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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Review of Herbert Aptheker's American Revolution, June 27, 2000
Herbert Aptheker presents a new idea on the nature of the American revolution. In this book, he presents that the American Revolution was not a revolution in the traditional sense, but rather the first successful colonial rebellion in the world. It was not a revolution because there was no sense of nation until after the revolution started. There were no significant social or cultural changes that came about from the actions of the Americans. Aptheker shows considerable amount of proof to support his thesis and does a good job at proving his point. He defines a revolution and a rebellion and gives an example or each. He gives the causes that made the colonies rebel against England. And he gives some of the significant effects of the war for the colonies. The causes of the conflict derive from social contradiction. The reason why there was a failure to compromise was due to the fact that the contradiction could not be compromised. The only way that the Colonies and England could settle their problems was through war. The antagonism, Britain, had to be removed. Things were happening in Britain that was changing the attitudes that she held for her American colonies. The Industrial Revolution needed a market and raw materials that were bot to be found in Britain. Britain turned to the colonies as a source of materials and a captive market for her finished goods. The trade laws all favored Britain because it was in her interests to keep the balance of trade on her side. Of the trade acts enacted against the colonies, the worst were the Sugar and Stamp Acts. The Sugar Act put a duty on molasses, refined sugar, wine, silk, and indigo. It also banned the importation of foreign liquors. All duties had to be paid in silver, depleting the stores that the colonies had. The Stamp Act was probably the most hated, if the most unenforceable, law passed on the colonies. It required a tax on all deeds, bonds, leases, licenses, newspapers, pamphlets, almanacs, calendars, cards and dice. The colonists felt that this was dangerous to their political freedom and their freedom of press. Both of these acts were fuels to the fire of resentment towards parliament. Different from a revolution in another way was the fact that the people of the colonies elected congresses to handle their disputes with the government. These congresses wrote complaints to parliament on behalf of the colonists and made laws and decrees to resist the various trade laws that they saw harmful to the colonies. These congresses held the real power in the colonies long before the revolution started on July 26, 1775. The colonies did not start fighting for independence at first, but they wanted to have an equal standing with Britain and to have the same rights of other Englishmen. As the fighting progresses, a feeling of national pride emerged and the cause was not for equality, but for independence. This feeling came about because there were certain functions that a war requires that had to be handled by government organizations. There were Departments created for Commerce, Foreign Affairs (called Correspondence at the time), War, and other necessary Departments. These were in place before American victory, not after like a normal revolution. The feeling of nation also came about because the experience of common suffering was felt throughout the colonies as the war dragged on. The changes that came about because of the Revolution happened in the political and the economic circles. No longer were the colonies to be ruled by a king and a distant parliament, but by a local government and an elected official. America was to be the first democracy in the history of the world. The economy was improved because the needs of war developed needs for manufacturing and production and expansion increased rapidly. After the war, markets were opened that had not existed before and profits were to be made without the burdens of tariffs and duties placed on American products. Capitol began to be reinvested in American interests and banks were founded to handle the money needs of the people. The book was well written and Aptheker proved his thesis with ample evidence. He supported his ideas with reliable sources and accurate analysis. I would recommend this book for someone who wants more than just the idea that the Boston Tea Party led to the fight for independence or that our founding fathers sought freedom from the beginning of the resistance. This book provides an alternative look the idea that the colonies revolted, but rather just rebelled against tyranny.
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