A Revolution to
Conserve
By: Austin Selvig & Camiron Schafer
Concepts
- Plainly laid out factors that lead to the Revolution
- a series of factors led to the American Revolution
- The frontier environment- The frontier environment made many English
institutions irrelevant to the needs of colonists and were adapted to suit their
needs, a large example is the adaptation of self-government
- Conflicting interests- The English looked to their colonies as an economical
advantage; the colonies, however, saw imperial policy as stifling of their own
self government
Concepts (cont.)
- Geography- The distance alone diluted English policy and execution as well
as colonial protest
- Immigration- an increasing percent of population that was not loyal to the
British Crown, immigration increased diversity and an influx of ideals and
opinions, further creating a need for more democracy
- Natural rights- the colonists believed that being English citizens granted them
rights which they believe to be jeopardized by the English Government
Importance
The main question answered in the text, what factors causes the desire to
rebel, is very important as it discusses how many of the factors that caused
the revolution shaped the mindset of the American people
The analysis of these factors is important because they have a direct
correlation to the American Revolution and the mindset of the colonists at
that period of history
Format
- Rossiter did not write chronologically, instead he organized his writing by each
factor of his main concept.
-Rossiter introduces the Revolution and discusses the feud between George III
and the colonists. He then asks the question of what led to the desire to
rebel. He follows up by providing responses to this question from John
Adams, Edmund Burke, and Alex de Tocqueville, then, he supports these
three and provides his own responses to the question. He concludes his
writing by recapping his main points.
- The format of the text works very well as it allows emphasis on each topic
individually
Attention Grabbers
● Interesting quotes:
○ About Rossiter’s support of Adams, Burke, and Tocqueville: “My
purpose… is to provide an extended commentary in support of
Adams, Burke, and Tocqueville, not that this glorious threesome
needs support from anyone. I accept with practically no reservations
the notion that the American Revolution was wholly different in
character and purpose from the French, Russian, and almost all other
revolutions, and I ascribe this difference largely to the plain truth that
the Americans had no need and thus no intention to “make the world
over.””
○ Burke’s description of the sharp conflict between colonist and Britain:
“The temper and character which prevail in our colonies are, I am
afraid, unalterable by any human act. We cannot, I fear, falsify the
pedigree of this fierce people, and persuade them that they are not
sprung from a nation in whose veins the blood of freedom circulates.
The language in which you tell them this tale would detect the
imposition; your speech would betray you…”
Attention
Grabbers(continued)
● England felt the only people who needed to emigrate were convicts and
the poor.
○ ~30,000-40,000 convicts were shipped to the colonies from England
during the 18th century.
● America was a melting pot.
○ English: 65-70%
○ Scots and Scotch Irish: 12-15%
○ Germans: 6-9%
○ Irish: 3-5%
○ Dutch: 3%
○ Other: 3-5%
○ Out of total population of 1,850,000 about 400,000 were Negroes and
mulattoes.
● The more trouble America got into, the more appeal it had to outsiders.
○ Population increase from 1,850,000 to 2,500,000 in 1775.
Evaluation of the Author
Background
Graduated from Cornell in 1939 and earned his Ph.D from Princeton
University
Was a member of the U.S. Navy Reserve and rose to the rank of
lieutenant as a gunnery officer on the USS Alabama, served three years
Credentials
taught at Cornell University from 1947 to 1970; he rose from instructor to full
professor in eight years
Served as chair of the Government Department in Cornell from 1956 to
1969
Pitt Professor of American History and institutions from 1960 to 1961
Biases
Biases in the Text
The text leaves very little room for bias within the main points as it is written in
an objective style that merely states factors and their influence, that being
said, Rossiter does display a bias towards emphasising the struggles of
colonists and the tyranny of the English
Conclusion
● Influence on my opinion: Find the topic of the American Revolution more
interesting. Learned that it was more than just a big war that ended with
the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
● Would I recommend it as scholarship? Yes, better than your stereotypical
textbook. From a human’s standpoint, yet with a lot of evidence to support
topics and to provide more in depth information and background so the
reader is able to understand the topics Rossiter discusses.