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America
The American Revolution: A Nation is Born
Wealth, lives, happiness, hopes, dreams, these are the things that people are willing to surrender to gain their nations independence. We, the Americans, won ours with the American Revolution. It started our independence, our success as a people. However, wars are never easily won and always have consequences. The victory of the revolution was a war which, although bloody and full of death, was necessitous to gain this nation’s freedom.
The American Revolutionary war was fought from 1775 to 1786. It was a clash fought between the English colonies in North America, and England itself. The colonists were discontented with what they saw as unreasonable taxes that they were forced to pay, especially since they were not represented in the British government. An example of a few of these taxes would be the Stamp Act and the Navigation Act. The Stamp Act placed a tax on printed paper, including letters, legal documents, even playing cards. Although the Stamp Act was relatively small, the Navigation Act angered many colonists. What it did was allow British British officials to search homes, warehouses, and ships without cause for smuggled goods. Although the colonists viewed this as a violation of their rights, it was necessary by the British because so many American colonists ignored the English navigational laws. The colonists started to boycott English goods, but the English justified themselves in the fact that they had gotten out of a war previously and required the resources. “Therefore by seeking to tax it’s American possessions, primarily to help repay its debts for its defense of North America against the French in the Seven Year War and to prepare for any future threat” (The American Revolutionary War). Also, the war the English fought was between them, the French, and various Native Americans. To appease the Native Americans, the English made a regulation stating that colonists could not inhabit property west of the Appalachian Mountains. This was used to make sure Native Americans could keep more land, in addition to keeping down spiraling defense costs. However, the colonists had already paid or had grants for that territory and began moving in anyway. After a long conflict, the English tried to commandeer weapons from the colonists in an event in which a gunshot rang out. While the shooter was, and is, unidentified, it touched off the powder keg that caused a war. The outcome would have an effect on the entire continent with the introduction of a new nation.
One of the foremost battles, the Battle of Bunker hill, resulted in a triumph by the British, but the casualties were so immense it was considered a draw. From then on, a series of combat ensued. An endeavor to take Canada by the colonists was a failure. An attempted takeover of Boston had more British fatalities. The New York battle was a severe blow to the colonists, but we came back with the Battle at Trenton. After a long conflict, the Paris Peace Treaty was born. A document with which the British acknowledged, “to forget all past misunderstandings and differences that have unhappily interrupted the good correspondence and friendship which they mutually wish to restore, and to establish such a beneficial and satisfactory intercourse, between the two countries upon the ground of reciprocal advantages and mutual convenience as may promote and secure to both perpetual peace and harmony” (The Paris Peace Treaty of 1783). This war, of arms and diplomacy, created a new power in the world. This new power would have diminutive influence at first. However thanks to this struggle, a great community is present today. A country with a permanent spot on the United Nations, a country called America. This country would follow a set of ethics, a sort of code that while not new or original, would set the bar for independent nations everywhere. “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” (The Declaration of Independence) Then, to ensure the freedom of its people for generations to come, the leaders of this land invented the American constitution. It explicitly stated our right to freedom of speech, press, religion, and peaceful assembly. It granted us our right to bear arms, and over the years material was added to more fully insure the good of the people.
This new country would have a major impact on the world. It would have a big hand in World War Two, and have import/export businesses many countries rely on. The culture and innovations would influence generations of men and women foreign to the country. Since, as earlier stated, America has a permanent spot on the United Nations; they have significant power in world affairs and International laws. It’s a nation that gave birth to historic figures like Martin Luther King Jr., who destroyed segregation in America using a nonviolent protest inspired by Gandhi and Thomas Edison who invented the light bulb, phonograph, and the motion picture camera.
The Middle East relies on Americans because of our oil import. Third world countries need us because we give to them, both financially and in the way of missionaries, school teachers, etc. However, this nation which seems so powerful today would not even exist if it were not for those brave men and women who were willing to take the risk and sacrifice their lives to win America’s freedom. Where would the world be if they decided to stay inside, and leave politics to the politicians? People today think that if they complain enough, something will happen, or to follow our government without question. This country was founded on righteous rebellion, on standing up to anarchy, and as our Declaration of Independence states, it is our duty to put these actions into practice should the same circumstances befall the nation America has become. “That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to affect their Safety and Happiness.” (The Declaration of Independence)
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