Theoretical Interpretation Of The American Revolution
A summary of the theories of revolution points to the conclusion that the American Revolution was a real revolution. The fact that scholars discuss it as part of a more general overview of revolutions is proof that they consider it to be a Revolution. Many people (both the educated and the uneducated) unquestioningly accept the fact that the American Revolution was a revolution. This paper has shown that these claims and the original assumption proved to be correct. The theories dealing with revolutions as the phenomenon helped prove that these assumptions are legitimate. A explanation of a revolution could be a complex one like Crane Brinton's, which traces a revolution through several stages, as well as entailing details of the pre- and post-revolutionary society. A definition could be as simple as Gottschalk's, which states that a revolution need not "be more than ...a popular movement whereby a significant change in the structure of a nation or society is effected'" (Paynton and Blackey, 27). Some analysts may not see the American Revolution as a revolution because it does not fit their narrow model. Theda Skocpol's discussion centers around social revolutions, like the one that occurred in Russia, and thus has no place for the American experience. For sociologist Seymour Martin Lipset, the main aspect of the American Revolution that made it revolutionary is the ideas, values, and the beliefs that appeared after the event. These were revolutionary in their context alone, and were integrated into the American way of life. For many scholars the main aspect of a revolution is social change (27), an element that was obviously present in America in 1776 and later in 1783. The American Revolution was a true revolution.
