Explain How Revolutionary was the American Revolution.

The events that led to the
foundation of the United States have variously been described as “the American
Revolution” or “the American War of Independence.” Which do you
think is a more fitting description? Was this a revolution, which
not only overthrew a government but also ushered in revolutionary social,
political, and/or cultural changes? Or was it merely a war of
independence, in which one government replaced another, without disturbing
social relationships and Americans’ everyday lives to any great
extent? Was it a forward-looking attempt to create a new
revolutionary society, or a conservative struggle to take America back to the
way things were before 1763? (Or was it something else altogether?)

There are NO OUTSIDE SOURCES ALLOWED. The entire essay must be written based on material from the class that I will provide. We must include all three sources (video lectures, assigned readings, and The American Yawp book). Please make sure to include support/quotes from all three sources.

I have attached the reading material that must be included and below are the links to the video lectures which also must be included.

Specific instructions:
Answer the following question in a 1000-word essay. Your essay should be based on a nuanced understanding of the topics we have talked about in lectures and discussions as well as the readings. Make sure you offer a strong thesis (or argument), and then support your case with convincing evidence and examples. Essays that do not make use of any of the non-textbook readings will not receive a passing score:
The events that led to the foundation of the United States have variously been described as “the American Revolution” or “the American War of Independence.” Which do you think is a more fitting description? Was this a revolution, which not only overthrew a government but also ushered in revolutionary social, political, and/or cultural changes? Or was it merely a war of independence, in which one government replaced another, without disturbing social relationships and Americans’ everyday lives to any great extent? Was it a forward-looking attempt to create a new revolutionary society, or a conservative struggle to take America back to the way things were before 1763? (Or was it something else altogether?)
As you begin to think about this question, you may want to consider the issues raised by the historian George Allan Billias:
Was the transformation [from English colonies into the United States of America] sweeping enough to justify the term revolutionary? Did the new nation differ that much from the former colonies? Did the laws, institutions and customs of the United States constitute a sharp break with the British heritage? Was American society radically reshaped and restructured as a result of independence? Was there a dramatic shift in the ideas, attitudes, and behavior of most Americans in the relationship between individuals and their government, the society, and with one another? Within the context of our nation’s history, such issues may be reduced to a single question: How revolutionary was our Revolution?
To successfully answer this question, you will need to present at least two major areas in which America either did or did not see revolutionary change (depending on your argument), as well as one area that might support a counterargument (for example, if you argue that it was not a revolution, an area that did nonetheless see significant change). Your essay should successfully support your argument based on your two major supporting examples, and clearly show why they outweigh the counterargument you also examine.

RULES:
Format: your essay should be double-spaced, and typed in a reasonable 12-point font with standard margins (Hint: nothing makes you look more desperate than using a font like Courier New that noticeably stretches the text. If in doubt, use Times New Roman).
Please highlight or underline your thesis sentence in your introduction
This is not a research paper, but a paper designed to evaluate how well you can use material from this class—readings, lectures, and discussions—to present and support a convincing historical argument. Therefore, you may not use sources from outside our class.
All quotes or references to specific reading passages must be properly cited to avoid plagiarizing. If you have any questions about what does and does not constitute plagiarism (some cases of plagiarism are due more to carelessness than an intention to cheat), do not hesitate to ask me.
To cite a source from our class, you need only put the author’s name in parentheses at the end of the sentence that contains the quote or reference. For example: “The authority of parliament was allowed to be valid in all laws, except such as should lay internal taxes” (Franklin). If you are citing the online textbook, please site the name of the book, followed by the chapter and section number. For example, (American Yawp, Chapter 5, Section IV).
You need not cite lecture material.
Since all of your sources will be drawn from this class, you do not need to include a Works Cited page.
The Thesis: A good thesis takes a position on the major issue raised by the prompt, and introduces the argument you are going to try to convince the reader of with the rest of the essay. It also offers the reader a basic understanding of why you are taking the position you do. This means it is not enough to simply take a position on the issue—you also need to offer the reader, in a concise sentence clause, a sense of why you are taking this position.
Use sufficient examples, evidence, and good quotes to support your case, and use them well. A few meaningful, well-placed examples will go a lot further than a bunch of random, unexplained evidence thrown in for its own sake.
The best papers will not simply ignore evidence that challenges their thesis, but will meet this evidence head on, and then show why their own interpretation is more convincing.
Avoid writing in the first person. Statements that begin “I think,” or “I believe,” or even “I argue” sound weak. You should be able to muster enough good evidence to make your points convincingly without watering them down with wishy-washy first-person qualifications. If you cannot support a point with good evidence, or at least offer evidence that suggests your particular interpretation, then perhaps you should simply leave that point out.
Pre-Submission Checklist
If you can answer “yes” to all of these questions, then you have the basis of an adequate paper. What will separate the good and truly great papers from the adequate papers will be the quality of your ideas, the convincingness of your argument and evidence, and the clarity of your writing.
YES/NO Did you thoroughly read the Essay Rules and Essay-Writing Advice included in this assignment before writing your essay, so you know what I expect from you?
YES/NO Does your paper have a clear thesis (i.e., argument) in the introduction that takes a position on the major issue raised by the essay prompt, and did you underline or highlight it? Could someone reasonably argue against your thesis? If not, your thesis is probably too vague or generic to be effective. For example, “The American Revolution was an important event in American history” is not a good thesis, since it is vague and hard to dispute.
YES/NO Does everything you write work to support your thesis, and in doing so, adequately address the major issue raised by the essay prompt?
YES/NO Are you sure you are not just summarizing information about the American Revolution, rather than using good information to support your argument? Remember, you are trying to convince me of your argument, not just show me you know a lot of stuff about the American Revolution.
YES/NO Do you use relevant examples and evidence from the class material to support your major ideas, which in turn support your thesis? Are you sure you are not just inserting evidence for the sake of inserting evidence, rather than making sure it is the best possible evidence to support your argument?
YES/NO Do you use evidence from the readings as well as lecture material?
YES/NO Do you recognize potential counterarguments or evidence that might challenge your thesis? Do you successfully show why your argument is better, based on the solid evidence you use to support it?
YES/NO Have you revisited your introduction and thesis after completing the essay to make sure the essay you wrote still supports your thesis? If it doesn’t, you’ll need to adjust either your evidence or your thesis.
YES/NO Have you double-checked your essay for proper grammar and spelling, and to make sure your ideas come across clearly? If you are not very confident in your writing, have you read your essay out loud to see if your sentences make sense as written?

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