Wood- The War for Independence (R)

Gordon Wood’s article “The War for Independence Was a Social Revolution” provided the reader with many different ideas about the American Revolution. However, much of what he said was not elaborated upon effectively, because he made quite a few key points. I hope to clarify some of his points as well as add some of my own.

Wood states that the American Revolution is more often thought of as a political revolution as opposed to social. While the resulting political changes were more immediate and obvious, the social changes were just as extensive. However, since the social changes occurred over a much longer period of time, they are often overlooked. Wood compares the American Revolution to others, including the French Revolution, in order to make his point about the social changes. However, I believe it is not necessarily needed to compare revolutions. Comparisons are often beneficial and helpful when looking at world history, or when one is determining how one event affected another. In spite of this, if a more specific definition of a “social revolution” is set, it would be less controversial when discussing this topic. A social revolution could be defined by the immediate effects it had directly upon the social classes, or by the lasting effects the social classes felt, both directly and indirectly (through political changes). The latter definition would make the American Revolution a definite social revolution. However, the former definition probably would not, because not all of the social changes were direct; most occurred as effects of political changes.

Another idea from this article is that men in political office need not come from only wealthy families, but from humble families as well. Those capable (including the sons of farmers, tradesmen, and artisans) would be able to gain a higher education, attend college, acquire the responsibilities and traits of gentlemen, and join the ranks of the men eligible for office. The ability men gained that allowed them to rise through the social classes to (possibly) gain political power is not only a change in the political system, but is also a quite obvious social change as well.

Another portion of Wood’s argument is the status of slaves. He discusses how indentured servitude steadily decreased and eventually “disappeared,” though slave of blacks continued. Most colonists took slavery for granted, not even thinking about the humanity aspect. John Adams stated, “There are but two sorts of men in the world, freemen and slaves.” This quote alone can demonstrate the feelings of most colonists when it came to slaves-- not many considered them fully human, and thus didn’t treat them with the respect and humanity they deserved. The immediate effects of the American Revolution did not completely eliminate slavery. However, the Revolution did assist in helping begin these ideas. The revolutionary leaders left some ends open, allowing for future changes. They realized that not every change that needed to be made could happen at the same time, and they planned for continuous changes to be made for a while after the Revolution.

Wood, Gordon S. "The War for Independence Was a Social Revolution." Pages 256-267. Printed Article.