Revolutionary War Essay PDF

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Essay that answers the question: who contributed more to the Revolutionary War, Thomas Jefferson or George Washington?...

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Credited for the 525 years the United States has stood independent, the Revolutionary War—or more appropriately nicknamed—the American Revolution, was fought between the years of 1775 and 1783. It arose from the rising tensions between the thirteen colonies and Great Britain; from such tensions came several causes of the American Revolution, but the root motivation is the colonial residents’ desire to be free of the grueling crown. Two future—now past—presidents were present during this revolution and took different roles in its occurrence: George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. George Washington served as a soldier during the war and Thomas Jefferson as an avid politician, already fighting for the independence of the states from Britain. At the time, Washington was elected on the principle that it was an honor to have a president that fought for freedom. Today, citizens of the United States uphold that honor and truly believe that George Washington is the founding father that fulfilled the ideals of the war. However, Jefferson’s writing and courageousness to fight against his hierarchy with words is overlooked. His effort and time as president are also under-appreciated because of his number in line. Although he was not first or second, his value system was oriented towards the American people, as was his work to make the country as great as it could be. Thomas Jefferson, because of his determination to write and finish the Declaration of Independence, as well as his expansion of the United States and his continuous fight for and advice to the American people on what he believed was right, better fulfilled the ideals of the American Revolution.

The Declaration of Independence was, in not so many words, Thomas Jefferson’s “claim to fame.” Although he wasn’t everyone’s first choice when it came to being author, he was the beginning and the end of the document that set in stone the words for the U.S to live by as long as it stands. Many ideals of the declaration stand to match up with the ideals of the American Revolution. Along with the ideals of the declaration, Jefferson listed 27 grievances, or wrongdoings, that the British government had committed. This meant that Thomas Jefferson, one, kept up with the American public and two, agreed with their beliefs strongly enough to publish them and send them across seas, demanding respect. One of the ideals of the American Revolution was opposition to taxation. Along with this ideal, grievance number 17 was “for imposing Taxes on us without our Consent” and an ideal of the declaration was for the governed to be able to consent to any imposed power. Jefferson outlined this desire at the beginning of the Declaration of Independence. He declared the rights of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; that to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed…” Jefferson goes on to set the tone for the country as it’s known: if the government becomes destructive, citizens reserve the right to uproot and reconstruct it. The words have not been lost in translation and they will not be. This is an ideal that Thomas Jefferson fought and won for the American people and it has stuck ever since: consent, respect, and power where it is deserved. Citizens have the power to gain knowledge on what laws and actions are being imposed on them, they can act back, and if need be, they will always reserve the right to take back their government. Not only did Jefferson support the ideals of the revolution in his political workings during the revolution, he also supported and expanded on them after. A second ideal of the

Revolutionary War was, very bluntly, anti-catholicism. The Protestant reformation was encouraging people to question the practices of the Catholic church, which spread fast due to new technologies. This is where the beginning of religious freedom started in the U.S; instead of branding it as fear, it branded itself as open to new possibilities, and therefore tolerant of different religions—and so the branching begins. Jefferson took this ideal to heart in his years as a politician. In the year of 1786, he was part of an act for establishing religious freedom in the assembly of Virginia. The act reads, “Well aware that Almighty God hath created the mind free; that all attempts to influence it by temporal punishments or burdens … tend only to beget habits of hypocrisy and meanness, and are a departure from the plan of the Holy Author of our religion,” and goes on to explain that if a higher power wished to impose straight beliefs, the higher power would have placed them in the minds and bodies of all they created, never to be questioned. However, that did not happen. Jefferson didn’t just want to achieve tolerance within his country, he wanted to make it clear why it needed to be, and why it made sense. This act is an example of not only his effort to fulfill the ideals of the revolution, but his care for the American people, as well as his value system and work ethic. Lastly, it is important to note that Jefferson’s ideals were not only displayed publicly to win over the people of his country. He also displayed them in private in letters he never wished anyone but those he sent them to, to see. In a letter to John Jay on 23 August of 1785, Jefferson wrote about the respect he had for American farmers: “Cultivators of the earth are the most valuable citizens. They are the most vigorous, the most independent, the most virtuous, and they are tied to their country, and wedded to its liberty and interests, by the most lasting bonds. As long, therefore, as they can find

employment in this line, I would not convert them into mariners, artisans, or anything else.” His respect for one group of citizens can be generalized to his respect for all citizens because of why he respects them. He mentions that they are involved in the issues of the country, that they are working on it just as he is. Further in his letter, Jefferson presumably replies to something his correspondent mentions about jobs with, “However, we are not free to decide this question of principles of theory only. Our people are decided in the opinion, that is necessary for us to take a share…” Not only in this private letter, does Jefferson commend his citizens, but he defends their rights and upholds his promises to them. In modern society, it may be hard to trust what politicians say on television, let alone what they might say behind closed doors. Thomas Jefferson was a man that truly believed in his causes, though, no matter where he was or who he was talking to. From the beginning of his political career, 1775, to the end, Thomas Jefferson spent the entire time making his beliefs clear and concise for all to hear. Every argument had an explanation with detail and a story; every detail had truth; nothing went without emotion. Thomas Jefferson was what the American Revolution was asking for: respect—which demands the acknowledgment of rights—and fairness, humaneness—which demands connection to the American people, as well as a will to keep listening and fighting. Although Thomas Jefferson was not on a battlefield physically fighting during the Revolutionary War, his words count for something, as do his philosophies and efforts to further the ideals of the American people; to make them greater and stronger. Thomas Jefferson best fulfilled the ideals of the American Revolution.

Works Cited Andrew, Ray. “The Ideals of the Declaration of Independence · 71 Republic.” 71 Republic, 71 Republic, LLC, 13 Feb. 2019, 71republic.com/2017/11/09/the-ideals-of-the-declaration-ofindependence/. Jefferson, Thomas. The Life and Selected Writings of Thomas Jefferson. Edited by Adrienne Koch and William Peden, The Modern Library, 1944. Llewellyn, Jennifer, and Steve Thompson. “American Revolution Ideas.” American Revolution, Alpha History, 2 Feb. 2015, alphahistory.com/americanrevolution/american-revolution-ideas/....