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The American Revolution 1775-Present
Chelise Fox
A4/B4
"Remember I this day told you that the same spirit of freedom which actuated these people at first, will accompany them still" (qtd. in De Carlo).These words, spoken by Isaac Barrè, have proved prophetic.Barrè, an Irish immigrant, spoke this just prior to the War for American Independence.He foretold that the flame of revolutiononly a spark thenwould become an inextinguishable blaze in the hearts of the American people.Truly, this fire still burns; it is hardly ironic that this country has continued to evolve in the same spirit that began it.The birth of this nation was the revolution; this nation matured in revolution; and revolution defines its present identity.
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Seemingly, this spirit began with the American Revolution, when colonies craving national sovereignty broke loose from the suffocating grip of England.However, this spirit lived even before 1775.It found life in Martin Luther and later stowed away in the vessels that brought some of the earliest settlers to America.Children of the Calvinist movement, the non-separating Congregationalists of England launched a religious rebellion in Boston, Massachusetts.The Protestants of Englanddisenchanted with both Catholicism and Anglicanismjourneyed to the New World in 160 to become "a city on a hill.""It was their intent to establish acommunity, a Bible Commonwealth, based upon what the scriptures revealed of Gods intent" (Brownell). They believed this religious experiment would quickly achieve success, hoping fervently that they could attract the attention of England and thus inspire the world to emulate the Protestant example.Although England failed to notice the little colony due to their preoccupation with the English Civil War, the Puritan spirit of rebellion took root in the rocky soil of New England, and every generation to follow would harvest it.This attempt at religious reform reveals the revolutionary nature of Americans, even in colonial times.
Another example of revolution in America is the Great Awakening, "a revitalization of religious piety that swept through the American colonies between the 170s and the 1770s" (Heyrman).Enthusiastic preachers began to rouse a long-sleeping fear of Godpreachers like Gilbert Tennent, Jonathan Edwards, and George Whitefield who led a revolt against impiety with their theatrical sermons, roaring threats of fire and brimstone.The sermons of these men and their contemporaries gave rise to "a new Age of Faith . . . to counter the currents of the Age of Enlightenment, to reaffirm the view that being truly religious meant trusting the heart rather than the head" (Heyrman).This widespread transformation of ideology demonstrates the American tendency towards revolution.
This rebellious quality of the American people is also evident in the government.The political structure of the United States existed only in the minds of a few idealistic political philosophers before the establishment of this nation.The constitution created a leadership "of the people, by the people, and for the people."Inverting the European idea of authority, Benjamin Franklin stated that "In free governments, the rulers are the servants, and the people their superiors and sovereigns" (qtd. in http//www.learn-usa.com/q-ff.htm).The authors of the constitution also recognized the necessity of dividing power between three branches of government, thus preventing tyranny.James Madison claimed that "the accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many ... may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny" (qtd. in http//www.learn-usa.com/q-ff.htm).Such ideasnew experiments in democracydefined these men as revolutionaries.While the rest of the civilized world lived under authoritarian governments, the United States started a revolution in politics that would eventually spread to the Eastern world.This rebellion against the conventional, modern methods of establishing governments exemplifies American revolution.
Another instance of reform in America is the Transcendentalist movement.Rebelling against traditional ways of perceiving God, this movement believed that "the world and everything in it has a spiritual basis, and that God speaks directly to human beings through intuition as well as through nature" (Griess).They also believed that "the ultimate reality is ideal, not material"a blatant blasphemy to a world that believed all ability to discover truth lies in the physical senses (Griess).From this movement sprung several attempts at Utopian communitiesefforts to revolutionize modern society.Transcendentalism also inspired the first truly American literature.When America was lacking in new ideas, Ralph Waldo Emerson, a prominent Transcendentalist, roused the creativity of American authors with his essay, "The American Scholar."In "The American Scholar," Emerson urges American writerstheir works tainted by their insistence on mimicking their European contemporariesto develop their own literary identity.By having heterodox beliefs, endeavoring to change society, and prompting a literary reformation, the American Transcendentalist movement illustrates the revolutionary nature of the nation.
Another example of rebellion against conformity is the uniquely American poetry of Emily Dickinson, who showed a revolutionary soul through her "reckless genius" (Kinnnell).Dickinson's poems lucidly and colloquially communicate the sublime in personal, compelling moments that reveal what it is to be human."Emily Dickinson wrote about the kinds of experiences few poets have the daring to explore or the genius to sing" (Kinnell).She made yet another innovation by putting a new kind of echo on the list of what qualified as rhyme.To exact and slant rhyme she added assonant rhyme, thus multiplying the number of rhyming words (Kinnell).Although her profound genius remained unrecognized during her lifetime, "the willful Dickinson refused to change her writing style to suit the fancies of others" (Kinnell).Her unique style and her refusal to conform to modern writing standards are rebellious qualities of this American poet that reveal the identity of the nation that gave birth to her brilliance.
Another literary illustration of the flame of revolution is Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn.Floating down the Mississippi River with Jim, a former slave, Huck begins to have unconventional views about the African American race.As his affection for Jim grows, he begins to recognize in Jim a heart just as human as his own.When Jim is recaptured, Huck believes that aiding his escape would mean damnation, because the indoctrination of a prejudiced society has taught him so.Despite this, he decides to willingly sacrifice his possibility for eternal salvation to help the Negro, also determining that if he "could think up anything worse, I would do that, too; because as long as I was in, and in for good, I might as well go the whole hog" (14). In doing this, he refuses to conform to the dictates of society.Huck's decision to revolt against modern principles demonstrates an American author's sense of the change and reform that defines America.
This American identity of revolution and reform has a defining effect on me because without it my aspirations and ambitions would amount to nothing.The women's rights movement has made it possible for me to fulfill my dream of attending a good university and getting a Doctorate; before this revolution in the status of women it was near to impossible for women to become scholars.This American sense of change and reform perfectly reflects my choice of career as wellto teach philosophy and revolutionize the way my students think.Without the American spirit of reform, society would confine me within the constrictions of what was once the traditionaland only acceptablefeminine role.
However, I am not destined to conformity because of the constant state of revolution that America is in, defining its identity as a nation.America's reformations of religion, politics, philosophy, literature, and the principles of society make it an ever changing, ever improving nation that has irrevocably transformed the world.The American Revolution is not over yet, and victory is still ours.
Works Cited
Brownell, Bill."Pilgrims and Puritans."1.May 1, 00http//
brownellfamily.rootsweb.com/Pilgrims.html.
De Carlo, Vincent."The American Revolution."Sept. 15, 001.May 7, 00
http//www.geocities.com/vincentpa.geo/patriotic/RevolutionQuotes.html
"Founding Fathers."May , 00http//www.learn-usa.com/q-ff.htm
Griess, Kandis S."Transcendentalism Notes."May 6, 00http//
www.gckschools.com/vhs/eng/fall/transcend/transnotes.htm
Heyrman, Christine Leigh."The First Great Awakening."May 7, 00
http//www.nhc.rtp.nc.us8080/tserve/eighteen/ekeyinfo/grawaken.htm
Kinnell, Galway."Reckless genius."Nov. , 17.May 1, 00
http//www.salon.com/feature/17/11/cov_0kinnell.html
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