History of the American a Radical Revolution

Radical is a term that can be used to describe any major event or action that changes a social, political, or economical structure of a society. A revolution can be defined as a radical and pervasive change in society and the social structure. That being said the American Revolution was indeed radical because America gained independence from Britain, it altered social expectations and created a new government. However, some aspects of society remained the same through the revolution, one such idea being equality.

There were many events leading up to the American Revolution. According to our textbook, one of the main causes of the riots leading up to the revolution was the Stamp Act (Foner, page 174). The stamp act was the first major American opposition to British policy. It was a way for Parliament to raise money from direct taxes on printed material such as newspapers and books rather than through trade. It offended basically all the colonist because it affected the rich and poor alike.

“No taxation without representation” became the colonist argument against unfair taxes placed by the British. According to a Primary Source, An Account of a Stamp Act Riot (1765), a group of men that came to be known as the sons of liberty led a crowd to attack Lieutenant Governor Cadwallader Colden, a defender of British policy (page 69).

This violent pursuit that occurred on the first day the act was put into effect, in order to change taxation policy on printed goods, showed how upset the American colonist felt and their readiness to fight for freedom against parliament.

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Taken aback by the resistance of the colonist and the English merchants that did not want to lose their trade with colonist the British government repealed the stamp act. The formation of an entirely new government and gaining independence from the monarchy was one of the major radical changes accomplished in the American Revolution.