Module 5: Elite few gain security while hiding behind the curtain of the Revolutionary War.

Module 5: Elite few gain security while hiding behind the curtain of the Revolutionary War.

In Howard Zinn’s book, A People’s History of the United States: American Beginnings to Reconstruction, Zinn argues that the American Revolutionary War "was making the ruling elite more secure against internal trouble" (p.62). In fact, “the military conflict itself, by dominating everything in its time, diminished other issues, made people choose sides in the one contest that was publicly important, forced people onto the side of the Revolution whose interest in independence was not at all obvious” (Zinn 62). With this in mind it becomes clear that it is important to look at American Revolution from several angles: the existing class system, the perspective of the American Indians, and the perspective of the African Americans. From these perspectives it is possible to ask, what was the hidden agenda of the perceived need for the Revolutionary War by the most elite men of the time—our founding fathers.

What preceded the American Revolution were at times peaceful negotiations between working colonists and the British. At other times relations became strained when the colonists were faced with a bombardment of new taxes and controls. The British attempted to initiate the Sugar Act, Stamp Act, Townshend Acts, and the Tea Act. Peaceful negotiations turned violent at the Battles of Lexington and Concord. (Foner 172) Both battles were initiated at the hands of the most elite men of the colonies, our founding fathers. The elite realized that by winning the American Revolution they could secure even greater wealth and endless amounts of land. It is important to note at this point that the elite led the colonists into a war which was fought by the poor in the hopes of obtaining freedom and the rights to land. (Answers)

The elite were driven by a need for greater wealth and enormous amounts of land. The poor wanted an opportunity to acquire some land and personal freedom from British rule and taxes. The elite wanted land to the west and the poor appeared to be blinded to what the future held for the American Indians should the colonists win the war. Realizing what would happen, a vast majority of American Indians sided with the British. They knew that if the colonists won the war the Proclamation of 1763 which prohibited further colonial settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains, reserved land exclusively for Indians, and banned the sale of Indian lands to private individuals would become null and void. (Foner 164) This is indeed what happened. The years following the war, the American colonists moved westward taking land and massacring entire Indian populations.

The African American slaves saw little change following the war. As more land was accumulated especially in the south the need for slaves became even more important. In fact, slavery became legalized in the Constitution benefitting the elite who owned vast amounts of land. (Answers)

The founding fathers convinced the poor to fight by offering them land. With a class system already in place—elite owned large land estates, the poor owned no land. The founding fathers were clever to use land to lure the “mobs of poor” into a war that would ultimately benefit the elite. Yet here we are today, hundreds of years later—our founding fathers successors have led the poor and middle class down the same road of war and economic decline. It is time the people, of “we the people”, wake up and begin to ask the right questions. Who will benefit and what could possibly be achieved from war. Will we ever learn that war is too costly in both lives and money and that somehow there must be another way to peacefully reach mutually agreed upon terms?

Works Cited
Foner, Eric. Give Me Liberty! An American History, Seagull Edition. New York: NY, 2009.
http://www.answers.com/topic/american-revolution
Zinn, Howard. A People’s History of the United States. Abridged Teaching Edition. New York: NY, 1980.