Legacies of the American Revolution (APUSH Notes)

Compared to the French Revolution and the Russian Revolution, the American Revolution was a relatively tame affair.  This has led many historians to characterize it as little more than a political revolution that left the same elite class in control of American politics (minus the British supervision) and resulted in few - if any - meaningful changes to American society.  But then, to characterize the American Revolution as a mere political turnover overlooks some important ways in which the Revolution was an important turning point in American society.

[r]epublicanism

Note the small "r" that distinguishes the political philosophy
​from the political party of the same name.

Nearly all of the changes that took place in American society - no matter how minor or major - have their roots in republicanism, a form of government that the Founding Fathers sought to borrow from the Romans​. The principles of republicanism start with popular sovereignty - the idea that the people are ultimately in charge and that the government is administered on their behalf (rather than by a monarch ruling by divine right). A republican government is a limited government, in which elected representatives make laws in the people's interest while respecting the constitutional rights of citizens.

PURCHASE pOWERpOINT

Since a republic is administered by citizens, it is important that these citizens have a sense of patriotism and are educated in their civic responsibilities. Those who lead in a republic are expected to carry themselves with simplicity and perform their duties without regard to personal gain or profit.

Egalitarianism

While some citizens in a republic are wealthier than others, republics are more egalitarian​ in their social structure than monarchies. Before the Revolution, some states, such as Virginia, had primogeniture laws on the books that allowed for the firstborn son of a family to receive the lion's share of the inheritance (this kept the family's wealth together). Although Richard Hofstadter noted in The American Political Tradition that primogeniture had largely fallen out of use by the time of the American Revolution, Thomas Jefferson still considered the abolition of Virginia's primogeniture law a victory for republicanism, as it formally abolished a practice common in monarchical societies.

The society that emerged from the American Revolution was also a society without noble titles. The United States Constitution specifically forbids the United States government from granting titles of nobility and also prohibits government officials from receiving titles of nobility from foreign governments.  Although some were certainly "more equal than others" in the new nation, the prohibition of noble titles reinforced Jefferson's assertion that "all men are created equal."

Emancipation in the North

Slave States and Free States (1800)

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In the wake of a revolution that espoused egalitarian principles, Americans had trouble reconciling these principles with the existence of slavery.  In the North, where the economy was not highly dependent on slavery, states began to pass gradual emancipation laws.  Although every state north of the Mason-Dixon line except for New Jersey had passed emancipation laws by 1800, slavery continued to exist in some form in most of these states well into the 1840s. 

Northern Emancipation (Statistics from SlaveNorth.com)

In the South, where slavery was central to the cash crop economy, no progress was made toward emancipation, although the founding generation had faith that slavery would be phased out at some point.  Unfortunately, that did not come to pass and slavery became even more entrenched in the South in the 19th century.

Religious Freedom

Before the American Revolution, most of the colonies had established churches that were supported by taxes and religious minorities were persecuted. After the Revolution, nearly all states (except for a few in New England) disestablished their tax-supported state churches. The most famous of these religious disestablishment acts was the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, written by Thomas Jefferson, which disestablished the Anglican Church in Virginia.  

Thomas Jefferson's Epitaph

Jefferson was so proud of his authorship of the Virginia Declaration for Religious Freedom that he specifically listed it as one of the three accomplishments he wanted on his epitaph - the other two accomplishments being his role in authoring the Declaration of Independence and in founding the University of Virginia. There is no mention of Jefferson's presidency on his gravestone, an indication that Jefferson was much more concerned about what he did to spread freedom and enlightenment than with what offices he had occupied. This is very much in line with the republican view of public service as a civic duty rather than as a stepping stone to self-aggrandizement and wealth.

Women and the American Revolution

The American Revolution was not without its heroines. After the Battle of Monmouth, a story circulated about a woman, nicknamed Molly Pitcher, who took her husband's place at an artillery piece after he fell from heat exhaustion. Many women assisted the Continental Army as camp followers during the war, assisting the army by washing blankets, caring for sick and wounded soldiers, and bringing soldiers water in the heat of battle (hence the "Pitcher" nickname). 

Another famous heroine of the Revolution was Nancy Morgan Hart, a Georgia patriot was said to have taken a small group of Tory loyalists captive and even shot one of them when he ignored her warning not to move. Today, Hart County is the only county in Georgia that is named after a woman.

In addition to the legendary women who took up arms when the opportunity presented itself, there were women like Abigail Adams who were hopeful that the American Revolution might usher in a new age of political equality for women.  "​In the new code of laws which I suppose it will be necessary for you to make," she wrote to her husband, John Adams, "I desire you would remember the ladies and be more generous and favorable to them than your ancestors."  

While Adams' hopes of political equality for women would not be realized until the passage of the 19th Amendment after World War I, republicanism called for women to play an active role in the civic education of their sons. In order to fulfill the duties of republican motherhood, women had to receive an education, as well.

Agrarianism

As Europe experienced the Industrial Revolution, many of the Founding Fathers glorified agriculture as a virtuous profession that was necessary for the support of a republican form of government. "Those who labor in the earth are the chosen people of God," Thomas Jefferson wrote as he insisted that the United States had no need of factories. Agricultural societies, such as the Philadelphia Society for Promoting Agriculture, flourished and produced propaganda aimed at glorifying the agrarian way of life.

George Washington: [r]epublican Soldier

No American is associated more closely with the American Revolution than George Washington, and none worked more intentionally to cultivate a public image in accordance with the values of republicanism.  Like Jefferson, Washington took great joy in being a farmer and was always seeking to find new ways to improve production and efficiency on his farm. Today, visitors to George Washington's home at Mount Vernon can see a functioning replica of the sixteen-sided barn he designed to thresh wheat.

When Congress commissioned Jean-Antoine Houdon to sculpt a statue of George Washington, he visited Washington at Mount Vernon and got to know him in his home environment. Houdon's statue of Washington was intended to be a realistic and republican portrayal of the general. This is exactly what both Washington and America wanted. Decades later, a statue of an idealized Washington, enthroned like a Greek god, was not well-received by Americans who viewed Washington as more of a republican hero.

As a leader, Washington consciously set out to follow the example of Cincinnatus, a hero of the Roman Republic. Cincinnatus was given the dictatorship, which he could have retained for up to six months, and gave it back to the people after only sixteen days. After the Revolutionary War, Washington voluntarily resigned his commission with the intention of fully retiring from public life. Even as president, he stepped down voluntarily after two terms, surrendering power as soon as he had gotten the new nation on its feet. Upon his death, Washington made one final nod to the principles of republicanism by emancipating his slaves.

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