The Patriot Files Forums  

Go Back   The Patriot Files Forums > Conflict posts > Revolutionary War

Post New Thread  Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old 08-10-2003, 07:58 AM
BLUEHAWK's Avatar
BLUEHAWK BLUEHAWK is offline
Senior Member
 

Join Date: May 2002
Location: Ozarks
Posts: 4,638
Send a message via Yahoo to BLUEHAWK
Distinctions
Contributor 
Lightbulb Revolutionary War: Cause?

A humble ignoramus with a lot of opinions asks the following questions of those far more knowledgeable about america's first war than he will ever be:

I read several books about how our Constitution was written and why, and that work included a lot of information about the Revolutionary war.

Premises:
In several passages and different books it seemed to be said that possibly THE major impetus for post-war politicians needing to address the governance of 13 former colonies was that the Articles of Confederation did not allow for a national money, or banking system, with which to pay vets their long overdue wages. The vets made such a stink about this, rightfully so, that eventually colonial leaders were sent to Philadelphia with specific instructions to work on the Articles and pay the vets, among other things, before there was an outright armed rebellion.

Instead of rewriting or amending the Articles, those in attendance TOOK it upon themselves to create an entirely new document (some authors contend that they did this in secret) instead. What they presented was what we now call The Constitution. The new document was not submitted to the electorate, but was presented eventually after huge amounts of debate (e.g. The "Federalist Papers") as a fait accompli; a national bank was soon founded, the vets gradually got paid, and no further use was made of the Articles of Confederation. The 10th amendment, vis "States Rights", was inserted in the Constitution more or less in an attempt to include local sovereignty in what had become a Federalist government essentially overnight.

Having left a bad taste in the mouths of those who ardently preferred the Articles of Confederation, the Constitution's provisions (or absence thereof, some would say) led to our own War of Rebellion (aka "Civil War") less than a hundred years later.

Questions:
1) To what extent, if at all, are any or all of the above conclusions accurate?

2) To what extent can it be truthfully stated that?:
a) any government's greatest vulnerability, rarely articulated, is in how it does or does not treat its veterans?
b) the role played by Revolutionary war vets in producing the Republican democracy we know today was pivotal, economically and politically.
sendpm.gif Reply With Quote
Sponsored Links
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Revolutionary War Atrocities? 82Rigger Revolutionary War 8 09-01-2006 11:12 AM
Work Begins to Preserve Revolutionary War Papers 82Rigger Revolutionary War 12 08-28-2005 01:36 PM
A DARK HORSE: Revolutionary Rifle Ball Stock urbsdad6 Military Weapons 0 06-23-2005 05:38 AM

All times are GMT -7. The time now is 02:42 AM.


Powered by vBulletin, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.