America was founded through open acts of rebellion by all different sorts of rebels. Is rebellion necessary?
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America was founded through open acts of rebellion by all different sorts of rebels.
Is rebellion necessary?
Throughout American nation has fought against oppression to gain freedom and independence. The one of the major forms of this struggle was rebellion. Taking into account historical development of American nation, causes and effects of rebellions it is evident that rebellion was a very effective way of open acts used by slaves and insurgents. The main purpose of the paper is to examine the role of rebellion in American history.
In general, the aim of rebellion was to fight for freedom, equal rights and antislavery legislation. On the one hand, it helped to attract attention of masses to social problems such as injustice and oppression. For instance, Frederick Douglas depicts the “rebellion” of a person who strives for better days. Douglas described his experience as: “We were all in open rebellion, that morning. Caroline answered the command of her master to "take hold of me," precisely as Bill had answered, but in her it was at greater peril so to answer” (Chpater 17).
Rebellion was necessary because it led to revolution (in some cases). Rebellion could be seen as a “training” of soldiers before serious and key actions. For instance, the slave rebellions in 1781 and 1830s prepared a firm ground for the Revolution. Rebellion was necessary because it demonstrated the act of human spirit and unity. Rebellion forced the government and insurgents to realize the consequences that took place if political changes havd not been made.
Rebellion was necessary because it showed a struggle for individual freedom which means much more than the absence of physical coercion. Every rebellion had a short term and long term goals which helped mutineers to reach their target. For instance, the rebellion depicted by Harriet Beecher Stowe in Uncle Tom's Cabin had two objectives. On the one hand, slaves Tom, George, Eliza and Harry wanted to save their life and became free. On the other hand, this rebellion was a general movement of slaves who opposed oppression and tyranny. For instance, when Tom talks to Eva he expresses his vision of slavery and masters:
“They are robed in spotless white,
And conquering palms they bear." (Chapter 22).
In this situation, the obligation of people to rebel coincided with their strategy to survive as a unity, on the one hand, and with that of defending its national identity on the other. Rebellion could not be explained through a private (personal) interest of people taking part in a battle because a soldier or a general means nothing as a subject, but becomes simply a tool of the battlefield.
A wave of rebellions in the nineteenth century helped American people to neutralize their enemy (the government) in order to protect their safety. Rebellions should be considered as a rational choice which included its aims, alternatives, consequences and choice. If American nation had taken such an action, it was based on the purposes to overcome oppression and created a set of new values and tasks.
It should be mentioned that alternative types of actions were possible, but without careful and strategic planning such actions would lead to numerous scarifies. Rebellions were necessary because they were concerned with the rule of national identity. They showed that something “wrong” with the society and demonstrated the necessity for improvements.
Desire of a nation to struggle as such did nothing, because only active operations led to rebellion. It was people who made claims or felt marginalized, and people who often disagreed, some¬times quite fundamentally, about how their identity should be interpreted or understood. For instance, in 1781 the rebellious states created a loose union under the Articles of Confederation, and at the end of the war in 1783, Britain recognized its former colonies as an independent nation.
Rebellion waas necessary because it drove the national idea and the knowledge not only of the monumental significance of the actions to be undertaken, but also the impact of a free democracy. For instance, Master Hugh in “My Bondage and My Freedom” says that: “knowledge unfits a child to be a slave." I [Douglas] instinctively assented to the proposition; and from that moment I understood the direct pathway from slavery to freedom” (Douglas, Chapter 10). Rebellions could be seen as a school for those who did not know the rules of strategic tactics and planning. Like uneducated people, most rioters studied how “to read and write” the tactics of fight and struggle.
In the movie “Amistad”, Stephen Spielberg portrays a slave revolt of 1839 on the ship in the Caribbean and the trials to revolt on U.S. soil. This movie shows that people were
locked by whites who controlled them and suppressed. For this ship, rebellion was the only possible way to free themselves and their comrades. Rebellion was a kind of an obligation to fight and to protect their dignity and self-esteem.
For rioters, rebellion meant absence of restrictions and compulsions, and in correlation with the idea of will, it is the opportunity to act as would be desirable. On the other hand, the idea which would be likely to the American society was that the freedom was not an honor or award except in the case of honorary freedom. As Douglas says “Coming generations in this country will applaud the spirit of this much abused republican friend of freedom” (Douglas, Chapter 24). Rebellion was necessary because it opened freedom to all who were genuinely interested and met the criteria of a rioter. That was main principle on which rebellions were based in the United States.
Also, rebellion gave rise to a new national ideology held by most American revolutionaries. It was one in which they knew their sacrifices would be acknowledged and appreciated by future generations of Americans. There was also the knowledge that America would serve as an example to God and the rest of the world of what the advantages of a free society could be.
To many revolutionaries who had their own ideas about united nation rebellion was a necessity. It showed their strength and weaknesses, and it was absolutely a key to any further advancement towards their ultimate goal of freedom to enjoy personal liberties. Store writes: “since the legislative act of 1850, with perfect surprise and consternation, Christian and humane people actually recommending the remanding escaped fugitives into slavery, as a duty binding on good citizens” (Stowe, Chapter 35). The movie “Amistad” vividly portrays the necessity of rebellion of former slave Theodore Joadson who viewed the rioters as "freedom fighters" and called Africans "stolen goods" as they were kidnapped (Amistad, 1997).
It is possible to say that a revolution had result, positive or negative while rebellions were a part of revolutionary process, they represented continuous actions. On the other hand, rebellions did not always lead to a revolution. If the government compromised, there was no necessity to continue struggle which could lead to numerous death-roll.
Racial differences and oppression undoubtedly motivated people to acts of extreme violence against those whom they classify as “others.” Racial confrontations acting as an original cause of rebellion forced Americans to struggle. In many cases, fight for freedom and equal rights made use of racial differences. In this case, a necessity to rebel served as a causal explanation of it. Rebellion was a relational choice which allowed to start fighting and attract masses of people to rebel. It served like a signal for those who wanted to be free.
It is possible to conclude that rebellions in American history were a very important step towards freedom and independence. Rebellions prepared a ground for revolutions and became a single for unified popular uprising.
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