Written by Frank Li
Two recent events (Killing of George Floyd and COVID-19 pandemic in the United States) compel us to fundamentally examine America from her inception (Racism in America). This post is my contribution, updating a previous publication (What is The American Revolution, Anyway?).
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1. What is the American Revolution?
Below is an excerpt from Wikipedia – American Revolution.
The American Revolution was a colonial revolt that took place between 1765 and 1783. The American Patriots in the Thirteen Colonies won independence from Great Britain, becoming the United States of America. They defeated the British in the American Revolutionary War in alliance with France and others.
2. What was the real purpose of the American Revolution?
The American revolutionaries (aka “Patriots”) fought for freedom (or liberty) and self-governing (or against the “tyranny of the king”), right?
Wrong!
The American Revolution was not about freedom per se! Instead, it was chiefly instigated by a bunch of rich people, most notably Samuel Adams and John Hancock, who simply did not want to pay more taxes to the mother country, even if it meant a war with her ultimately, namely, the American Revolutionary War.
Moreover, not only did they want to keep more to themselves, they also wanted the possibility of swallowing up everything that still belonged to the indigenous people, specifically and explicitly against King George III‘s Royal Proclamation of 1763. They conspicuously hid this real reason behind an eloquent slogan of “no taxation without representation” and took a modest risk throughout the American Revolutionary War for huge potential gains.
Nor was the American Revolution about self-governing per se! It turned out that the American revolutionaries just did not like the British King (at the time). After the war was over, they asked George Washington to be their new king. But Washington refused, thus making it possible for America to become a republic …
3. What led to the American Revolutionary War?
Three important events in sequence as follows:
Let me elaborate on each …
3.1 Royal Proclamation of 1763
Below is an excerpt from Wikipedia – Royal Proclamation of 1763.
The Royal Proclamation of 1763 was issued by King George III on October 7, 1763, following Great Britain’s acquisition of French territory in North America after the end of the Seven Years’ War.[1] It forbade all settlement west of a line drawn along the Appalachian Mountains, which was delineated as an Indian Reserve.[2] Exclusion from the vast region of Trans-Appalachia created discontent between Britain and colonial land speculators and potential settlers. The proclamation and access to western lands was one of the first significant areas of dispute between Britain and the colonies and would become a contributing factor leading to the American Revolution.[3]
Bottom line: Overall, the indigenous people were much better off under the British rule, because [white] Americans turned out to be totally brutal, after liberating themselves from the British rule. One prominent example: Trail of Tears.
3.2 Boston Massacre of 1770
Below is an excerpt from Wikipedia – Boston Massacre.
The Boston Massacre, known to the British as the Incident on King Street,[2] was a confrontation on March 5, 1770 in which British soldiers shot and killed several people while being harassed by a mob in Boston. The event was heavily publicized by leading Patriots such as Paul Revere and Samuel Adams.[3][4][5] British troops had been stationed in the Province of Massachusetts Bay since 1768 in order to support crown-appointed officials and to enforce unpopular Parliamentary legislation.
Amid tense relations between the civilians and the soldiers, a mob formed around a British sentry and verbally abused him. He was eventually supported by eight additional soldiers, who were hit by clubs, stones, and snowballs. They fired into the crowd without orders, instantly killing three people and wounding others, two of whom later died of their wounds.
Bottom line: It was not a massacre by any reasonable definition! The rich people (e.g. Paul Revere and Samuel Adams) exaggerated it and made it a “massacre”, via the media under their control!
3.3 Boston Tea Party of 1773
Below is an excerpt from Wikipedia – Boston Tea Party.
The Boston Tea Party was a political and mercantile direct action by the Sons of Liberty in Boston, Massachusetts, on December 16, 1773.[1] The target was the Tea Act of May 10, 1773, which allowed the British East India Company to sell tea from China in American colonies without paying taxes apart from those imposed by the Townshend Acts. American Patriots strongly opposed the taxes in the Townshend Act as a violation of their rights. Demonstrators, some disguised as Native Americans, destroyed an entire shipment of tea sent by the East India Company.
Bottom line: In today’s terms, it was a dispute between millionaires and billionaires, with the governments, “federal” and local, taking opposite sides.
4. What happened throughout the American Revolution?
Two big deals:
- The publication of the United States Declaration of Independence.
- American Revolutionary War.
Let me elaborate on each …
4.1 Declaration of Independence
Below is an excerpt from Wikipedia – United States Declaration of Independence.
The United States Declaration of Independence is the pronouncement adopted by the Second Continental Congress meeting at the Pennsylvania State House (now known as Independence Hall) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on July 4, 1776. The Declaration explained why the Thirteen Colonies at war with the Kingdom of Great Britain regarded themselves as thirteen independent sovereign states, no longer under British rule.
The image below highlights an important perspective.
Two informative readings:
4.2 American Revolutionary War
Below is an excerpt from Wikipedia – American Revolutionary War.
The American Revolutionary War (1775 – 1783), also known as the American War of Independence,[43] was an 18th-century war between Great Britain and its Thirteen Colonies (allied with France) which declared independence as the United States of America.[N 1]
Why was this war a modest risk for the American revolutionaries?
The American revolutionaries, known as the “ungrateful colonists” in Britain, won the war easily, especially in terms of casualties – See image below.
Why so easily? Because it was very much a war of simple attrition, with one side clearly having huge advantages over the other. In other words, the British might have been able to successfully fight the war for two to three years. But after it stretched into eight years, they basically gave up.
Very importantly, because it was viewed as a “civil war” in Britain, the British did not go all-out, which was a main reason behind the low American casualties, as well as Britain’s ultimate defeat.
In short, given the risk and reward, the war proved to be worthwhile for the American revolution leaders – No guts, no glory!
What about the soldiers in the war? They were no different from those in any other war throughout human history: the children of the poor fight the war of the rich!
The American Revolutionary War, as well as the American Revolution, concluded with Britain’s recognition of America in 1783 (Treaty of Paris)!
5. What happened after the American Revolution?
After a few years of chaos, the First United States Congress was held in 1789, with two significant outcomes:
- America became a republic, by accident.
- The publication of the United States Constitution.
Let me elaborate on each …
5.1 America became a republic, by accident
It turned out that the American revolutionaries did not really dislike the “tyranny of a king” – They just did not like the British King (at the time)! After the war was over, they, without much imagination, simply asked George Washington to be their new king. But Washington refused, thus making it possible for America to become a republic.
For more, read: America: What Did Our Founding Fathers Do, Actually (Version 4)?
5.2 The U.S. Constitution
Two informative readings:
6. Discussion
Back to the two recent events:
- Killing of George Floyd. This shows police brutality, together with systemic racism deeply rooted in America. For more, read: Racism in America.
- COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. This shows that the government matters and our government has totally failed in this case (Top economist: US coronavirus response is like ‘third world’ country).
To diagnose the root causes for these problems, we must face the truth by going all the way back to the founding days: America was founded by/of/for the rich, and remains so today, without a real government that works for all: rich and poor, white and black.
In other words, America has been practically governance-less since its inception, and we are paying dearly for it now!
Three informative readings on our failed government:
Beyond the failed government, we have inherited a crippling “tradition” from the American Revolution: media distortion. Two informative readings:
- Media Distortion: From Boston Massacre to Fox News.
- Everything You Think You Know About America Is Wrong?
7. Closing
The American Revolution was real, but most of its purported reasons (e.g. against the tyranny of a king, and freedom and justice for all in the name of “all men are created equal”) are lies.
It’s time for my fellow Americans to understand the real reason behind the American Revolution, which is absolutely essential to truly understand what America was and what America is, in order to strive for a better America tomorrow!
America, reform our failing political system, as I have suggested (American Democracy – Why is it failing & how to fix it?), or become a fiddle, second to China!
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