The Republican Ideology Is A Facet Of The Social Fabric Of The Essays

The republican ideology is a facet of the social fabric of the colonial citizens of America that may, arguably, have had the greatest affect on the struggle for independence and the formation of a constitutional form of government in the United States. The birth of the republican ideology, while impossible to place an exact date on, or even month, can be traced back more than a decade before the Revolutionary War. It can also be argued that this social machine began to function as a result of circumstances which led many colonist to choose to come to America. The uniformity of this ideology, however, would change and modify itself as circumstances warranted in the period between 1760 and 1800. It is first necessary to understand the exact reasons why the ancestors of the American revolutionaries chose to live in America, as opposed to staying in England, where a healthy and prosperous life was a much greater possibility. America was, in the eyes of its first English settlers, an open book with no writing on the pages. It was the foundation of a building that had not yet been built. Many felt that it was up to them to shape the way this new land would function, as opposed to the way Parliament or the King felt it should. The memories of these early pioneering settlers were a common theme for American revolutionaries before the Revolutionary War. These early settlers were the creators of the foundation to the building the revolutionaries would finish. Another common theme which drove the revolutionary ideology was the knowledge not only of the monumental significance of the job to be undertaken, but also the impact a free democracy on a scale as large as America would have on future generations of Americans who, certainly, would not take their freedom for granted. The ideology held by most American revolutionaries was one in which they knew their sacrifices would be acknowledged and appreciated by future generations of Americans. There was also the knowledge that America would serve as an example to God and the rest of the world of what the advantages of a free society could be. Religion also played an important role in the establishment of this ideology. God, in the eyes of the earliest revolutionaries, was on the side of liberty. There was religious justification for actions undertaken by both England and America. The English stated that rebellion was a sin, while the Americans stated that the corruption of England, as well as its intolerance of liberty to the point of warfare, was also a sin. War, from the religious perspective of the revolutionary in America before the outbreak of war with England, was seen as a necessary evil. God could permit war as a means of escaping tyranny, such as that which England was symbolic of. God was, in the eyes of the pre Revolutionary War revolutionaries, without question on the side of liberty and personal freedom. The suffering of Americans under the tyrannical hand of English government was much the same as the suffering undertaken by Jesus at the cross. He suffered for all the sinful people of the world. He died for our sins. The revolutionaries felt much the same way about any suffering that may be incurred throughout the war. They felt that it would be looked back upon as a sacrifice that they made for the success of future generations of Americans. On an even larger scale, it would also be looked upon as a sacrifice for liberty and freedom in all countries around the world who suffered under the sinful hand of oppression. The revolutionaries also had their own ideas about independence as well. To them independence was a necessity. It was absolutely key to any further advancement towards their ultimate goal of freedom to enjoy personal liberties. How exactly independence was physically achieved was not as important as the fact that it had already, and would always be, achieved in the minds of Americans. Their thoughts and actions were already that of an independent people regardless of whether or not England still had legal domain over them. Independence was a essential aspect of self-preservation which, according to the revolutionaries, was their objective. Their motive was not an act of active rebellion against authority as much as it was one of self-preservation. As the Revolutionary War continued to wage on longer than had been expected by many revolutionaries, it became clear that some sacrifices, or modifications of this ideology would have to be made. One of the first clear examples of this can be seen with the formation of the Continental