The Radicalism of the American Revolution

Entail is an inheritance law based on feudal law that came from England. Entail ensured that the land a man owned would remain in his family for generations to come. Many colonists, mostly in the middle and southern colonies, used entail to allow for the independence of many children, not just the eldest, and to protect the reputation of the family.

The federalists were the first political party in the United States. Federalists supported a strong national government, economic growth, and a good relationship with England. The federalist party was developed between 1789 and 1790 by a group of businessmen and bankers who supported Alexander Hamilton’s policies. John Adams was a member of the federalist party when he was elected president.

Social hierarchy is a way of ranking society so that some groups are superior to others. Wood describes modern social hierarchy as horizontal. In a horizontal ranking, people can move within their own social class without altering their ranking. However, before the Revolutionary War, social hierarchy in the American colonies was strictly vertical. The classes were defined so that there was always someone superior or inferior to each class. As the Enlightenment took hold, republican ideas evolved in the colonies, and the economy was altered by increased import/export business, people were able to move between rankings, essentially chasing their superiors. Common men were able to earn money that allowed them the luxuries of gentlemen, while gentlemen found themselves struggling to maintain the requisite independence from labor that marked their rank in society.

Monarchy is a form of government that has a single sovereign ruler, a king or queen. The king or queen is the highest-ranking official in the government and all other government officials act in the name of the king or queen. The American colonies were ruled by the monarchy of England. Mirroring this arrangement, the colonies developed close-knit communities that were based on the idea of a single figure head. However, distance and a lack of a strong royal presence in the colonies allowed for the colonies to move away from these ideals, especially once the Enlightenment began to take hold in the colonies. In time, shifts in thought, the economy, and basic family structure changed colonists’ views of the monarchy.

Radicalism is the actions of people who seek to change something about society. Radicals are often people who use violence to achieve change. This is seen in the French Revolution, during which the king and queen were beheaded for their disregard of the plight of the common people. Wood argues in The Radicalism of the American Revolution that, despite avoiding violence, the forefathers of the United States were radical in their actions.

Republicanism is the support of a government that stresses civic responsibility, civic virtue, and the avoidance of corruption. Republicanism rose during the Enlightenment, and its ideals spread throughout the English-speaking world, taking a strong hold in the American colonies in the decades before the American Revolution. Republicanism and its ideals serve as a basis for the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States.