The Impact of the American Revolution.
The American Revolution had a great impact on the lives of people within the new United States. Independence transformed American life throughout the land.
Free householders gained enormous benefits from the democratization of politicts and the chance to colonize the Great West. The people who suffered the most from this change were the Native Americans. They continued to resist the settler expansion.
After Independence, the Anglican Church became vulnerable. Most Anglican clergymen had supported the revolution or had remained neutral. Religious dissenters disestablished the Anglican church in every southern state.
The Revolution freed tens of thousands of slaves. Hundreds of slaves earned their freedom through military services. As equal rights became a popular topic, some slaves and woman began to suggest that all people should be able to claim these rights. Slaves from the 1790s onward whispered of natural rights and imagined themselves as part of the Democratic revolution. African Americans sensed that the bonds of slavery were loosening. During the years from 1780 to 1820,for the first time, thousands of slaves embraced Christianity and began to turn it into a religion of their own.
With the men away fighting, many woman were left with the duties of being in charge of the household. while some women aquired new authority, nearly all of them had to work hard to keep their households running. Although very few women demanded equal political rights during the Revolution, the constitution of 1776 left them the right to vote as long as they headed a household and paid taxes. The right was revoked in 1807.
Especially after the Revolution many young people grew up with the knowledge that their father would be unable to help them in their future. One major sign of independence of young people was the high number of pregnancies outside of marriage.
