American Revolution Dbq Essay

The American Revolution was a fight for independence by the colonists that occurred in the 18th century. Britain abused the colonies with it's power, creating laws that made life unbearable for America. Colonists were taxed for everyday items and had to provide housing for British soldiers without pay. This unfair British rule led to the colonies revolting in an attempt to separate themselves from the control of the British Crown. This political upheaval is known as the American Revolution, and any American today would say that this rebellion changed this country immensely. However, there could be some speculation about just how revolutionary this war was, how it could be overrated in the sense that it drastically changed the United States. The American Revolution changed the way the colonies viewed slavery, the government was altered, and new ideas about how Native Americans and women should be treated equal to men transformed the country.

Slaves were seen as property, not people. However, once the colonies gained independence from Britain, new ideas took over America. America started to abolish slavery as early as 1777, the British no longer had any influence over the colonies' view on slavery. Less than a hundred years later, the Emancipation Proclamation outlawed all slavery, which was a major change in the country (Document 5). Despite these new needs for liberty and rights for slaves, African Americans still experienced racism and setbacks, such as employers refusing to give jobs to black people (Document 6). The history of this country has forever tainted our views on races and religions, but without the Revolution slavery might not have been abolished as early as it