American Revolution Violence And Change Essay

Jacob Pohlmeier

Ms. York

PAP English 10

21 February 2023

Violence influences change Violence can be good. How did America become a country? We fought a violent war. How did slaves become free? We fought a violent war. Patrick Henry said ¨Give me liberty or give me death¨ (Henry 1) during a speech in 1775. The call for change through violence was prominent. This is because violence causes change in society; The American Revolution and the French Revolution caused groundbreaking ideas and change to the way things were done--due to the violent nature of these events. Violence can result in new ideas, the creation of new governments, and an overall better world. Violence causes new ideas. The French Revolution was a violent time in

Moreover, the American Revolution is responsible for creating a new type of government. In 1776, Thomas Paine released a pamphlet called ¨Common Sense¨ in which he called for America's independence, through any means necessary. Paine said in his pamphlet, ¨The destruction of our property by an armed force; the invasion of our country by fire and sword, which conscientiously qualifies the use of arms: and the instant in which such mode of defense became necessary, all subjection to Britain ought to have ceased; and the independence of America should have been considered¨ (Paine 2). The American Revolution helped inspire modern democracy, with their version of the constitution. In 1787, the call for people to vote grew, so during the revolution, the founding fathers constructed a new form of government, the Federal Democratic Republic. The constitution affected the rest of the world. The Constitution was created in 1787 and introduced ideas that challenged other governments worldwide. The constitution introduced checks and balances separating powers and defining these powers, it also had individual powers of its central government and the local state governments. These were rights other governments didn't guarantee. The constitution changed the rest of the world. People in other countries began wanting guaranteed rights and protected freedoms. The constitution influenced other international constitutions and legal thinking.

The article in the Stanford News maintains that “our results do fit well with other work suggesting that violent activism typically turns people off, including potential supporters, and that it builds opposition to those who use it” (Witte 1). For example, Martin Luther King´s nonviolent protest helped change laws that were hindering many millions of people. But these protests do not always work. The Cherokee Indians peacefully protested their removal from their ancient tribal lands by American settlers. In 1838, Cherokees were being forced out of their land, they tried to stand their ground until they were forced out by the American Government. Their peaceful tactics had failed. They were forced to leave their lands and walk the Trail of Tears to their new, government-approved home. Often, peaceful protests backfire. In 1942, a group of people tried to undermine the Nazis. They distributed anti-Nazi leaflets to the people of Germany. They were caught, brought to a concentration camp, and executed. Real change requires force. The colonists in the early American colonies tried to peacefully protest the Tea Tax imposed by the British, which eventually escalated into the Boston Tea Party. That escalated into a violent war known as the American Revolution. The American Revolution was a peaceful protest that turned into a full-blown war, but the result of this war led to liberal