The Radicalism of the American Revolution

Content Warning: This section of the guide contains references to the US slave system.

Wood describes the British monarchy as a patriarchal government in which all citizens were dependent on the king. Benjamin Franklin described the monarchy as a government for which “the whole community is regulated by the example of the king” (11). Although the American colonists were 3,000 miles from Britain, they still followed closely the traditions of Britain, often building their communities in the same style as the homes they left behind, and like their British contemporaries, they were often unruly and insubordinate, enjoying liberties born from changes in the monarchy that began with the Glorious Revolution of 1688.

Farming was a common occupation in both the American colonies and Britain; the colonists often owned their lands, while their English counterparts were usually tenant farmers. However, both considered themselves freemen, especially compared to the poor of France. Wood observes that the colonists embraced the monarchy more than the Englishmen only because they were so distant from it that they didn’t have a complete understanding of what it was like to be ruled directly by the king. They were in awe of him, as seen in the example of Benjamin Rush, who upon seeing the king’s throne for the first time in London described having a sense of standing on “sacred ground.