Revolution of American Independence
Process Paper
Barbora R, David L, Jayson L, Hannah K
When we found out that the theme was revolution, reaction, and reform, the idea of focusing our project around the Declaration of Independence came to us immediately. The idea of it seemed revolutionary and would be very relevant to the theme. The Declaration symbolizes a turning point in the history of America.
In the beginning, we focused on the revolutionary part of our topic hoping to grasp a better idea of the reaction and reform. While we decided that the actual document of Declaration of Independence wasn’t revolutionary, the fact that colonists were trying to gain independence was. We started to grasp the idea of a reaction and reform. The reaction would be focused primarily on the reaction of Parliament and the Tories. We came to a conclusion that the reform that came as a result of the war was the Treaty of Paris, a meeting between the colonies and Europe, creating a solution for peace, allowing for the colonies to be independent from Britain. Our first question focusing on the revolutionary aspect of the theme was: How were the goals of the Declaration of Independence unusual? This seemed like a good place to start our research so we went online and looked up various sources. We used search engines like Google and library databases like eLibrary. As well as internet sources, we found books in the library that helped us see what events had preceded the idea of declaring independence, to how colonists reacted to Britain’s actions. The books tended to be more insightful, since the main focus of the books were about the Declaration. Along with these source we hope to find a professional in the field that would be willing to interview with us since we know from past experience that they can be extremely helpful. We found a professor at Harvard University, David Armitage, who is an expert in British history. He would be a helpful interviewee to gain more knowledge on how Parliament reacted to the Declaration. We would also like to contact Gordon S. Wood, a history professor at Brown University who wrote numerous books on the Declaration that helped us form our ideas on reaction and reform.
The Declaration is the epitome of revolution, where the ideas of society changed drastically. Colonists declared their right to form their own government, away from their homeland. While this revolution united Americans who supported this idea, it also garnered a very strong reaction from those who believed the Declaration of Independence was an invalid document that had no authority. It was the first time that colonists directly addressed their desire for certain rights. Even though there were many controversial reactions to this new way of thinking, it is inarguable that the Declaration underlines the core of American principles.
Barbora R, David L, Jayson L, Hannah K
When we found out that the theme was revolution, reaction, and reform, the idea of focusing our project around the Declaration of Independence came to us immediately. The idea of it seemed revolutionary and would be very relevant to the theme. The Declaration symbolizes a turning point in the history of America.
In the beginning, we focused on the revolutionary part of our topic hoping to grasp a better idea of the reaction and reform. While we decided that the actual document of Declaration of Independence wasn’t revolutionary, the fact that colonists were trying to gain independence was. We started to grasp the idea of a reaction and reform. The reaction would be focused primarily on the reaction of Parliament and the Tories. We came to a conclusion that the reform that came as a result of the war was the Treaty of Paris, a meeting between the colonies and Europe, creating a solution for peace, allowing for the colonies to be independent from Britain. Our first question focusing on the revolutionary aspect of the theme was: How were the goals of the Declaration of Independence unusual? This seemed like a good place to start our research so we went online and looked up various sources. We used search engines like Google and library databases like eLibrary. As well as internet sources, we found books in the library that helped us see what events had preceded the idea of declaring independence, to how colonists reacted to Britain’s actions. The books tended to be more insightful, since the main focus of the books were about the Declaration. Along with these source we hope to find a professional in the field that would be willing to interview with us since we know from past experience that they can be extremely helpful. We found a professor at Harvard University, David Armitage, who is an expert in British history. He would be a helpful interviewee to gain more knowledge on how Parliament reacted to the Declaration. We would also like to contact Gordon S. Wood, a history professor at Brown University who wrote numerous books on the Declaration that helped us form our ideas on reaction and reform.
The Declaration is the epitome of revolution, where the ideas of society changed drastically. Colonists declared their right to form their own government, away from their homeland. While this revolution united Americans who supported this idea, it also garnered a very strong reaction from those who believed the Declaration of Independence was an invalid document that had no authority. It was the first time that colonists directly addressed their desire for certain rights. Even though there were many controversial reactions to this new way of thinking, it is inarguable that the Declaration underlines the core of American principles.
