The Revolution was a necessary change for America that allowed merchants to sell their goods without being highly taxed, and by earning their independence, the colonists achieved a sense of national unity and identity. Without independence, establishing this national foundation would have been nearly impossible due to the constant reminders of British Imperialism. However, it is important to keep in mind that just because the rich white population gained something out of the Revolution, doesn’t mean that it was a good change for the other 97% of the colonial population. The Revolution was simply another digressive method in which to solidify the inferiority of minorities including poor whites, women, slaves, and Indians.
The Declaration of Independence is one of the most important documents in our nation’s history. What many people fail to realize, however, is that the rights appointed to American citizens were only addressing the rich whites. Addressing the statement that “All men are created equal....with inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” Samuel Johnson, a famous English writer, asked in reply, “How is it that we hear the loudest yelps for liberty among the drivers of Negroes?” Minorities were quick to realize the implications in the Declaration and whom it truly intended to liberate. Norman Livergood has connected these careful exclusions to the roots of what he called the Second Revolution, or the “Revolt against wealthy American merchants and financiers by the working class people of America.” At the time, the Declaration may have been one of the most controversial documents between social classes in our nation’s history, regardless of the fact that it is also one of the most revered documents in our nation’s history. The Revolution allowed the colonists to start from the ground up, developing things like a new system of economics, as well as an entirely new government. The catch to these new systems, however, was that in order to have any say in the political and governmental decisions, one had to own a certain amount of land and/or slaves in order to occupy a certain rank, and only when that ranking was secured could that person have any say in an important topic concerning the colonies. According to Livergood, these qualifications only allowed 10% of all of Philadelphia to vote. Let it be made clear that women specifically were never even considered eligible to vote. The Declaration and Constitution very clearly stated and isolated the beneficiaries to “man” or “men,” being careful not to even mention or include women. In this sense, the colonies were rigged in considerable favor of the rich white male.
Independence from Britain meant that the colonies gained a lot of power. Naturally, the upper class took it upon themselves to take full advantage of that new power. As soon as the Constitution was written, several new laws and acts were passed, such as the Whiskey Tax, which affected farmers heavily. Such acts would occasionally result in rebellions, and Congress was quick to implement the Bill of Rights, in order to keep the lower social classes quiet. The Bill of Rights was also implemented in order to get the middle classes to believe in the rights, liberties, and principles America was supposedly building itself on. According to Howard Zinn, the Constitution was the “work of certain groups to maintain their privileges, while giving just enough rights and liberties to enough of the people to ensure popular support” of the document. Because the poor whites made up such a large portion of the population of the colonies, rebellion was feared, so the middle class was created in order to serve as a “buffer” between the social classes.
Both Howard Zinn and Norman Livergood agree that the Constitution was carefully constructed to benefit the wealthy populations of the colonies. They deliberately excluded Indians, slaves, and women from any securement of “The Blessings of Liberty.” For Indians, the revolution meant that the Royal Proclamation of 1763 was no longer applicable, and that the boundary line in the Appalachians, which separated the colonies from Indian Territory, was no longer relevant. The Indians had, in some tribes, tried siding with the British in the Revolution, in hopes of establishing an alliance with the crown, and, thereby, protecting and keeping their own land. The Indians had also sought a powerful alliance with the French and tried siding with them in the French and Indian War, but once again, their efforts proved meaningless. In the end, both the French and the British left the Indians to face the greed of the colonists alone and without alliance. Francis Jennings states that “The White Americans were fighting against British imperial control in the East, and for their own Imperialism in the West.” Unfortunately, even today, conflicts between the U.S. Government and Native Americans still exist, regarding issues such as Native American lands and properties.
Equality for blacks is also something the U.S. has not yet been completely able to obtain. Racism has been a constant problem in America, originating from the implementation of colonial laws regarding slaves and blacks. Thomas Jefferson believed that “blacks were inferior in the faculty of reason.” Stereotypes such as these, in combination with rare opportunities for blacks to prove otherwise, made it nearly impossible for any black person to become successful. Whenever a lucky individual disproved the stereotype, the individual was simply discarded as an “exception” and racism and such stereotypes remained firmly implanted in the minds of the colonists. The Declaration of Independence only ground the concept of racism into the America colonists even more, by excluding them from the rights of liberty and independence.
The American Revolution freed the minorities from the oppressions of the British aristocracy, but there was still a caste system that played a very important role pertaining to governmental decisions. Essentially, one of the largest changes for the minorities of the colonies was that America had changed its discerning title from an aristocracy to a republic.
