American Colonies And The United States

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

Rebellion is an integral part of the story of the history of the United States of America. However, before looking at the question, it is important to know what is exactly meant by ‘rebellion’. Merriam-Webster dictionary defines it as ‘opposition to one in authority or dominance’ and ‘open and/or armed defiance of or resistance to an established government’ [1] . Therefore it is clear that many events in American history can fall under the banner of a ‘rebellion’, chief among which being the American War of Independence and the American Civil War. The only difference being typically an act of ‘rebellion’ is unsuccessful or suppressed, not the case when it comes to the War of Independence.

The country came into existence through a long rebellion against British rule, so the idea of rebellion against tyranny, or rebellion for a seemingly just-cause, is something that is regarded very highly in the United States and by Americans in-particular [2] . It is hard to think of a reason why rebellion would not be an important part of the history of the American colonies and the United States. The American war of Independence can be seen as a very important piece of history for the American colonies because it was the birth of a nation, and so it is also a very important part of United States history as a whole, in fact it is quite clear that whatever history is of significance to the American colonies is also of significance to United States history as a whole. The two go hand in hand.

America experienced another rebellion of equal or greater magnitude just 78 years after the War of Independence with the American Civil War. The people of the southern Confederate states would certainly have viewed the war as a ‘rebellion’, with them playing the role of the victim, fighting against the tyrannous North in order to maintain a slave trade which they deemed to be just. Secession and subsequent constitutional change amounted to an intentional ‘double revolution’ [3] . Whereas the North would certainly have viewed the war as a civil war, they did not recognise the sovereignty of the Confederacy and so they were seen as rebels, merely trying to upset democratic proceedings. There were smaller rebellions in the United States during the period in-between the beginnings of the American colonies and the civil war, including: Bacon’s Rebellion, Cary's Rebellion, the Whiskey Rebellion, Leisler's Rebellion, The Dorr Rebellion, John Fries's Rebellion, Nat Turner's Rebellion and Shays' Rebellion.

‘The American colonies had known violent rebellion long before the Revolutionary War. Each of the original thirteen colonies had experienced violent uprisings’ [4] , some more infamous than others. Moreover, Americans could see the effectiveness of rebellions when looking at those in European history, such as the Glorious Revolution in England, at least that is the opinion of this writer. It would be hard to grow up in an era of rebellions and revolutions without recognising the successes of some of them, and indeed the failures of others. An example of one of the early rebellions in colonial America is ‘Bacon's Rebellion’ [5] ; it is one of the earliest cases of large-scale violent uprisings against an authority in American history. The rebellion is one of the earliest examples of what some have dubbed a ‘tradition of rebellion’ [6] in the American colonists mind set. However, when it comes to this rebellion, modern historians have suggested it may in fact have been a power play by Bacon against Berkeley and his favouritism towards certain members of court. Bacon's financial backers included men of wealth from outside Berkeley's circle of influence [7] . Nevertheless, the colonists still rose up and fought alongside him, inspired by his will (at least that is what this writer believes) to fight for liberty, or at least his own personal liberty.

‘Similar uprisings took place all along the colonial territories. In South Carolina a rebellion broke out as a result of the Regulator movement. There was anarchy on the South Carolina frontier after the Seven Years' War’ [8] . Here then, with these two early examples of rebellion, it is clear to see that when American’s feel they are being treated unfairly by those in power, they would be more than willing to rise up and rebel against them. This would be a pre-cursor to the War of Independence which took place ten years after the regulator movement. And so this supports the fact that rebellion is an important part of the history of the United States. Given the frequency of rebellion in the Colonial and post-colonial era it is hard to ignore the importance of them, especially when they are on the scale of the American war of Independence and, of course, the American civil war. This can be supported with the overwhelming evidence that suggests American colonists recognised the act of rebellion as a very important tool at their disposal. ‘Land riots took place in many colonies, but in New York they were particularly violent. Tenants of the wealthy land aristocrats demanded relief from the high rents imposed on them. When the courts ruled in favour of the land barons in 1766, the angry farmers took up arms.’ [9] Again, this provides more evidence that proves colonial Americans were willing, more than willing, to rise up and fight for something they believed in, where they believed to fight was the only option to them. Obviously this does not suggest that whenever Americans felt hard done by they rebelled, but certainly when they cannot achieve what they want peacefully or democratically.

Various quotes and contemporary accounts make this very clear, ‘American colonists had proven themselves experienced rebels. Whenever they felt their rights were jeopardized, they seemed willing to take up arms. Economic exploitation, lack of political representation, and unfair taxation were among the causes that led to these clashes.’ [10] As a result of this it is clear that Americans had developed an identity that suggested they would be ready to fight for justice and if necessary independence. This would turn out to be the case in 1776 with the American War of Independence where Americans would rise up against what they had learned and loved to hate; tyranny, corruption, political repression, extortion and blatant abusive unfairness. Even Smelser writes that long before the Declaration of Independence a longing for a war of Independence was desired by many American colonists [11] .

The most significant ‘rebellion’, depending on whether it is greater than or on par with the American Civil War, in American History is most definitely The American War of Independence. Purely for the reason that had it not happened the country perhaps would not exist as we know it today. It may very well have stayed within the British Empire until the mid-20th century with the likes of India and other territories which were granted independence after the Second World War. This was not the case and probably for the best. The reasons for the war of independence involve some very simple and quite complex factors. Over the years relatively complex social structures had developed in most colonies, hierarchical orders in which social elites, for the most part born and bred in America, regarded themselves as the natural rulers of colonial society [12] ,rather than the British ruling them - although, as Heale points out, that is somewhat ironic given that one of the main reasons ‘Americans’ wanted to have independence was because they did not share the rights of free-born Englishmen, suggesting they fully saw themselves as English and/or British subjects [13] - meaning them seeing themselves as ‘natural rulers’ negates their argument that they did not share the rights of Englishmen, if they did not believe themselves to BE English. Nevertheless, the war began as a standoff, at first, between Great Britain on the one hand and the Thirteen Colonies on the other. The war eventually grew into a much larger conflict which involved many nations including France, Netherlands and Spain. The overall outcome was an American victory, as a result of which they gained their independence. [14] It is recognised by some, and certainly this writer’s opinion, that without the help of other European powers, France in-particular, the result would have been in favour of the British, and they very probably would have won the war.

‘The instability, not the inequality, of society helped to accelerate the process of mutual mistrust, intolerance, extremism, failure of rational compromise and, ultimately, violence, war, and rebellion’ [15] . Colonists galvanised around the position that the Stamp Act of 1765, imposed by Parliament of Great Britain, was deeply unfair and seemingly arbitrary. The colonists maintained their now famous position of ‘no taxation without representation’, playing on the fact the American colonists had little to no representation in the British Parliament. The taxation was particularly sickening due to the growing rate of poverty in cities like Philadelphia which had jumped to about fifty per thousand inhabitants - a fivefold increase in one generation [16] . However, the British Parliament insisted it had the right to tax colonists to finance the colonies' military defence, which had become increasingly expensive due to the Seven Years’ War. This amongst other things was the final nail in the coffin for British power in America.

It is in this writer’s opinion that the overriding factor in the American War of Independence centred very much on the idea of taxes and lack of representation in parliament. It was seen as tyrannical and unfair, two things which many colonists had fought against in various acts of rebellion from the very establishment of the first American colony. The British did not recognise the demands of the colonists after the Boston Tea party, and instead, retaliated. Indeed the proved to be a huge mistake by the British parliament. Instead of recognising the complaints of the colonists, and looking to remedy them, they retaliated by installing a military regime, even more tyrannical than taxation without representation, and this for most colonists was the final straw. Clearly peaceful, or even mildly violent protest was not going to get them anywhere, and so the seeds were sown for war.

Clearly, the British lose the war and this led to the signing of the Declaration of Independence. It is widely known across the world that the signing of the Declaration of Independence is still celebrated to this day, with a federal holiday in America ‘Independence day’. This supports the fact that rebellions are very important moments in United States history, the fact they are often referred to and celebrated with great enthusiasm.

As well as the moral outrage cause by Britain’s policy of taxation without representation, the American colonists also boasted very strong leaders like George Washington. Despite losing many battles with his army Washington refused to surrender, he was often seen as a man of the people and would fight alongside his fellow soldiers, this is in stark contrast to the British Officers who would be behind the battlefield giving out instructions. The War of Independence against British rule created huge political change in the aftermath, the war was won by Washington's Army with much aid from the French, it is only after the war is won that we see the strong character that Washington possessed that caused him to create political change in America. People would be willing to stand up and rebel when being led by such figures as George Washington. However, France, in particular out of the Colonists allies, provided enormous amounts of aid to the American revolutionaries starting early in 1776, as Edward S Corwin points out in the American Historical Review [17] . The war, initially started very well for the Americans but the conflict soon deteriorated into a war of attrition, and somewhat in a state of stalemate. The only theatre of war where the British position was relatively secure was on the seas, having one of the most powerful navies at the time. However, logistically the British position was perilous, it would take months for orders and supplies to arrive from England and they were overly reliant on having loyalist support. An invasion from Canada in 1777, designed to end the war quickly and effectively, ended in the capture of the British army at the Battles of Saratoga, one of the biggest disasters in British military history, at least in this writer’s opinion, among the likes of the Gallipoli campaign in World War Two and the loss of Singapore in 1942. The American victory at Saratoga persuaded France to enter the war openly in early 1778 [18] , balancing the two sides' military strength [19] . 

Of course, with winning the War of Independence the American people showed to themselves and to the world just how effective rebellions can be. The colonists of America, with some help from allies, had managed to expel one of the world’s most powerful military nations, and what would become the largest empire the world had ever seen, Great Britain. With this then it is practically inarguable how important rebellion is when it come to the History of the United States.

Shortly after the American War of Independence came the Whiskey Rebellion, which lasted from 1791 to 1794, over unfair taxation on farmers by George Washington’s government. This rebellion is quite ironic given the whole nature of the American War of Independence was heavily centred on unfair taxation and now their very first American government was doing the exact same thing. They even justified the taxes as being used for war debts and protection, again quite a hypocritical position to take by the government given that they fought against the British who justified their use of taxation in the very same way.

This act of rebellion was the first in United States history which was directed at fellow Americans in power, prior to this all acts of dissent and rebellion had been aimed or at least partly aimed at the British. This shows that the average working American was still willing to stand up to anyone if they felt they were being treated unfairly, especially on the issue of tax, which is what sparked the American War of Independence and indeed the Whiskey Rebellion. Thus once more supporting the fact that rebellion is indeed a very important piece of United States history.

The American Civil War, given the actual definition of ‘rebellion’ can in fact be deemed a rebellion [20] . Many historians consider the Civil War as both the great central dramatic event of American History and the greatest test which Americans have ever had to face [21] .’ Cotton and slavery had led the South further apart from the rest of the country, while parts of the North became increasingly industrial, the South remained agricultural and rural in outlook’ [22] . Although there was many factors which led to the American Civil war, chief among which was the great animosity between areas of the South of the United States and those of the North, given that many areas in the South of the country relied heavily on having their goods manufactured in the North and areas in the North relied on the South to provide material for them to manufacture. The North wanted to abolish slavery, which put the South in a difficult position because much of their wealth was generated through slave labour. The result of the Civil war after years of bloody fighting led to the restoration of the Union and what many dubbed the real ‘Birth of a Nation’ [23] . It is in this writer’s opinion that the American revolutionary war was more important than the Civil War, but only just, or more convincingly they are on a par with each other. The fact still remains that without the war of independence, the United States of America would not exist, or at least not as we know it today, the same can be said for the American Civil war, although the country would still definitely exist today if the Civil war had not happened, it would not be as we recognise it now. Both wars are celebrated in contemporary America, and if you were to claim that the act of rebellion was not important in American question, you would have to ask the question ‘well why do they have Independence Day?’ for example. If acts of rebellion were not ‘significant’ they certainly would not be celebrated to this day.

In conclusion, it is clear that rebellion is an important part of the history of the American colonies and the United States for many reasons. This essay shows that many historians agree that early in American history ‘rebellion’ was becoming a tradition of Americans and later the United States. The people of America recognised rebellion as a valuable tool in fighting what they deemed to be grossly unjust. Between the establishment of the first American colony and the end of the American Civil War there were umpteen acts of rebellion including: Bacon’s Rebellion, Cary's Rebellion, the Whiskey Rebellion, Leisler's Rebellion, The Dorr Rebellion, John Fries's Rebellion, Nat Turner's Rebellion and Shays' Rebellion. But, of course, the best examples of rebellion are The American War of Independence and the Civil War. The former showed that Americans were willing to stand up against a power much greater than themselves in order to achieve what they believed to be just, they would fight for their independence in a form of rebellion and win magnificently, so magnificently that this act of rebellion is still celebrated to the present day every 4th of July. If the American people and the American government didn’t deem rebellion to be an important part of their history they would not celebrate Independence Day, given that the War was very much an act of rebellion against what they deemed tyrannical British rule. And the Civil War again showed that the American people were willing to fight for what they truly believed in, what they truly believed to be just, pitting family against family, brother against brother, and father against son. The belief in what they were fighting for was so strong to the extent that over 600,000 Americans would die by the end of the war. All of this shows that indeed rebellion is an important part of the history of the American colonies and the United States.

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