To what extent were political, economic, and social development between the Revolutionary War and the ratification of the Constitution, a reflection of the colonists’ dreams for independence. During the settling of the New World, the European colonists underwent many situations that caused the desire for Independence to arise. From that point forward the colonists cultivated ideas regarding their dreams and how they were going to achieve their dream. After the Revolutionary War, the colonists were ready for the better life that they hoped for, but they were sadly mistaken.
Instead the colonists, who were now Americans, were faced with creating their own political system/ government, establishing peace within the nation, and regaining their economic standing as a nation and not as Individual states. These tasks, which seem simple to an outsider, caused the Americans much distress and dampened their hopes and dreams of a better and more stable life. The main contributor to their dilemma was the, newly developed, Articles of Confederation, which had numerous flaws that made the colonists’ dreams begin to dim.
The political, economic, and social placement between the ending of the Revolutionary War and the ratification of the Constitution was not an accurate reflection of the colonists’ dreams for Independence, The colonists hoped that after the Revolutionary War and their separation from England, creating a functioning government would be smooth sailing. However, the creation of the Articles of Confederation made that extremely hard. The Articles of Confederation contained several flaws that became apparent as America tried to develop. For one, the Articles did not give the national government the power to tax or regulate trade.
In addition, the government was unable to levy/ charge taxes during wartime. As a result, the government tried to finance wars by printing more money, which naturally led to inflation. Moreover, under the Articles of Confederation the government was unable to impose tariffs on goods. This article left the nation powerless when the British denied the colonies access to West Indian markets. Many Americans felt that the Articles of Confederation were more concerned with preventing the government from gaining too much power, Like the past English government, that the new government ended up with not enough power to function properly.
Besides having problems creating a functioning government, there were social problems that also needed to be rectified. After the Revolution, many citizens and non-colleens, specifically women and slaves believed that they should be treated as like many others, made many sacrifices during the war that entitled them to being treated like a white male citizen (a regular citizen). However, the slaves’ personal dreams were never met, mainly because they were faced with tremendous amounts of racism and hatred. Whereas the women, with the help of Abigail and John Adams, had a fighting chance to gain rights in the new government.
Even though the colonists’ dream of a beautiful life was stifled by their inability to create a functioning government, The Articles of Confederation, in some ways helped the dream stay alive. In 1787, the Northwest Ordinance was added to the Articles. The Northwest Ordinance, for one, abolished slavery in the Northwest Territories. It also guaranteed citizens the right to a trial by Jury, and the freedom from excessive punishment. The Northwest Ordinance also gave citizens the freedom of religion, which was one of the major problems in England before the development of the New World.
The ratification of the Constitution was open only with both arms ajar and not fully open. However, the colonists were pleased to see the positive progress. Yes, the constitution did have problems and conflicting interpretations, but the colonists’ dreams were finally coming forward and into the light. Although the political, economic, and social developments between the ending of the Revolutionary War and the ratification of the Constitution, were not an accurate reflection of the colonists’ dreams for independence, the era to come slowly but surely began to fully reflect their dreams and aspirations.
