understandin! of social or!anization) some historians have (een a(le to (rea from the li(eral
perspective that promoted a search throu!h colonial records for evidence of individual self2
assertion and antiauthoritarian stands 4Apple(y) p!s 72*8%
Recent histories of Cew ,n!land and scholarly wor on reli!ion in the colonies have
demonstrated the importance colonists attached to social order and their willin!ness to !ive up
personal freedom to achieve sta(ility% :ocial structure was a shared !oal) and the drive for local
autonomy in the Cew Dorld served to (uild stron! communities rather than to li(erate
individuals% 3he studies of towns in Connecticut and Massachusetts have revealed that
community authority determined farmin! practices) reli!ious esta(lishments) land distri(utions)
and social responsi(ilities% Michael Eucerman interpreted the suffra!e as an operational device
for assurin! conformity and social control in communities lacin! any other coercive force% As
3imothy :mith pointed out) reli!ious !roups turned to political authority to shore up
con!re!ational discipline when faced with the ;threat of social disorder) of (ar(arization) which
hun! over their common enterprise%< Accordin! to Philip #reven) the small a!ricultural towns
lie Andover) Massachusetts pro(a(ly proved to (e e-cellent places to realize the !oals of order)
hierarchy) and the closely2nit community until the middle decades of the ei!hteenth century)
when population outran the town's provision of land% &n addition) youn! men reached maturity
sooner) married youn!er) esta(lished their independence more effectively and earlier in life) and
departed from the community with !reater occurrence than in earlier !enerations% 3he
demo!raphic studies of Ro(ert Dells indicate a fertility rate which would have made it difficult
for parents to provide for all of their adult children% 3he num(er of children !rowin! to maturity
challen!ed the conservative transmission of culture from one !eneration to another 4Apple(y) p!s
*21A8%
Another factor was (y the total increase from immi!ration% Philadelphia) a city of 15)AAA
in 176A) (e!an receivin! immi!rants from #ermany and &reland at the rate of 7)AAA a year) an
avera!e maintained for the ne-t two decades% 3he characteristic colonial society of 17AA
su(ordinated the individual to the !roup and re!ulated his activities in a!reement with traditional
purposes defined (y the local church or the rulin! class% Prosperity) new economic opportunities)
immi!ration) population !rowth) and the pressures of war undermined efforts to perpetuate this
social pattern% 3he after2math of the Awaenin! was a clear reco!nition of reli!ious pluralism
4Apple(y) pa!es 1A215) 172118%
,i!hteenth2century opportunities no dou(t encoura!ed men and women to free
themselves from the restraint of family) church and town !overnment) (ut the acceleration of
economic and population !rowth forced freedom upon others% 3here was no room in the
esta(lished towns for the surplus population of the third and fourth !enerations% &mmi!rants were
cultural outsiders% :laves and &ndians were hostile !roups (y definition% 3he created choices of
reli!ious loyalties forced youn! adults from the protective control of their families) and added
thousands of (lac and white aliens to the native population% Bsually sons had livin! fathers still
in possession of family farms and there was competition for land amon! the potential heirs%
Dhere fathers in one community left evidence of controllin! their children throu!h inheritance or
!ifts of land) in other towns the a!ed parents' fear of ne!lect su!!ests that !rown sons had !reat
freedom of movement 4Apple(y) p!s 11210) 1*21@8%
3he cycles of population !rowth could affect the personal freedom of youn! people in
two contrastin! ways% Population !rowth could stimulate town plantin! which mi!ht !ive
mi!ratin! youn! couples early independence from their parents) or population pressure could
create a land scarcity which inhi(ited youn! people from leavin! the security of a prospective
share in the family farm% /espite the opportunity) preindustrial society offered a limited ran!e of
self2supportin! occupations to men without land) and real property was essential to personal
freedom defined (oth economically and politically% 3hese people were not mem(ers of an elite)
(ut avera!e white men whose childhood) youth) and maturity had paralleled the disruption of the
previous) conservative social order% Ceither family) state nor church could lay fundamental
claims upon them) for the terms of !roup mem(ership in colonial life had (ecome voluntary) short
ran!e) and unintrusive% Already in the 170A's and 177A's) there were the "ualities of a li(eral
society which 3oc"ueville descri(ed three2"uarters of a century later9
As social conditions (ecome more e"ual) the num(er of persons increases who)
althou!h they are neither rich nor powerful enou!h to e-ercise any !reat influence over
their fellows) have nevertheless ac"uired or retained sufficient education and fortune to
satisfy their own wants% 3hey owe nothin! to any man) they e-pect nothin! from any
man> they ac"uire the ha(it of always considerin! themselves as standin! alone) and they
are apt to ima!ine t hat their whole destiny is in their own hands%
&f we can accept this picture of the chan!es in colonial society (efore the Revolution) and can
entertain the idea that the removal of traditional social restraints would mae the cate!ories of
free and unfree crucial to personal satisfaction) then it is possi(le to see how $ritish imperial
reforms could (e viewed as menacin! acts demandin! immediate and forceful repudiation
4Apple(y) p!s 1@25A8%
Fur understandin! of the Revolution in part hin!es upon our capacity to discover what
e-periences would have prompted this attitude a(out freedom% :ocial upheaval (y itself does not
produce radical notions a(out individual ri!hts% Fne could !uess that the social insta(ility
occasioned (y population pressures) hi!h rates of immi!ration) the increased use of slaves)
wartime dislocations) and reli!ious revivals would cause a conservative reaction% Perhaps) on the
other hand) the individual ener!y recently freed from familial) con!re!ational) and community
restraint supplied the force for li(eralization rather than reaction% $ecause law enforcement had
always (een wea in the An!lo2American colonies) community coercion had supplied the social
control normally e-ercised (y superior authorities% Local autonomy had served !roup) not
individual !oals) (ut the effectiveness of a system of control depended upon the capacity of the
lar!er society to create new locales of community control to eep pace with !rowth% Rapid and
diversified population !rowth strained the system% 3he controversies over the #reat Awaenin!
undermined the (asis for reli!ious discipline% Perhaps the prosperity and economic !rowth of the
middle decades provided the possi(ility of a new order) which would minimize social control and
ma-imize the individual domain of choice and responsi(ility% Any threat to the e-pectations
!enerated (y a li(eral vision of society could induce panic and encoura!e violence% :uch threats
could also (e widely accepted as tyrannical) un+ust) unnatural) and unaccepta(le% 3his is what the
revolutionary rhetoric su!!ests was the response 4Apple(y) p! 578%
3he last article was) in simple terms) +ust plain peculiar (ut invi!oratin! at the same time%
Pa!e :mith's article is the su(+ect of an 1*
th
century historian named /avid Ramsay and his
perspective of the where the ori!ins of the American Revolution (e!an% :mith deems that the
(est interpretation of the causes of the Revolution was made in the decade followin! the treaty of
peace in 17*6 and that thereafter) we moved further and further from the truth a(out our
Revolutionary (e!innin!s% Amon! the !eneration of historians who lived throu!h the era of the
American Revolution) /avid Ramsay is preeminent) thou!h (y no means atypical% Ramsay 4&77@
2 &*&18) (orn in Pennsylvania of :cottish Pres(yterian parents) attended the Colle!e of Cew .ersey
where his friend $en+amin Rush said that he was ;far superior to any person we ever !raduated at
our colle!e%%%< Ramsay had none of the perspective that was supposedly necessary for an
o(+ective and impartial treatment towards #reat $ritain> his History of the American Revolution)
had a didactic purpose= it was desi!ned to awaen Americans to their responsi(ilities as citizens
under the new !overnment 4:mith) p!s 112158%
&n Ramsay's analysis and interpretation of the events culminatin! in the Revolution) he
showed unusual insi!ht and a een sense of proportion% 3he colonists claimed as part of their
(irthri!ht all the (enefits of the $ritish constitution) which was ;the people could not (e
compelled to pay any ta-es) nor (e (ound (y any laws) (ut such as had (een !ranted or enacted
(y the consent of themselves) or of their representatives%< Amon! the causes contri(utin! to the
(reach with #reat $ritain were sli!ht factors such as ;the distance of America from #reat2$ritain
GwhichH !enerated ideas in the minds of the Colonists favora(le to li(erty%< Moreover) the
reli!ion of the ma+ority of the colonists ;nurtured a love for li(erty% 3hey were chiefly
Protestants) and all Protestantism is founded on a stron! claim to natural li(erty) and the ri!ht of
private +ud!ment%< 3here were intellectual currents in the a!e which encoura!ed li(ertarian
ideals% ;3he readin! of those Colonists who were inclined to (oos) !enerally favored the cause
of li(erty%%%% 3heir (oos were !enerally small in size) and few in num(er9 a !reat part of them
consisted of those fashiona(le authors) who have defended the cause of li(erty% Cato's letters) the
&ndependent Dhi!) and such productions) were common in one e-treme of the Colonies) while in
the other) histories of the Puritans ept alive the remem(rance of the sufferin!s of their
forefathers) and inspired a warm attachment) (oth to the civil and the reli!ious ri!hts of human
nature%< 4:mith) p!s 152178%
3he reaction of the colonists to the :tamp Act was "uic) if unforeseen% Dhile the ta-
wored no considera(le hardship on the colonists) pu(lic resistance was widespread and
spontaneous% 3he issue was not an economic one) (ut one of principle= no ta-ation without
representation% 3he :tamp Act aroused the sentiment for li(erty amon! the Americans) and) in
Ramsay's words) it (ecame ;evident) from the determined opposition of the Colonies) that it
could not (e enforced without a civil war%< Dith the repeal of the :tamp Act) the colonies)
;instead of feelin! themselves dependent on #reat $ritain) %%% conceived that) in respect to
commerce) she was dependent on them%< 3hey were thus ;inspired with such hi!h ideas of the
importance of their trade) that they considered the Mother Country to (e (rou!ht under !reater
o(li!ations to them) for purchasin! her manufactures) than they were to her for protection and the
administration of civil !overnment%< 4:mith) p!s 172118%
Ramsay also paid attention to the economic motif% He pointed out that many Americans
amon! the merchant class) found it profita(le to oppose $ritish measures% 3he reaction of the
merchants to the importation of ,ast &ndia tea was motivated (y their fear of losin! a profita(le
trade in smu!!led tea% ;3hey dou(tless conceived themselves to (e supportin! the ri!hts of their
country) (y refusin! to purchase tea from $ritain)< Ramsay wrote) ;(ut they also reflected that if
they could (rin! the same commodity to maret) free from duty) their profits would (e
proportionately !reater%< Hence) the merchants too the lead in denouncin! the tea% ;3hou!h the
opposition ori!inated in the selfishness of the merchants) it did not end there%< Dhen the 3ea Act
of 1776 was passed) the ma+ority of colonists opposed #reat $ritain on the !round of ;principle%<
3hey saw it as a scheme ;calculated t o seduce them into an ac"uiescence with the views of
Parliament for raisin! an American revenue%< &n acceptin! the cheaper tea) they would (e
acceptin! the tea ta- 4:mith) p! 108%
/espite his sensitivity to the su(tle pro(lems of colonial psycholo!y) to self2interest)
chance) and the infle-i(ility of the $ritish !overnment) Ramsay !rasped firmly the constitutional
principle% ;3his was the very hin!e of the controversy% 3he a(solute unlimited supremacy of the
$ritish Parliament) (oth in le!islation and ta-ation) was contended for on one side> while on the
other) no farther authority was conceded than such a limited le!islation) with re!ard to e-ternal
commerce) as would com(ine the interests of the whole empire%< ;&n !overnment)< Ramsay
added) ;as well as in reli!ion) there are mysteries from the close investi!ation of which little
advanta!e can (e e-pected% ?rom the unity of empire it was necessary) that some acts should
e-tend over the whole% ?rom the local situation of the Colonies it was e"ually reasona(le that
their le!islatures should at least in some matters (e independent% Dhere the supremacy of the
first ended and the independency of the last (e!an) was to the (est informed a puzzlin! "uestion%<
4:mith) p!s 1*21@8%
&t is only fair to add that the aims and aspirations of the !eneration of historians that
Ramsay was a mem(er of were suited to writin! (alanced and +udicious history% 3hey sou!ht to
write history that would draw the states to!ether% &t was the particular responsi(ility of first
!eneration historians to write accounts so (road and !enerous that Patriot and 3ory) planter and
merchant) Cortherner and :outherner) could find common !round and move forward to the future
that awaited the new nation% &n addition) the historians of the ei!hteenth century made no
distinction (etween fact and interpretation% 3he position Ramsay too did not rest upon ;facts<
(ut rather upon an awareness of his responsi(ility to do +ustice to the rival !roups and conflictin!
aspirations involved in his story% $eyond all this) an intelli!ent contemporary has one advanta!e
over all later investi!ators% He was there% He saw it happen) felt it) e-perienced it on many
levels% &t was part of the comple- fa(ric of his life% ?urthermore) he did not have to mytholo!ize
the events or view them throu!h the lens of a later !eneration with its different needs and
aspirations% Had Ramsay not (een an individual of far more than ordinary wisdom) he could not
have availed himself so successfully o f his opportunity 4:mith) p!s 772778%
#eor!e the third% Dhen most people hear that name) they thin of a tyrannical in! who
had too much power and imprisoned the colonists) tain! away their ri!hts) controllin!
everythin! they did throu!h ta-es) throu!h laws and of #reat $ritain's parliament who only
thou!ht that what they decided was (est for everyone% &n American Revolution: A History)
#ordon Dood depicts #eor!e as merely a naIve in! who wanted to !overn #reat $ritain in his
own way and Parliament did not have the control to stop him% #eor!e &&& was 55 years old when
he first ruled) shy and ine-perienced in politics% However) he was tenaciously determined to rule
personally% Hence) he felt freer to i!nore the advice of the Dhi! ministers and aimed to purify
,n!lish pu(lic life of its corruption and factionalism% He wanted to replace former Dhi!23ory
s"ua((lin! with duty to crown and country% Historians no lon!er depict #eor!e &&& as a tyrant
seein! to undermine the ,n!lish constitution (y choosin! his ministers a!ainst Parliament's
wishes% All the same) there can (e little dou(t that men of the time felt #eor!e &&&) whether he
meant to or not) was violatin! customary political realities% ?ears were the in! was attemptin!
to impose decisions on the leadin! political !roups in Parliament rather than !overnin! throu!h
them% $y dili!ently attemptin! to shoulder what he thou!ht was his constitutional responsi(ility
for !overnin! in his own stu((orn way) #eor!e &&& helped to increase the political confusion of
the 170As 4Dood) p!s 1*21@8% &t is taen into account that #eor!e could have influenced the
re(ellious start of the colonists' ideals with his opinion of a reasona(le way to rule the country%
Althou!h) it did indeed facilitate colonists to reco!nize for sure what ind of !overnment they
wanted in the end%
&n 1706) the overwhelmin! ma+ority of white male colonists would have considered
themselves loyal $ritish su(+ects while assertin! a somewhat va!ue ri!ht to self2!overnment% $y
1777) many "uestioned their relationship with $ritain and had an increasin!ly clear notion that
self2!overnment meant that Parliament had little authority to interfere in the daily lives of
Americans% ?aced with mountin! de(ts and a desire to compel Americans to pay for their own
defense) Prime Ministers and Chancellors of the ,-che"uer attempted to devise accepta(le means
to ta- the Americans% 3he !overnment also sou!ht) in the wae of the :even Jears' Dar) to (etter
or!anize and rule the $ritish ,mpire% Dhen Americans resisted these plans) the issue "uicly
shifted from one of financial solvency to that of Parliament's authority) which was a factor in
(ecomin! the ori!in for a Revolution% ,ach time Parliament ac"uiesced to American pressure) it
undermined its claim to e-ercise control over the colonies% As a result) with each successive
crisis in $ritish2American relations) the colonial resistance !rew in stren!th and authority) until
(y late 1777 $ritish authority was on the (rin of collapse in the colonies and Americans were
effectively !overnin! themselves% &n mo(ilizin! opposition to $ritain) American Dhi!s
employed a lan!ua!e of li(erty) which stressed ri!hts K the ri!ht to self2!overnment) the ri!ht of
representation) the ri!ht to trial (y +ury K and decried the tyranny and slavery which resulted
when these ri!hts were violated% &n so doin!) they were (ound to e-perience increased political
awareness and empowerment as a result of their contri(utions% 3his crucial turn of events was the
result of $ritish actions and American reactions% $e!innin! in 1771) Americans would (e!in to
tae the initiative in their relationship with $ritain 4Co!liano) p!s 112158%
$ased on the /eclaration of &ndependence) the possi(le reasons one can deduce of what
made the American colonists decide to declare their independence from #reat $ritain) was
(ecause of the ;a(use< and the unfair +ustice the people felt from the Parliament and their Lin!
that was supposedly assumed to care a(out them and their way of life% 3hey were sensin! that
their ri!hts were (ein! denied and taen away from them and the !overnment was (ecomin!
corrupt as well as oppressive% &t is a!reea(le that there may have (een social and economic
pro(lems that could have led the colonists to that point of re(ellion and con+ure up +ustifia(le
reasons% Cevertheless) they did not (elieve the !overnment was securin! their ri!hts as it was
desi!ned to do in the first place% henever any form of government becomes destructive to
these ends! it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it! and to institute ne government!
laying its foundation on such principles and organi"ing its poers in such form! as to them shall
seem most li#ely to effect their safety and happiness 4.efferson8% :ince the colonists could not
alter or eradicate the Parliament or their Lin! (ecause of the hi!h political power they possessed)
it was possi(le that the people (elieved it was (est to ;start over<) in a sense% However) in order
to institute a new !overnment) they would most liely have to leave the +urisdiction of #reat
$ritain and the only real way the people could leave was towards the Cew Dorld% &n any sense)
$ritain was) in analo!y) that of a parent who did not now how to raise their child> it led $ritain
to tryin! many methods of disciplinin! the colonies (ut in the end only stren!thenin! the wall
dividin! them%
&n con+unction) 3homas Paine's famous pamphlet) $ommon %ense) !ave the colonists a
(oost of confidence that their decision for independence would (e the ri!ht choice%
&t is the !ood fortune of many to live distant from the scene of sorrow> the evil is
not sufficiently (rou!ht to their doors to mae them feel the precariousness with which
all American property is possessed% $ut let our ima!inations transport us for a few
moments to $oston) that seat of wretchedness will teach us wisdom) and instruct us for
ever to renounce a power in whom we can have no trust% 3he inha(itants of that
unfortunate city) who (ut a few months a!o were in ease and affluence) have now no
other alternative than to stay and starve) or turn out to (e!% ,ndan!ered (y the fire of
their friends if they continue within the city) and plundered (y the soldiery if they leave it%
&n their present condition they are prisoners without the hope of redemption) and in a
!eneral attac for their relief) they would (e e-posed to the fury of (oth armiesM
,very "uiet method for peace hath (een ineffectual% Fur prayers have (een
re+ected with disdain> and only tended to convince us) that nothin! flatters vanity) or
confirms o(stinacy in in!s more than repeated petitionin!2 and nothin! hath contri(uted
more than that very measure to mae the in!s of ,urope a(solute9 Ditness /enmar and
:weden% Dherefore since nothin! (ut (lows will do) for #odNs sae) let us come to a
final separation) and not leave the ne-t !eneration to (e cuttin! throats) under the violated
unmeanin! names of parent and childM
As to !overnment matters) it is not in the powers of $ritain to do this continent
+ustice9 3he (usiness of it will soon (e too wei!hty) and intricate) to (e mana!ed with any
tolera(le de!ree of convenience) (y a power) so distant from us) and so very i!norant of
us> for if they cannot con"uer us) they cannot !overn us% 3o (e always runnin! three or
four thousand miles with a tale or a petition) waitin! four or five months for an answer)
which when o(tained re"uires five or si- more to e-plain it in) will in a few years (e
looed upon as folly and childishness2 there was a time when it was proper) and there is a
proper time for it to cease%
$ommon %ense% 3he title of Paine's pamphlet alone indicates that the natural thin! for the
colonies to do was secede from #reat $ritain% 3hat it was the way nature was intended to !o and
why pretend there was hope when all it would continue to (e were empty promises and only days
of ensured melancholy and frustration% &t was time to leave the nest) it was time to move on and
create a new foundation of culture% ?ortunately) Paine was one of the steppin!2stones to pushin!
the colonies towards their dream of life) li(erty) and the pursuit of happiness 4Paine8%
3here are enormous and unlimited theories to e-plain the reasons of why the colonists
decided to declare independence from $ritain at that moment in history) (ut it is uncertain which
one could (e the actual truth% &t can (e a plain) simple answer ri!ht in front of our noses or it
could (e a comple- stream of events in order to find the answer% &t is dou(tful to say that any or
all of those components were a necessary cause of the Revolution) (ut without them) there would
not have (een one% Fne way or another) it is part of our history today) ena(lin! us to live freely
and now the (lessin!s of li(erty are secured to our posterity and ourselves%
$i(lio!raphy
Apple(y) .oyce% OLi(eralism and the American Revolution%O &he 'e (ngland )uarterly
7@%Co% 1 41@7089 6250%
Co!liano) ?rancis /% Revolutionary America! *+,-.*/*0 : 1olitical History% ?lorence9
Routled!e) 1@@@% Print%
#reene) .ac P% O3he :ocial Fri!ins of the American Revolution9 An ,valuation and an
&nterpretation%O 1olitical %cience )uarterly **%Co% 1 41@7689 1255%
Henretta) .ames A%) and /avid $rody% OChapter 1 2 3oward &ndependence9 Jears of
/ecision) 170621770%O America: a $oncise History% 7th ed% $oston9 $edford/:t%
MartinNs) 5A1A% 16520A%
.efferson) 3homas% 2eclaration of 3ndependence% /i!ital ima!e%
Http:44.loc.gov4rr4program4bib4ourdocs42eclar3nd.html% Li(rary of Con!ress%
De(% 0 .une 5A11%
Paine) 3homas% $ommon %ense% Philadelphia) 1770% Print%
Reid .r%) .oseph /% O,conomic $urden9 :par to the American RevolutionPO &he 5ournal
of (conomic History 6*%Co% 1 41@7*89 *121AA%
:mith) Pa!e% O/avid Ramsay and the Causes of the American Revolution%O &he 6illiam
and 7ary )uarterly 6rd ser% 17%Co% 1 41@0A89 11277%
Dood) #ordon :% American Revolution: a History. Cew Jor9 Random House) 5AA6%
Print%