Comment on Revolution is going to be the only way, sorry. by sonictitan

Parent Post: Revolution is going to be the only way, sorry.

sonictitan · 12/28/2025, 7:14:51 AM · permalink

The "American Revolution" wasn't just a spontaneous outburst of "liberty," but calculated moves by a specific groups of people with specific interests:

**1.** **The Economic Interest Argument**

Many historians, most notably Charles Beard in %%An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution of the United States%%, argue that the Founders were less interested in abstract "freedom" and more interested in protecting their private property.

**The Ploy**: The wealthy elite (merchants, lawyers, and plantation owners) used revolutionary rhetoric to convince the lower classes to fight a war that ultimately protected the assets of the rich from British taxation and debt collection.

**The Result**: A system designed to prevent "mob rule" (the poor voting to redistribute wealth) through mechanisms like the Electoral College and the original appointment of Senators by state legislatures.

**2\. The Expansionist Argument**

Some argue the Revolution was a move to bypass the Proclamation of 1763, where the British Crown forbade colonial settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains to avoid costly wars with Indigenous tribes.

**The Ploy**: Land speculators (*including* George Washington) saw independence as the only way to seize and sell western lands.

**The Result**: By removing British restrictions, the new U.S. government could facilitate massive westward expansion.

**3\. The Preservation of Slavery**

A more recent and debated perspective (often associated with the 1619 Project) suggests that some Southern founders feared Britain was moving toward the abolition of slavery (following cases like Somerset v Stewart in 1772).

**The Ploy**: Independence was a pre-emptive strike to ensure that the "peculiar institution" of slavery remained under local control rather than being dismantled by a distant Parliament.

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hunter · 12/28/2025, 6:26:12 PM · permalink

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