Revolution DBQ

On July 4th 1776, the United States of America became an independent country looking to prevail over the political, social and economic challenges of becoming a new country. Looking for a different style of governing, Americans wanted nothing to do with the English government which was thought to be corrupt and unjust. Although Americans wanted to change their society completely, they ended up with a more centralized government just like England. Politically; Americans looked for ways to make their government nothing like England’s while socially women gained more freedom, slaves began to be released and those loyal to the crown were kicked out of the country. Economically; not much changed. Although the U.S government economy went down, for Americans it was not that big of a change/difference than before the revolutionary war. Starting up their new government, Americans were looking for a type of government completely different from England’s. American’s began with the Articles of Confederation which served as Americans first Constitution. The Articles of Confederation turned out not to be a success because the Articles did not give the government much power at all. This democratic government proved to be too week especially not being allowed to tax the people to pay off debt and gain money. However Americans moved to a more centralized government that could collect taxes and pass laws. Many people were against the idea of a centralized government. James Madison than writes in The Federalist; “you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself.” (Document I) Overall he is telling the people that the government must have enough power to control the people, while not have too much power, so the government can control itself with check and balances. This is very important because with the different branches of the government want and trying to grasp power, check and balances control the government not to become a tyranny like Great Britain. Women, loyalists, and slaves were all treated differently after the revolution. Women gained freedoms after the revolution due to their own actions. A woodcut of a patriot woman shows her holding a rifle and a horn. (Document A) This tells us that she and other women were fighting alongside men in the revolution for the same cause. Although women did not gain all the rights that men had, during the revolution women defended their home, raised their children, and ran businesses, with women taking on more responsibilities they proved that they should be able to vote. Molly Wallace writes of the want for more freedoms to be equal to men. (Document J) Slaves however, did not receive quite as many freedoms as women did. In fact slaves only gained freedoms depending on where they lived. In the North many slaves were freed. A ordinance for the government of the territory of the United States northwest of the river Ohio slavery was banned, unless a crime was committed. (Document H) This is a huge step in history for slaves; slavery is banned in a region which tells slaves the end of slavery is coming, however, for slaves in the south, it won’t come until the civil war. Finally, those who were still loyal to the crown experienced a dramatic change. Loyalists (Tories) were