ESSAY:
To what extent was the American Revolution a radical break with the past and to what extent was it a conservative attempt to protect the status quo?
I NEED MAJOR HELP! SOMEONE THAT IS GOOD AT HISTORY..PLEASE HELP ME FIND INFORMATION AND TELL ME WHAT THIS MEANS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i would appreciate it so much, if i dont get a B in history, im not going to homecoming, i know someone is nice enough out there to help me!!! :)
Well, I'm not one to just hand out answers, but it will help you to think about what the American Revolution was really about - why were the colonists revolting? What were their grievances with the British? Why is this radical?
First of all, if you haven't had any world history classes I can understand why this may be such a daunting topic. Check out the Declaration of Independence for starters - the authors directly listed several reasons for their anger at their imperial masters. Also, consider what kind of government was set up after the Revolution: one without a monarchy, dedicated to rule by the people, and with a system of ensuring that each branch of government would not be able to overstep its bounds. The enshrinement of personal liberties in the Bill of Rights is also an excellent example of why the American Revolution was indeed revolutionary.
For the second part of the question, think about what the "status quo" was in those times - how did the Revolution help or hurt that status quo? I would try to focus on things like social issues (the status of women, slavery, etc.), since that is the easiest. I'd also recommend going back to the book and rereading some of the parts from Chapter 9 - especially the section called "Safeguards for Conservatism." ;) (I know it sucks to have to actually have to read, but that's life.)
For that matter, I'd reread a lot of Chapter 8 and 9 if I were you. A lot of what you need to know is explained there in the kind of depth that chapter notes simply can't convey - if they did, then they wouldn't be NOTES.
Also, this topic has been moved to the correct forum.