Parliament and the British king imposed a multitude of taxes on the colonists during the mid to late 1700s in order to raise the revenue needed to pay off their debt from the French and Indian War. The colonists held various forms of protests and boycotts on the newly imposed taxes, such as The Boston Tea Party where they dumped all the British tea into the Boston harbor. Eventually, the Declaration of Independence was created in 1776 and concluded that the colonists must go to war with Britain in order to achieve their own independence. They fought in a long and drawn-out war in which they defeated the British in 1783. After signing the Treaty of Paris, America finally had declared its independence from Britain. Although now independent, the American Revolution sparked a great change in American society, which created several adjustments to the current colonial conditions. The existing standards of women were subtly improving in society but hopeful wishes of peace with Native American tribes were disregarded due to the overwhelming ideals of the predominantly white male society. Also, even though our government changed over from the British monarchy to a democracy, the Articles of Confederation were too unsteady and fruitless to have any sort of real control or impact over their new nation and thus had a strong need for a central Federal government. With our nation still fresh, the American Revolution caused these multitudes of effects to the colonial society.
As the American culture was beginning to take shape, women took on a more prominent role around the home, which gave them more of a purpose in colonial society. In the woodcut of a Patriot woman from 1779, a woman is holding a musket with a fort and flag in the background. This demonstrates how some women took part in the American Revolution, such as Molly Pitcher, and redefined the traditional roles of women (Doc 1). This later introduced the new idea of Republican motherhood is brought forth. Although the role is minuscule, women were now given a purpose as to raising their children into becoming Patriots. This was a step up from the standard role that women had, giving them a sense of place in the community. Due to these increasing roles, women felt the urge to begin advocating for future rights expanding beyond the domestic sphere that encapsulated them. Molly Wallace states in her valedictory address that women are compelled to stay the domestic life by nature and social customs and should use public speaking as a way to improve the quality of female oratory. This was intended for both women and men of this era to hear as it encouraged women to break out of the domestic sphere as well and helped men understand the desire for women to learn and grow (Doc7). The later educational reform is also foreshadowed in the sense for there is a rise of discussion for future educational opportunities offered to women. The opportunities for women were slowly increasing after the American Revolution, which was a big step in the direction for equal rights.
Even though women were slowly becoming more accepted into society, the Native Americans were continuously neglected with their hopes of peace between the two nations shot downtime and time again. In the speech at the Confederate Council, proposed by the United Indian Nations in 1786, it states how disappointed the Indians were with the fact that they were not included in the creation of peace between Britain and America. The United Indian Nation directed this speech towards the American government as they failed to recognize the everlasting friendship that the Native Americans craved (Doc 3). There was no mention of the Native Americans in the Treaty of Paris, and thus caused the Native Americans to feel neglected and upset. All the Native Americans wanted was peace between the two nations, especially after helping them defeat the British in the American Revolution. In the message from the Chickasaw Chiefs, it expresses their desire for a new friendship between Chickasaw and the Americans. This shows how they hoped that since the war was over, the end of hostility would start a civil relationship between them and the Americans (Doc 2). That hope was clearly disregarded through a multitude of acts done by the Americans; one being the Battle of Fallen Timbers. After the Native Americans lost the Battle of Fallen Timbers to the Americans, much of their land was taken from them in the signing of the Treaty of Greenville and they were forced to relocate up north. This pushed the Native Americans further away from peace with the Americans as they not only slaughtered at the battle, but they were forced out of their land as well. With the American Revolution over, the Native Americans faced even more neglect than ever before.
Under the Articles of Confederation, the federal government lacked the needed authority to support the new nation. The letter from Abigail Adams explains the amount of chaos surrounding the post-revolutionary era. The letter was intended for Thomas Jefferson in hopes that he would recognize the serious civil unrest in some areas throughout the country (Doc 4). As bandits roamed the streets, and the prominent Shay's Rebellion that was a series of violent protests from farmers who were angered by taxes, it became obvious that the change was needed. The empowered nation now pushed for ratification. James Madison in The Federalist, number 51, pushes for the government to have the power to keep people under control. This showed how Madison supported ratification and how there was a concern about the government having too little power (Doc 6). Since the Articles of Confederation wasn’t doing a great job in running the country, the Constitution was drafted in order to help make order of the nation. The Constitution was a series of basic laws and principles that the nation would follow in order to maintain a working civilization. It also allowed for representation based upon the population in the House of Representatives, as well as equal representation per state in the Senate. For sure, the creation of the Constitution caused a dramatic shift in setting up the new country.
Overall, the American Revolution brought out a change to American society in the following years. Women were slowly gaining more of a prominent role in society which soon lead to things such as the women’s rights movement in the 1820’s. However, the Native Americans continued to suffer under the wrath of America. The hatred towards the Native Americans grew until they were forced out of their land through the Trail of Tears in 1831. But despite all of that, the United States government was finally starting to come together in order to sustain a whole country. Documents such as the Constitution and the Bill of Rights helped stregthen the government and allowed the nation to develop into a proper civilization. Without a doubt, the American Revolution had deeply affected American society and would be forever changed.