The American Revolutionary War

It was once said by an American in the 1800s that they should not repeat the mistake that France had just made. That is to revolt against the authorities and put the powers into the hands of a military leader (Napoleon). Little did he realise that had already happened just a few years ago. Yes, they didn't put the powers into the hands of a person but a republic(and so did the French). What led one nation one way, but the other in another is quite an interesting phenomenon. So let us wind back the clock and return to The American Revolution.

North America just before the time of the American Revolution was under a two way power-sharing deal by the Europeans after kicking the French out, namely by the English and the Spanish. The English, of course being the most liberal of all three countries, and that perhaps is one of the reasons why the United States is the first of the colonies to revolt, and have perhaps the most successful one.

The most important factor that led to the revolution was the problem of representation of the American colonies, being British citizens, in the British government. Britain then further angered the colonies by passing more taxes. Years of friction later resulted in some outright demonstration against the government, like dumping tea into a harbour in the Boston Tea Party. A few more laws from the British and more militarization by the Americans soon led to war.

While both the American and French Revolution were both parts of the Enlightenment. whereby people basically freed themselves. What marked the differences between the Americans and French were enormous. First of all is that the Americans faced an external threat, which were the invading British. While the French was overthrowing an absolute monarchy in their own homes, that is until the Germans start retaliating. The Americans also seemed much more organised in their revolt, while most people remember the French revolution as an era of confusion. Perhaps the most telling signs of this is that the Americans all had clear and exceptional intellectual leaders, Washington, Franklin, Jefferson, Madison, Hancock, Adams, ... yet in France, there were so much confusion that a number of their intellectuals and even revolutionary leaders were executed.

The success of the Americans must not be lightly dismissed. Many revolutions had occurred after that, but none had managed to churn out another country that serves as a model to the world. The creation of a government by a group of people who understood Enlightenment philosophy might have done the trick. It is said that trying times bring out the best in people, and it is certainly so for America. Perhaps the best government can only be found when the very survival of the nation is threaten.

You might have heard of the term "continuous revolution" from China's many Communist revolutions and that the idea had came from Communism. However, it had actually originated in America. Those founding fathers believed in the right for a people to overthrow their government whenever they want and preferably every 20 years. Maybe that is the whole idea of a good government, that each generation have to go through a trying event in their lives. Although the dream was never carried through, something similar again happened in the Civil War, and again it brought out one of the better presidents of the United States, Lincoln. It might just be the recent lack of an imminent threat to America's survival that have led to the recent string of unintellectual presidents that America once proudly boasted.