American Revolution

If placed in a modern political context , it is easy to see how one could think that the American Revolution was a conservative revolution as opposed to a radical one the goals of the revolution and the limited governments which followed it are surely more conservative than the ethos of modern government . It can also be argued that some of the fallout from the American Revolution , especially the Constitution that was ratified almost five years after it concluded , has allowed for the United States to develop into a conservative modern democratic republic

However , its 200 year legacy should not be how the Revolution is defined rather , it should be defined by the motivations of those who fought it . Merriam-Webster defines conservative , as it applies to a revolution , as tending or disposed to maintain existing views conditions , or institutions ' on the other hand , radical is defined as tending or disposed to make extreme changes in existing views , habits conditions , or institutions ' While it is not necessarily absolute that the American Revolution was entirely radical , it does seem quite obvious that it was in no way conservative as it essentially rejected the existing institutions of British governance over the thirteen colonies

The American Revolution , at its most basic , was a response from American Colonies to the ever-increasing taxes levied by the British crown and Parliament on colonists who had no defined representation to the crown or in Parliament , spanning the time period from the conclusion of the Seven Years War , which included the colonial French and Indian War , to the revolution itself . These taxes were levied , in part , to help offset the costs the British had incurred during the Seven Years War Among them included the Navigation Acts , which limited colonists from trading with other nations . In a royal proclamation delivered on October 7 , 1763 , colonists were forbid from expanding past the Appalachian Mountains , reserving the area for Native Americans despite the fact that most of the prime land in the coastal areas east of the Appalachians had long been settled by colonists . In 1764 , the Sugar Act and Currency Act were passed the Currency Act forbade colonies from printing money while the Sugar Act taxed sugar cane coming into the colonies that was not British in origin . In 1765 , the British continued with the Stamp Acts and Quartering Act , the first of which placed additional taxes on various goods coming into the country , the second required colonies to pay for the quartering of British soldiers . In response to the Stamp Acts , colonists formed the Sons of Liberty , whose goal was to intimidate those charged with collecting the tax monies . The scheme worked , and most of the collectors quit before the stamps arrived (Americanrevolution .com , 2006 . Parliament repealed the Stamp Acts , but soon instituted the Townshend Acts , which taxed some of the same goods as the Stamp Acts colonists again responded by importing fewer goods The next five years saw continuing escalation between sides , the colonists continuing to struggle against the British...