Within the time frame of the course, pre-Columbian to 1877, explain and defend your position

on what you think is the most significant event that has shaped America into the nation it is
today.

The American Revolution had a significant role in shaping the nation into the country it
is today. The revolution ended with the American colonies gaining independence from Great
Britain in 1783 and led to the formation of the United States government we have today. The
unprecedented nature of the United States Constitution and Bill of Rights is a result of the
revolutionary ideas formed during the war. The revolution set the foundation of the current
government that works in the interest of the public, and shaped the nation into the diverse society
seen today. The revolution influenced a change in the foundation of American society, by
removing legal privileges of aristocrats and banning noble titles, the revolution shaped a future
population that is less divided by social class. The American Revolution was the event that
formed the current American identity. The American identity is founded on revolutionary ideas
of freedom, liberty and natural rights, and has been the foundation of many revolutions over civil
liberty and fights for equality.
The American Revolution began as a protest of Great Britain’s unjust rule and unequal
treatment of their North American colonies, and quickly evolved into a passionate fight for
independence that unified the nation and formed a collective American identity. The colonies
had naturally diverged from British ideals throughout the first half of the eighteenth century.
New ideas formed during the age of Enlightenment, and the nation was experiencing a new
desire to question authority and discover their own truth. However, until a decade before the war,
colonists had a strong sense of national pride and a personal connection with their mother
country (​The American Yawp​, Chapter 5). This relationship diminished when Parliament began
implementing imperial reforms on the colonies to repair their finances after the expensive Seven
Years War in 1793. The reforms included the Sugar Act, Stamp Act, and Townshend Acts which
denied them of certain freedoms, limited their expansion West, taxed trade merchants and
colonists and removed the right of trial by a jury of peers for maritime offenses. The colonies had
so far enjoyed self-governance and were heavily offended by the royal government as they
attempted to oppress the rights of their North American colonies and unjustly tax them without
proper representation in Parliament. Colonists protested the reforms and demanded equal
treatment as Englishmen. Resistance spread as voices of protest and stories of violence by the
British Army were published throughout the colonies. Colonists organized their resistance and
began to boycott tea and other goods from Britain in protest of the tax on tea and their monopoly
of the tea trade. Samuel Adams and John Hancock led the Sons of Liberty in their resistance,
which led to the famous Boston Tea Party in 1773 (​The American Yawp​, Chapter 5). Britain's
retaliation for the colonial protests included the Intolerable Acts in 1774, which placed Boston
under military control and claimed the Massachusetts colony was in open rebellion. The
excessive force used in Boston unified the colonies under the belief that Parliament would soon
do the same to all the colonies, and inspired them to form the Continental Congress and begin
seizing power from the colonies’ royal officials.
The Revolutionary War began in 1775 with the Battle of Lexington and Concord, when
the Patriot militia known as “minutemen” responded to the Royal Army’s attempt to seize a
colonial arms depot and forced them to retreat to Boston. The militia’s actions influenced the
decision of the Continental Congress to form the Continental Army to aid in the siege of Boston,
and appoint George Washington as commander in chief (​The American Yawp​, Chapter 5). By
1776 popular opinion grew toward national independence from Britain, fueled by ideas from the
age of Enlightenment, including the work of John Locke who advocated for education, critical
thinking and to question leadership. The idea of independence popularized in the colonies. The
cry for independence was popularized by the heavy circulation of the pamphlet “common sense”
written by Thomas Paine, that voiced his opinion on the limited power of Britain over the distant
colonies in North America and questioned the foundations of a monarchical government. A
committee including Benjamin Franklin, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson produced a formal
complaint against the actions of Parliament compiled in the Declaration of Independence, mainly
authored by Jefferson (​The American Yawp,​ Chapter 5). The Declaration of Independence was
adopted by Congress on July 4th, 1776, a day that remains as a celebration of national pride for
the American people. The war ended after eight years of deadly battle. Allies formed between
the North American colonies and other European nations, including the Netherlands, France and
Spain. With the help of the French army, Commander in Chief George Washington led the
Continental Army in a siege of Yorktown, resulting in the surrender of the British forces in 1781
and a gradual end to the the battles of the Revolutionary War. Great Britain formally
acknowledged the indepence of the North American colonies by signing the Treaty of Paris in
1783.
The American Revolution was a defining moment for the future of the American people.
The new country was the first modern nation to establish a republic government meant to benefit
the common people, rather than a ruler or noble class, and the first to nationally separate the
powers of church and state, allowing complete religious freedom. American culture evolved as a
result of of the revolution. American society became fundamentally different from early
eighteenth century colonial society and distinct from Britain. The new nation ended hereditary
privilege of land and titles of nobility. Instead of land inheritance through the male line, women
were given land rights if they were widowed or divorced, and the nation’s social hierarchy was
greatly reduced. For the first time there was value and respect in menial labor and an opportunity
for the common people to independently improve their quality of life. These changes are
incredibly apparent in today’s society of entrepreneurs and dreamers with the freedom to pursue
wealth and accomplishment. The famous events, such as the Boston Massacre and the Boston
Tea Party, still resonate today, and the tales of famous war heroes, like Paul Revere’s night ride
to warn the Patriots about the oncoming Redcoats, and Patrick Henry’s famous words, “"Give
me liberty, or give me death! (1775)" have become symbols of national pride and continue to
inspire an American identity that was founded during the revolution.