American Republican Ideology

The republican ideology is a facet of the social fabric of the

colonial citizens of America that may, arguably, have had the greatest

affect on the struggle for independence and the formation of a

constitutional form of government in the United States. The birth of

the republican ideology, while impossible to place an exact date on,

or even month, can be traced back more than a decade before the

Revolutionary War. It can also be argued that this social machine

began to function as a result of circumstances which led many colonist

to choose to come to America. The uniformity of this ideology,

however, would change and modify itself as circumstances warranted in

the period between 1760 and 1800.

It is first necessary to understand the exact reasons why the

ancestors of the American revolutionaries chose to live in America, as

opposed to staying in England, where a healthy and prosperous life was

a much greater possibility. America was, in the eyes of its first

English settlers, an open book with no writing on the pages. It was

the foundation of a building that had not yet been built. Many felt

that it was up to them to shape the way this new land would function,

as opposed to the way Parliament or the King felt it should. The

memories of these early pioneering settlers were a common theme for

American revolutionaries before the Revolutionary War. These early

settlers were the creators of the foundation to the building the

revolutionaries would finish.

Another common theme which drove the revolutionary ideology

was the knowledge not only of the monumental significance of the job

to be undertaken, but also the impact a free democracy on a scale as

large as America would have on future generations of Americans who,

certainly, would not take their freedom for granted. The ideology held

by most American revolutionaries 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.

Religion also played an important role in the establishment of

this ideology. God, in the eyes of the earliest revolutionaries, was

on the side of liberty. There was religious justification for actions

undertaken by both England and America. The English stated that

rebellion was a sin, while the Americans stated that the corruption of

England, as well as its intolerance of liberty to the point of

warfare, was also a sin. War, from the religious perspective of the

revolutionary in America before the outbreak of war with England, was

seen as a necessary evil. God could permit war as a means of escaping

tyranny, such as that which England was symbolic of. God was, in the

eyes of the pre Revolutionary War revolutionaries, without question on

the side of liberty and personal freedom.

The suffering of Americans under the tyrannical hand of

English government was much the same as the suffering undertaken by

Jesus at the cross. He suffered for all the sinful people of the

world. He died for our sins. The revolutionaries felt much the same

way about any suffering that may be incurred throughout the war. They

felt that it would be looked back upon as a sacrifice that they made

for the success of future generations of Americans. On an even larger

scale, it would also be looked upon as a sacrifice for liberty and

freedom in all countries around the world who suffered under the

sinful hand of oppression.

The revolutionaries also had their own ideas about

independence as well. To them independence was a necessity. It was

absolutely key to any further advancement towards their ultimate goal

of freedom to enjoy personal liberties. How exactly independence was

physically achieved was not as important as the fact that it had

already, and would always be, achieved in the minds of Americans.

Their thoughts and actions were already that of an independent people

regardless of whether or not England still had legal domain over them.

Independence was a essential aspect of self-preservation which,

according to the revolutionaries, was their objective. Their motive

was not an act of active rebellion against authority as much as it was

one of self-preservation.

As the Revolutionary War continued to wage