The Americanness of the American Revolution

City Journal ^ | Myron Magnet

[Lorianne]

Why was the American Revolution, of all great revolutions, the only successful one, resulting in two centuries and more of unexampled freedom and prosperity? The French Revolution, by contrast, illuminated by America’s example and Enlightenment thought, began in blissful optimism but collapsed into a blood-soaked tyranny much worse than the monarchy it deposed. It spawned a military dictatorship that convulsed Europe and roiled half the globe for over a decade with wars of grandiose imperial aggression that slew at least 3 million. And the result of 25 years of turmoil? The Bourbon monarchy, minus the Enlightenment of its earlier incarnation, settled comfortably back down on its throne.

The Russian Revolution switched one despotism for another; and a century later, after the millions of deaths from its purges, slave camps, and intentionally inflicted famines, Russia remains a despotism, without rights or justice. We all get only one life: imagine someone born under the billowing flags of the new Soviet Union in 1917, who had to live that whole single life without the freedom so much as to speak the truth of the squalid, oppressive reality he saw in front of his own eyes. One single life—and what you can make of the one you have depends so much on what others have done to mold the time and place in which you live.

The Founders knew that truth so well that they announced their nationhood by significantly changing John Locke’s catalog of natural rights

[SunkenCiv]

GGG managers are SunkenCiv, StayAt HomeMother & Ernest_at_the_Beach	join list or digest view topics view or post blog bookmark post a topic subscribe
Thanks Lorianne. Just adding to the catalog, not sending a general distribution. To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list.

[Pharmboy]

Thanks for the post, Lorianne, and the ping, SunkenCiv. A terrific article and a great thread.

The RevWar/Colonial History/General Washington ping list

[colorado tanker]

There hasn’t been a general war of religion since the Thirty Years War, and even that quickly devolved into a fight among the great powers for supremacy in Germany. And, as you point out, the general European or “world” wars after that were all about power and money.

[Billthedrill]

Yeah, exactly. Rereading my post I see it wasn't obvious what I was driving at - our wars mapped to the wars of English Kings, mapped to the wars of Continental Europe. As if any of us needed new excuses to kill one another.

As for general wars of religion, you are correct, and we're probably due, which may be where the whole Jihad thing is taking the world. Happy thought.

[colorado tanker]

I don’t think Europe will have the will to defend itself when the takeover comes.

[colorado tanker]

The American aspect of the European wars generally consisted of fighting Indian allies of the French. Until the last one when the Brits decided they’d just take Canada and solve the problem for good.

[Billthedrill]

Yep, although as a consequence of one of them the Spanish gave the French their claims to what the French turned around and sold to us as the Louisiana Purchase. Which purchase was, in part, Napoleon's way getting back at the British for taking Canada, which was also one reason the French backed the Americans in the War of Independence. My head hurts.

Both sides and their native allies went at the Spanish settlements and their native allies in Queen Anne's War. Those warring native tribes that considered the white settlers also to be warring tribes were absolutely correct about it.

[colorado tanker]

The French support for us was a classic case of the enemy of my enemy is my friend.

[Yollopoliuhqui]

Our revolution succeeded b ecause 90% of our population could read and were smarter than your subsequent average revolutionist. The literacy rate in England at that time was in the 20% zone. America was based upon the mass migration of Europe’s best and brightest who saw through that “divine right of Kings” social programming, the endemic corruption of the Church and aristocracy, those who fought with Cromwell and anti-monarchist republicans/whigs who were hounded and harassed out of their homeland for it. America was a form of exile for the republican intelligentsia of Europe. Our revolution was also ably led by men of genius caliber and that can make a whole lot of difference when compared to a revolution such as the one not so ably led by Pol Pot.