The American War of Independence is between the American colonies and Great Britain. The revolution’s success eventually depended on the willingness of Americans to risk their lives and economic well-being in the name of patriotism. The revolution was a conservative attempt to preserve freedoms that seemed to be threatened by British politics. However, the war was accompanied by social and intellectual transformations that radically changed the nature of American politics and brought ordinary people into politics to an unprecedented degree. It was the main reason why the Patriots were willing to risk their lives for the sake of independence and change.
Firstly, the Patriots wanted the American colonies to gain independence from Great Britain as they wanted their own independent country. People in America felt they were being treated unfairly by the British (DiPucchio, 2020). They were taxed without voting or being represented by the British government. Soon, the first battles for freedom were heard throughout the colonies. The Patriots wanted freedom from British rule and fought for it.
Secondly, the American fighters for independence were more willing to sacrifice their lives because they wanted to defend universal ideals. Indeed, American intellectuals were greatly influenced by the ideas of John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, who promoted the natural rights and freedoms of every man (The Library of Congress, n.d.). However, with its rigid class system and the unrestrained power of the monarchy, the British Empire was far from the new values that more and more Americans held.
Finally, the new generations of immigrants were forming a new identity that differed from those that their fathers had. They started associating themselves less with English, German, or Dutch and more with Americans (Hanson & O’Dwyer, 2019). Thus, the gap between people in England and its American colonies became wider, and the former was viewed as the conquerors by the latter. Therefore, the patriots were willing to risk their lives to ensure freedom from the oppressors.
Overall, it is argued that there are at least three reasons that made the patriots willing to sacrifice their lives in the war against the British Empire. Among them, the unfair treatment that Americans experienced as they were heavily taxed and could not influence the political situation is found to be one of the strongest ones. Additionally, the spread of modern ideas and a new identity formation in the colonies further increased this dissatisfaction.
Reference
DiPucchio, N. G. (2020). Conquest for commerce: American policymakers, Bermuda, and the war for Independence, 1775–83. Early American Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 18(1), 61–89. Web.
Hanson, K., & O’Dwyer, E. (2019). Patriotism and nationalism, left and right: AQ‐methodology study of American national identity. Political Psychology, 40(4), 777-795.
The Library of Congress. (n.d.). Creating the United States: Revolution of the mind. Web.