In 1756 the French Indian War, also known as the Seven Years’ War, was a battle between France and Britain over the control of the Ohio Valley and Canada. The French become allies with Indian tribes and fight the war against Britain, but are defeated. The British Empire started taxing the 13 colonies during the war to raise money for weapons and ammunition, this was called the stamp act. The stamp act taxed americans on newspapers and legal document in 1756. The 13 colonies didn’t want to be taxed causing an uprising after the victory of the British over the French and Indians.
America rebelled and fought to gain independence from the British Empire, this was known as the Revolutionary War. At a great surprise the Americans won the war against England, which was the most powerful nation in the world at the time. The American Revolution was revolutionary in certain facets such as political independence, social equality, and economics, but didn’t change anything for Women, AfricanAmericans, or Indians. In the early years of the War for Independence many African slaves and people from the 13 colonies rebelled against the rule of King George III.
They were tired of being under the order of King George and wanted to be an independent nation. Document 1 shows a drawing of citizens pulling down the statue of King George III in Boston, New York in the 1770’s. A very important detail of this image is the African slaves. They are people who are considered property with no rights at all, and even they have joined the rebellion against the rule of the British Empire. The slaves and citizens of the British Empire were giving out a message that they were fed up of living under a monarchy and that they wanted their independence.
On July 4, 1776 the Declaration of Independence was passed. It stated that all men were created equal and they are given rights by God that cannot be taken away such as “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”(Document 2). This declaration gave the American colonies confidence and determination to become independent of the British rule. It also stated how governments do not just have power over people, and that the people are the ones who give the government its power. November 1797 Benjamin Henry Latrobe, a British architect, published a drawing of men playing Billiards.
His drawing was called “Billiards in a Hanover-Town” and there was a great significance to it. In the drawing there is a well dressed wealthy man playing Billiards with a poor man wearing worn out clothes and no shoes on. The significance of this drawing is that during the war for Independence, the Declaration of Independence was passed stating all men are created equal, therefore having an effect on social equality. Before the war many seats in congress were mainly the wealthy men of the population. According to Document 4, in 1765 36% of the wealthy men had seats in congress and 17% of moderate men occupied seats in congress.
By 1785 12% of wealthy men had seats in congress and 62% of moderate men took seats in congress. This showed how wealthy people were favored more before the revolution. After the revolution there was more of a balance between the social classes that occupied seats in congress. This was the effect on the Economic status after the Revolutionary War. Although the Revolutionary war revolutionized some aspects of America, some argue it did not change anything for Women, African Slaves, or Native Americans. The Abolition of slavery between 1777 and 1865 was not so successful.
It was effective in the Northern states of America, but very ineffective in the Southern states of America. According to Document 5 in 1780 90% of slaves lived below Pennsylvania, meaning the majority of slaves were in the South side. The document displays a map of the U. S showing the dates abolition acts were passed. Nearly all Northern states had slavery abolished by the end of 1700’s or beginning of the 1800’s. In the Southern side of the map some other states abolished slavery a few years prior to, or after the Emancipation Proclamation was passed in 1863.
This showed how the revolution may have been ineffective in some areas of the U. S. In 1819 there was a speech made by a young AfricanAmerican valedictorian who attended a New York free school. Free schools were places mainly for free African-Americans striving for an education. In the young valedictorian’s speech he says “Shall I be a mechanic? No one will employ me; white boys won’t work with me”(Document 6). This shows that even after the Revolution African-Americans were not treated fairly because white people still didn’t want any correlation with the African-Americans.
March 31, 1776 Abigail Adams wrote a letter to her husband, John Adams, a leader of American Independence from Great Britain. In her letter she asks for him to “Remember the ladies, and be more generous and favourable to them”(Document 7). Abigail also states that the ladies will not obey any laws they have no voice or representation over and if the attention to them is not granted they will be determined to start a rebellion. The letter to John Adams is a great example of how desperate women were to be remembered due to how poorly they were treated before and after the Revolution.
Women were not allowed to vote until 1920 when the 19th Amendment was passed into the United States Constitution. It clearly states that no citizen of the U. S shall be denied the right to vote because of their gender. This was a huge revolutionary moment for women in the history of the United States because they have always been denied equal rights and the right to vote in the previous years. The Northwest Ordinance was a law passed in 1787 to carry out the settlements of Northwest territory, it then got divided into several states and was ruled by the articles of confederation.
The Ordinance basically gave the Indians land that cannot be taken away from them. Document 9 states that “their land and property shall never be taken away from them without their consent;” (Document 9). The Indians shall not be disturbed or invaded either. In 1790 three Seneca Indian Leaders (Big Tree, Cornplanter, and Half-Town) wrote a letter to the president, George Washington. The letter from the three leaders mentions much fear the Americans put into the Natives, “to this day, when your name is heard, our women look behind them and turn pale, and our children cling to the necks of their mothers” (Document 10).
The main idea of the letter to George Washington is that the treatment and murderous act of the British towards the Indians was unjust and that the lands originally belonged to the Six Nations. The American Revolution was revolutionary in certain facets such as political independence, social equality, and economics, but did not change anything for Women, African-Americans, or Indians. The Revolution all started from simple rebellions such as the act of pulling down King George’s statue.
This rebellion led to many more revolutionary changes because it was the first act of political independence. Soon after the destruction of the Royal statue, the Declaration of Independence was documented by congress on July 4, 1776. It’s main idea was that all men are created equal and given certain rights by God that cannot be taken away such as life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The declaration of Independence then led to social equality because different social classes began to associate with each other after hearing the words of the Declaration.
Later on everything started to fall in place and the Economic status began balancing out. Before the Revolution mainly wealthy men occupied seats in Congress, soon after the Revolution the seats in congress were taken by different social classes. In fact, the moderate class men began occupying the most seats in congress. This showed huge change in economic status because it was no longer about the wealthy population. Although the Revolution made abolished slavery, it did not change anything for African-Americans.
They were still treated unfairly, and did not have equal rights or opportunity as a white-man. White people will not hire, communicate, or even associate with African-Americans at all. The Constitution contains the 19th Amendment which states that no one shall be denied the right to vote because of their sex. Women may have had the right to vote but they didn’t get treated fairly. It’s always the men who are given unlimited power. Women are not paid attention to or cared for, nor do they have a voice or representation.
Finally, Indians are the least to have had any change after the revolution. They were given some land and told that no one can take their property and land without their consent, but that can never repay for any of the mental and emotional damage the British have caused them. Their families were killed, torn apart, beat, and raped. The Indians were robbed of their land and property. They were treated unjust and even today live in extreme conditions. There was no change for them whatsoever.
