This paper examines the sociological roots of the American Revolution and argues that John Adams was completely right when he said “The revolution was effected in the minds and hearts of the people?”
This essay traces the sociological attitudes of the American colonists throughout the pre-revolutionary period, as well as the American Revolution itself. Included are the reactions to British injustices such as the stamp act, sugar act, and quartering act, as well as more general trends in the thinking of the colonists. The paper also examines the way the colonists used John Locke’s ideas to justify their actions. In addition, it traces how some colonial newspapers looked at the crisis, and the influence they had. This paper is a comprehensive examination of the emotions and attitudes of the colonists that led to and spurred on the American revolution.
The protection of private property was considered imperative by Locke, and he reasoned that tyranny originated from government invading the natural rights of man. Despite the fact that these views were originally established in a time period well before the revolutionary period was at hand, the colonists applied them very effectively to their own situation. A number of Locke’s other beliefs and ideologies were bought into by the colonists. His doctrine of the supreme power of legislature, by which he meant to suggest that the British Parliament would have power over the crown, was used by the colonists to justify the idea of implementing Colonial legislatures that would have powers over the crown.