Posted on 07/04/2017 6:31:43 AM PDT by Kaslin
Revolution requires a turning-over of society and its whole leadership from one group to another. The Bolsheviks, the Castros, and the French produced revolutions.
The American experience in 1776 was much more like the attempted secession of the South a century later, except that the latter was an unsuccessful one.
From Burke article above:
“The thing you fought for is not the thing which you recover, but depreciated, sunk, wasted, and consumed in the contest. Nothing less will content me than the whole America. I do not choose to consume its strength along with our own; because in all parts it is the British strength that I consume. I do not choose to be caught by a foreign enemy at the end of this exhausting conflict, and still less in the midst of it. I may escape, but I can make no insurance against such an event. Let me add that I do not choose wholly to break the American spirit; because it is the spirit that has made the country.
This passage demonstrates Burke’s warm feelings towards the colonists. It also leaves the impression that Burke sees the conflict as something of a Civil War. This would be a war between fellow countrymen. He does not wish to see American broken or subdued since he does not view them as inferiors, but fellow Englishmen who should be able to retain their honor.”
True, they called us rebels and mocked us with `Yankee Doodle’. The saw us as provincials and inferior.
Even Burke wasn’t prepared to give the American provincials representation in Parliament.
Our fight for independence was a logical extension of the 17th century English civil war which resulted in regicide.
rev·o·lu·tion
noun
1.
a forcible overthrow of a government or social order in favor of a new system.
synonyms: rebellion, revolt, insurrection, mutiny, uprising, riot
It was a revolution in the sense that it undertook an experiment in the proposition, novel in modern times, that free men and women did not need a king, a tyrant, to govern them—that we were capable of governing ourselves.
So the experiment continues, despite the best efforts of many in our country on the left who would destroy our Constitution and Bill of Rights for the “greater good”.
And the one thing this author did not mention, but was the foundational reason for the success of our Revolutionary War and the only reason our country has lasted as long as it has, is that the country had turned to God, recognized His Sovereignty over their lives, and given their lives to Him during The Great Awakening. As a result, they recognized that their rights did not come from man, and especially not from government, but from God Almighty Himself.
Finally, the same all-powerful Hand of God that saved those sinners during that time-frame of our country, is still alive and well today; still possessing the same abilities to change men’s hearts and lives, and still desirous of performing same.
He will do the same if we seek his face together.
Join me my FRiends in praying for the souls of our countrymen, that God will save their souls and turn back his terrible wrath that we so richly deserve because of the sinful behavior of our country.
This is the only thing that will successfully change our country.
Without this, even a bloody war will not bring the change we so dearly desire.
Freemasonry played a part as well. Masonic lodges were formed in the colonies. British Naval and Military Masonic lodges arrived with the troops. The interaction of Colonial and British Freemasons in Masonic lodges made the war more personal and civil. This may be why the British were less ruthless in their tactics. When the Spanish sent an armada to help the colonists, the British attacked and didn’t leave a mast standing. When battles with the colonists ended, there was usually a clean break and less pursuit by the British.
As the war wore on it got uglier and was quite brutal by the time it came to the Carolinas. Having grown up hearing tales of "no quarter" and Bloody Ban, I tend to disagree with your statement.
Your point is well taken. I would expect the British to sense the changes from a rout to a war to a losing war made them more desperate, and despicable.
That and they encountered former Regulators in the hills and mountains of NC, SC and what later was ceded by NC to become TN. They comprised a fair number of the Overmountain Men of King’s Mountain fame.
It has been argued that the English Civil War, American Revolution and US Civil War were continuations in different venues of the same conflicts.
The best case for the proposition is contained in “The Cousin’s Wars” by Kevin Phillips, more background to the origins of the conflicts can be found in “Albion’s Seed: Four British Folkways in North America” by David Hackett Fischer.
The Revolutionary War was very much a civil war in places as well as an anti-colonial war of national liberation and the act of secession you point out.
This point was made by Ann Coulter in denomic
However, I don't see the triple thread. The English civil war was almost entirely about religion, while it is hard to see that as an important factor in the American Secession (which was really about who would pay for the defense of the colonists from the French and Indians) or the US Civil-War/Secession.
It is true that there was a civil-war component in the 1776 but that was just the natural disagreement between the secessionists and the loyalists and it is hard to see any significant catholic/vs/protestant religious content.
I see what you did there.
Burke.....does not wish to see American broken or subdued since he does not view them as inferiors, but fellow Englishmen who should be able to retain their honor.
We should remember that the colonists regarded themselves as Englishmen, and Washington was toasting the King at Dinner each night in 1775.
True, they called us rebels and mocked us with `Yankee Doodle’. The saw us as provincials and inferior.
Just the way that later the Union side saw the Southerners (and still do).
bump
Another big difference is due to England’s prior laissez-faire governance, the American colonies had 150 years of experience with self-government. Prior to the founding of the United States of America, the people answered to the government. To this day, there is no other nation except Israel where it is understood that the people run the government, not the reverse.
In the past century, the central government has been steadily eating away at that liberty, and we are now on track to restore it.
That is what President Trump means when he talks about the rigged system. He’s said repeatedly that he intends to restore power to the people. With our help, I believe he can.
Happy Independence Day!!!
Bump
Compare the original point with a few substituted words.
Original
5. Unlike the initiators of other international revolutions, American colonies were truly threatened.
So from the beginning the American people had both a religious and a political philosophy of bottom-up governance. That explains why British attempts to regulate trade and introduce new taxes and laws that even potentially threatened to allow top-down control of the American colonies were viewed with sheer terror and united the colonists immediately
The American Revolution was truly exceptional as compared to other worldwide revolutions around the same time. The values and integrity held by the American colonists differed from other revolutionaries in history. Their freedom was truly under attack from an outsider, and they were fully determined to overcome this threat. The events of this war for independence and its results bring to light the truth about their pursuit of justice and the honor involved in the colonists taking up arms against their foes.
With Substitutions:
5. Unlike the initiators of other international revolutions, American conservatives (the majority) were truly threatened.
So from the beginning the American people had both a religious and a political philosophy of bottom-up governance. That explains why Democrat attempts to regulate trade and introduce new taxes and laws that even potentially threatened to allow top-down control of the American states and American people were viewed with sheer terror and united American conservatives immediately
The American Revolution was truly exceptional as compared to other worldwide revolutions around the same time. The values and integrity held by the American conservatives differed from other revolutionaries in history. Their freedom was truly under attack from a corrupt liberal government and press, and they were fully determined to overcome this threat. The events of this war for independence and its results bring to light the truth about their pursuit of justice and the honor involved in the conservatives taking up arms against their foes.
Certainly, but did they know that they were exceptional? Or did they consider that their revolution could be a model for other countries? Or did they even care about such things?
And was there a bad side to "American Exceptionalism"? Our neighbors to the south saw the abolition of slavery as part of the movement for national independence, and we didn't.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.