Module 4:
Zinn argues that the American Revolutionary War “was making the ruling elite more secure against internal trouble.” (p.62)
Zinn’s argument is based on two premises 1) poor people had an opportunity to join the military and make money fighting for America 2) the war was on everyone’s minds and as a result this provided a barrier for the elites against rising upheavals and trouble in America. Although I agree with Zinn’s argument that the Revolutionary War provided an opportunity for poor people to make money and was a source of distraction and a smokescreen for the ruling elite, my position deviates from his, in that, I would not go so far as to say that the ruling elite were secure against internal trouble. As long as a gross economic disparity existed between the elites and the landless poor I believe that there would always be a reason for uprising and upheavals. I believe that a desire for equality and equity provided the impetus for change and sovereignty which Americans sought from the British, and possibly the same principle could be applied now against the ruling elites.
When the war broke out, there were many people who were undecided about their allegiance and had to take sides. John Mack Faragher, author of Out of Many claims that “many sat on the fence, confused by the conflict, waiting for a clear turn in the tide of the struggle before declaring their allegiance” (p.182). To the Patriots, it was clearly a “them” and “us” syndrome and the consequences of being one of “them” came in the form of harsh punishments. Patriots created laws to punish anyone who refused to swear allegiance to their cause which resulted in a loss of civil rights as well as property. As a result, this forced many sitting on the fence to align themselves with American ideologies of freedom and justice.
Zinn argues that the American Revolutionary War “was making the ruling elite more secure against internal trouble.” (p.62)
Zinn’s argument is based on two premises 1) poor people had an opportunity to join the military and make money fighting for America 2) the war was on everyone’s minds and as a result this provided a barrier for the elites against rising upheavals and trouble in America. Although I agree with Zinn’s argument that the Revolutionary War provided an opportunity for poor people to make money and was a source of distraction and a smokescreen for the ruling elite, my position deviates from his, in that, I would not go so far as to say that the ruling elite were secure against internal trouble. As long as a gross economic disparity existed between the elites and the landless poor I believe that there would always be a reason for uprising and upheavals. I believe that a desire for equality and equity provided the impetus for change and sovereignty which Americans sought from the British, and possibly the same principle could be applied now against the ruling elites.
When the war broke out, there were many people who were undecided about their allegiance and had to take sides. John Mack Faragher, author of Out of Many claims that “many sat on the fence, confused by the conflict, waiting for a clear turn in the tide of the struggle before declaring their allegiance” (p.182). To the Patriots, it was clearly a “them” and “us” syndrome and the consequences of being one of “them” came in the form of harsh punishments. Patriots created laws to punish anyone who refused to swear allegiance to their cause which resulted in a loss of civil rights as well as property. As a result, this forced many sitting on the fence to align themselves with American ideologies of freedom and justice.
An article in the Journal of the Early Republic entitled Thinking about Elites in the Early Republic by Andrew M. Schocket shows us the extent to which elites tried to protect their position of power. Schocket claims that in all sorts of arenas, various elites used the state (in the generic sense) to enforce their interests. He claims that measures such as the Missouri Compromise garnered the support and reinforced the interests of the vast majority of the southern electorate; the Fugitive Slave Act is a striking example of an elite using its leverage over national politics to further its own interests. Other examples involve the invocation of eminent domain on behalf of internal improvement companies and the increasingly generous distribution of railroad subsidies. Elite influence extended to the bench, too. The evolution of jurisprudence against combinations that was used to prosecute strikers and labor organizers and the limitations on damages suits against canal and railroad companies testified eloquently to the power of small groups to bend the state to their will.
Even with the elites protecting their interests through politics, uprising was still evident both during and after the war. Zinn makes note of the problem of democracy in the post-Revolutionary scoiety and identifies the problem not laying in the Constitutional limitations but in the division of society into rich and poor (p.73). This is evident in Shays Rebellion - an uprising in 1786 where an oppressed group of farmers rose up against the elite. The elite may have provided a smokescreen for the vast accumulation of their wealth but they in no way secured themselves against upheavals. It was only a matter of time before uprisings and change had to occur.
Works Cited
Faragher, John Mack. Out of Many: A History of the American People. Pearson Education Inc., Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 2006.
Zinn, Howard: A People’s History of the United States Volume 1: American Beginnings to reconstruction: The New Press, New York, 2003.
Thinking about Elites in the Early Republic. Andrew M. Schocket. Journal of the Early Republic Indianapolis: Winter 2005. Vol.25, Iss. 4; pg. 547, 9 pgs.
Zinn, Howard: A People’s History of the United States Volume 1: American Beginnings to reconstruction: The New Press, New York, 2003.
Thinking about Elites in the Early Republic. Andrew M. Schocket. Journal of the Early Republic Indianapolis: Winter 2005. Vol.25, Iss. 4; pg. 547, 9 pgs.
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