American Revolution's Effects on American Society Essay Example
One of the most significant events in United States history was the American Revolution. However, the significance of the event did not lay in the number of casualties or in Revolutionary wartime strategies. The importance of the Revolution lay in its effects of American Society. This landmark in American history has caused important changes to the government, affected vast and deep social changes, and altered the economic state of the newborn nation in the years of 1775 to 1800. From the American Revolution, the United States came to establish a strong government that functions to this day. The Articles of Confederation, written in 1777, was the first American Constitution. It was ratified in 1781. The Articles established that the Congress was to be the leading agency of government, that there was to be no executive branch, and that the judicial branch was to be left in the hands of the states. The Articles were scratched off in the Philadelphia Convention of 1786, and a brand new constitution was drafted. The "Great Compromise" was established during this conference, which established a bicameral congress. Furthermore, the government was divided into three branches: the executive, legislative, and judicial branch. A system of checks and balances was also implemented to equalize the powers of the government. Along with these establishments, the nation came a republic. In 1788, when Washington presided as the president of the United States, and the constitution was yet to be ratified, James Madison, an influential legislator and a federalist, wrote in "The Federalist" of the necessity of government and the difficulty for its establishment, as all people are naturally corrupt, and yet government is to be established by the people. (Doc. I) For the United States to be able to establish this functioning system of government at this point in history proved to be quite a significant accomplishment, especially since these systems of government are still function to