The American Revolution’s Revolutionary Effects
After the American Revolution there was a slow change occuring in the new nation. New ideas in the minds of citizens. Views on women and slaves were changing mostly for the better. New state constitutions allowing new rights. Freedom of religion being brought to the nation at last. Although many things had stayed the same at the time, the changes were very much significant and lead to further change in our future.
After the Revolution former colonists, now citizens of the United States, begun to have new ideas of living. In 1786 Thomas Jefferson wrote the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom. This called for a wall of separation between church and state. His words changed views on slavery mostly in the north. The change of social classes was a major change as well. It abolished titles of nobility and inheritance to the first born son. Voting became easier because most requirements were taken away or lessened. Although women were still not allowed this right. Change toward a free labor system helped the laws of slavery to be changed.
The Revolution changed the way women lived and were raised. Of course they were still treated relatively the same, there was an idea called Republican Motherhood. This idea lead women to being able to have more opportunities for education. This was created to allow women, who mostly stayed at home in the period to take care of their kids, to teach their children republican values. The idea was popular among many and caused an increase in women authors and texts made for women. It also created feminism to surge with writings such as On The Equality of The Sexes, written by Judith Sargent Murray. It had also shown women the importance of political culture.
As for slaves it took a while for any major change in the way they were viewed and treated. Although the hypocrisies of Thomas Jefferson were well known, his ideas of liberty sparked by his words of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and that all men are created equal,changed many citizens views. There had also been a decline in apprenticeships and indentured servitudes. There was a split between the north and south on their views of slavery. The abolishment of slavery was tedious. Between 1777 and 1804 all northern states had finally ridden themselves of slavery. Yet in the south after some decline it was brought back after the invention of the cotton gin in 1793.
Although many things had stayed the same at the time, the revolution was very much revolutionary. Not as much as it could have been but everything takes time. Slowly it changed for women and african americans, but we still sometimes see a struggle in those areas in our present time and place. Of course we don’t need a war to change it, we just need people who can influence the way people view each other in a positive light. Eventually and hopefully we will finally see a world full of love, a world where everyone is equal.
