THE SUCCESS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION
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Introduction
The US remains the most developed nation in the world, and while at it, also the most influential country on a political scope. This was however not the case a few centuries ago, as American colonies at the time, had to unite, and fight for independence. This would later on be called the American Revolution. While there are many aspects of this revolution that have always been easier to understand, one area still remains grey and this will be the center of focus for this paper. To be precise, this paper expounds on the success of the American Revolution, given that it was not a traditional war involving one state and the other. At the same time, this paper also narrows down on how Americans succeeded, against what was the most formidable empire on earth.
The challenges Americans had
It is imperative to begin by highlighting some of the challenges Americans faced, because the same helps in understanding how they ended up on the winning side. The following are the main challenges faced by Americans at the time;
Leadership challenges: In order to go against an empire as strong as the British Empire of the time, then Americans needed to have proper leadership, and yet they came short in this regard. During the earlier year of the revolution, the Americans had leaders who were incompetent, and because of the same, they didn’t push for the agenda as they ought to have (Coleman, 2021). This became a challenge in the grand scheme of things, and one that also undermined the efforts of every other American.
The lack of unity: As cliché as it may sound, there is always the need for unity during a war or even a revolution in this case. The American colonies were very different from each other in culture, political understanding and many other smaller optics. With so much difference between them, divisions were witnessed in most cases and this, worked against their goal of attaining independence from the British Empire which was their main goal. While counting some of the main challenges faced by the Americans, then it is worthy to highlight this one as well.
These aren’t the only challenges faced by Americans, as there are other ones such as economic strain on their side, the British controlled every beat of the sea until the French arrived, and most importantly the lack of support from other countries until later on.
An explanation of American success
There are a number of important events and factors that contributed to the American success over the British during this revolution. In this part of the paper, they will be analyzed, and they are as follows;
American’s Diplomatic Relations: In order to stand against the empire that the British were, Americans needed strong diplomatic relations, and this is where Benjamin Franklin came in. His visit to Paris, ensured that Americans, who were a rather small opponent to the British Empire, were equipped with necessary arms, food and sometimes even warfare insights. It is this same diplomatic relations that ensured the French could step in, and compromise the British from the seas (Coleman, 2021). While counting reasons why Americans won the revolution, despite it not being a traditional war, and against a formidable opponent that the British Empire was, then it is imperative to mention the one herein.
The British’s own economic problems: A key part of winning any war, is weakening the opposition, or rather the opposition being weak for internal reasons. The latter was the state of affairs for the British, as they had their own money problems. It is clear that wars need money, and with a lot of its resources spread across the empire, and as large as it was, then very little was left to fight in the American Revolution. This created what can only be referred to as a “match” between the two. In the long run, and with the growing support of allies such as France, the Americans got an upper hand. At the end of the revolution, they were winning, hence another worthy explanation.
The insurgency in the South: At first, it was just the Northern colonies that were actively partaking in the revolution. However, when the Southern Colonies saw it wise to join with the North, so that they can preserve slavery, then the insurance became a game changer. The British who had now grown accustomed to fighting Northern colonies, now had a new front of enemy-power, and that is through the Southern insurgence. This insurgence, also acted as a source of motivation for the ones who were already partaking in the revolution, with an increase base of rebellion, the British Empire, even with all its might, was facing a group united by one strong ideology and that was powered with the need for both social and economic freedom. This is, therefore, an explanation and an analysis of why the Americans won, despite them having the slimmest of chances.
The intervention of the French: It is no secret that the French were an equally formidable force in the world at the time. When they joined the Americans later on in the revolution, then the dynamics of the revolution changed. The seas that were completely under the control of the British, had a new visitor, and this divided the thoughts and resources of the British. With the French joining as allies to the Americans, then wining became even easier, and hence another explanation (Bailyn, 2017).
These are the main reasons why the Americans won the revolution, but not mere justifications on why it happened. It is important to underline the fact that through these points, it is easier to conceptualize why Americans, from a point of low vantage, won against a formidable opponent that the British Empire were. It is also rational to acknowledge the fact that there could be many other justifications not mentioned in this case, but ones that are equally worthy.
Conclusion In a nutshell, the progression of this paper, has highlighted American success in the American revolution, bearing in mind that it was not a traditional war, but one where the opponent was a formidable empire at the time,. While using success optics by the Americans as the anchorage to this analysis, the paper herein also managed to justify American success. It is imperative to note that this paper didn’t fall short to mention the challenges Americans faced, and how they mitigated the same, to emerge victorious at the end of the day. This paper also managed to define the thin line on why the American Revolution was not a “war” or even “revolution” per se. With a keen eye to detail, this paper has indeed managed to cover the topic at hand.
References
Bailyn, B. (2017). The ideological origins of the American Revolution. Harvard University Press.
Coleman, K. (2021). The American Revolution in Georgia, 1763–1789. University of Georgia Press.
