The political revolution in the late eighteenth century that resulted in the Articles of Confederation also caused a social revolution. Riots and social conflict marked the Revolutionary era in America. The Revolution brought the concept of equality into mainstream American thought. Many colonists seized the opportunity to introduce social reform as they created their state constitutions.

The spirit of equality was represented in many ways. Property qualifications for voting were lowered, admitting the overwhelming majority of white males. However, governmental officeholders often had to meet a higher landholding requirement. In Pennsylvania, Virginia, and North Carolina seats in the state legislature were reapportioned so the backcountry western districts were given fair representation.

Social democracy was stimulated by the formation of trade organizations for commoners, like artisans and laborers. Inheritance laws were abolished, including primogeniture, which awarded all of a father’s property to the eldest son, and entail, which gave the property owner the right to prevent his heirs from ever disposing of the land.

As approximately 80,000 Tories, or British Loyalists, departed from America they left behind many large estates that were confiscated by the state legislatures. The land was then broken up and sold as small farms or passed out as compensation to war veterans.

During this time of social revolution, steps were taken toward greater religious freedom and the separation of church and state. The Anglican Church was disestablished because of its association with the British crown, and it re-formed as the Protestant Episcopal Church.

As religious freedom expanded, new faiths emerged and some of the first national church bodies were formed. The Methodists came together in a general conference in 1784. The newly formed Episcopal Church gathered in 1789 to unite the various dioceses. The Presbyterians also held their first national assembly in 1789. In 1790 the Catholic Church placed its first bishop in America.

All but Virginia had removed tax support for the church before the end of the Revolution. Finally, in 1786 the Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom, written by Thomas Jefferson, enforced the separation of church and state in Virginia. The statute stated that “no man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or ministry…nor shall otherwise suffer on account of his religious opinions or belief…but that all men shall be free to profess, and by argument to maintain, their opinions in matters of religion.”

The principles of liberty and equality had clear implications for slavery. The Revolutionary War opened paths to freedom for some slaves. Lord Dunmore, Virginia’s governor, promised freedom to any slave who fought on the British side. Far more blacks joined the British army than the American army. After the war, many of these former slaves ended up in the British colonies in the West Indies, while some were evacuated to Canada and liberated.

In response to Lord Dunmore’s promise, General Washington and Congress reversed the policy of excluding blacks from American forces in 1775. About 5,000 blacks served in the Patriot army and navy, but most of these were free men from the northern states. There were black soldiers in every major battle from Lexington to Yorktown, and the slaves who fought for American independence won their freedom.

In 1774, the Continental Congress called for complete abolition of the slave trade, and many of the states responded positively. Beginning with Pennsylvania in 1780, the northern states all abolished slavery outright or provided for the gradual emancipation of blacks. In most of these states slaves born after a certain date were to be freed once they reached a stated age, generally 18 or 21 years old.

In contrast, no states south of Pennsylvania abolished slavery. Many of the southern states did go as far as relaxing manumission laws, which removed restrictions on the right of individual owners to free their slaves. Because of these laws, between 1782 and 1790 individual Virginian slave owners freed as many as 10,000 slaves.

During that period many slaves ran away, especially those in the upper south. The runaways would take refuge in the growing number of African-American communities in the north. Due to the emancipation laws in the north, there were several free black neighborhoods in which the runaways could begin new lives. Still runaways and freed blacks often had to contend with harsh discrimination. In many areas they could not purchase property or hold certain jobs, and they were not allowed to educate their children.

While many opponents of slavery continued to hope that the institution would soon disappear, it was only expunged from areas where it was not economically important. Ironically, with the dawn of a new age of equality, the complete abolition of slavery was still not possible. Though most of America’s Founding Fathers wanted to abolish slavery, their idealism was forfeited for political unity. A fight over slavery would have taken too long to resolve and would have divided the fragile national unity that was desperately needed to establish the republic.

As Americans continued to consider the rights of the individual, subtle changes to the legal rights of women transpired. In the eighteenth century women had remained confined to the domestic sphere. They could not vote, preach, hold office, or obtain a divorce. In many colonies they had no legal rights over their children and could not legally own personal property.

Wartime experiences gave women a new sense of independence and responsibility. During the Revolution, women were forced to take on many roles that were previously considered masculine. Women plowed fields, managed shops and businesses, and supported the armies by handling supplies, serving as couriers, and performing more traditional roles like cooking and nursing. Women even occasionally took their husband’s places in the line when they could no longer fight.

In 1776, Abigail Adams, an independent woman of the time advised her husband, John Adams, “In the new Code of Laws which I suppose it will be necessary for you to make, I desire you would remember the Ladies…Do not put such unlimited power into the hands of the Husbands.” She felt that men were “naturally tyrannical” and told her husband that if they did not remember the ladies, the women would “foment a Rebellion” of their own. John Adams treated her remarks as a joke and responded that the men knew better than to repeal their masculine systems.

The legal status of women improved marginally as a result of the Revolution. In some northern states divorces were easier to obtain. The most significant change for women was expanded educational opportunity, which was brought about by the egalitarian rhetoric of the Revolution. Some reformers argued that only educated and independent mothers could raise children fit for republican citizenship. Many felt that mothers were given the responsibility to cultivate habits of virtuous citizenry in their children and that once educated, they could better cultivate in their families the virtues demanded by American society. The idea of female education caught on and female literacy gradually rose.

Still, the Revolution did not change the basic circumstances for women and most continued to do what was considered traditional women’s work. Women gained no permanent political rights, and married women still lost control of any property they owned to their husbands.

The Revolution permanently changed the tone of American society. In the middle of the eighteenth century the colonists began to think of themselves as a separate society, distinct from Britain and greater Europe. The Revolution led to the growth of American nationalism and the beginning of a national tradition.

The break from Britain fueled the national desire to create an American culture. In the early eighteenth century, Americans witnessed a sudden flourishing of the arts and education. The Revolution provided inspirational and patriotic subjects for artists to capture. The American Academy of Arts and Sciences was founded at Boston during the Revolution. The artist John Trumbull fought in several of the Revolutionary battles and produced such patriotic works as The Battle of Bunker Hill, The Declaration of Independence, and The Surrender of Lord Cornwallis.

The influence of Revolutionary nationalism on American education was reflected in the success of textbooks written by authors such as Noah Webster, later famous for his dictionary. In 1787 the first American history textbook was created.

Postwar nationalism also had a sustained effect on education. Before the Revolution, there were nine colleges in the colonies. In the 1780s eight more were added, and in the 1790s six more opened their doors. Several of these new colleges were state universities that had been provided for in the state constitutions. For example, Georgia chartered its University in 1785 and the University of North Carolina was chartered in 1789 and opened in 1795. Public education became increasingly important to the colonists as they attempted to achieve universal private and civic virtue.

As the Revolution drew to a close, Americans were increasingly aware of their common interests and proud of their common heritage. The growth of American nationalism was critical to the new nation’s survival.

Copyright 2006 The Regents of the University of California and Monterey Institute for Technology and Education