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In terms of the social change that happened, American Revolution is a truly

radical one. The true radicalism of the American Revolution is evident from the book

Conceived in Liberty written by6 Murray Rothbard. American Revolution was

considered to be the greatest revolutions in the history. Thomas Paine, the great

democratic, and supporter of the both the American Revolution as well as the French

Revolutions, believed that the American Revolution is more radical than the French, and

he enthusiastically participated in both the nations.(The Jefforsonian Libertarian)

The American Revolution was evolved out of the radicalism of the English

Levelers of the English Revolution that took place during the mid 17thcentury. Radical

thinkers like John Milton, James Harrington, Henry Marten, Richard Rumbold, and John

Liliburne led the way for libertarian philosophy. Later, freethinkers like John Locke,

John Toland, Matthew Tindal and other freethinkers and deists led the battle in Britain

against state-sponsored religion, and led the fight for civil liberty.(Roark, Johnson and

Cohen)

The experiences of Colonial America seem to be a secluded past which has very

diminutive association with the daily lives of the people in the 21st century. Though the

various groups of the Colonial America like the Pennsylvanian German Pietists, New

England Puritans, Virginia planters, indentured, slaves of Native Americans, Quakers,

Anglicans, Methodists, Swedish farmers, Dutch traders or French Huguenots are not

immediately identified by todays individuals, the fact that needs to be accepted is that

these groups have very highly contributed to the tradition and inheritance. (Oates')


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Yet, social change and the political Revolution are so inherently entwined that it

is next to unfeasible not to connect the two. While it is perhaps true that social change

would have taken place even without the Revolution, there is no assurance that this

would be so, and basing a historical theory on assumptions is an uncertain attempt. On

the contrary, it is more than fair to state that the American Revolution acted as a

gigantic catalyst of social changes in the colonies.

One of the more fascinating areas of studying the American Revolution

concerning its radicalism is the impact it had on slavery. Slavery and Black oppression

are some of the most significant aspects of American history, and it was this Revolution

which had initially placed these issues in the forefront of the American society. In the

wave of democratic feeling which flounced the colonies as an outcome of the revolution,

the call for the liberation of the slaves justly found its influence. The number of African-

Americans enjoying liberty increased enormously under the pressure of the

revolutionary transformation. The number of liberated African-Americans grew from a

few thousand in the late 1760s to approximately 200,000 by the end of the initial years

of the 19th

century.

Even though there was increasing emancipation response in the North by the

year 1863, there was no harmony as to how slavery should be eradicated.

Furthermore, as Vorenberg points out, the elimination of oppression did not essentially

bestow any rights on persons at liberty or institute cultural equality. Even people who

supported the amendment had varied views about what supplementary rights, if any,

liberty would entail. In unfolding the adoption of the Thirteenth Amendment by the

United States government, the author proficiently weaves intriguing embroidery of legal


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hypothesis, unrefined politics, ethnic prejudice, and concerns for the stability of federal-

state power (Vorenberg).


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Works Cited

Oates', Stephen B. Portrait of America. Houghton Mifflin College Div, 2002.

Roark, James L., et al. The American Promise, Volume I: To 1877: A History of the

United States, 4th Edition. Bedford: St. Martins, 2009.

The Jefforsonian Libertarian. The American Revolution - The Most Radical. 17 March

2009. 30 November 2010 .

Vorenberg, Michael. The Emancipation Proclamation: A Brief History with Documents.

Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan, 2005.