The American Revolution evokes a romantic image of hard working patriots fighting against the British for their freedom whilst establishing what it means to be American. The actual revolution was very different, while the Americans fought for freedom against the British, the Americans only wanted to keep their rights as British citizens. Women and slaves joined in on the fight for freedom; however, they were simply looking for the same rights as their white, male counterparts. Essentially, the American Revolution was nothing radical, the revolution was just different groups of Americans fighting for preexisting rights that they each believed that they deserved. The early colonists in America had very onerous lives. They had to build an entire …show more content…
Nash argues that “we cannot capture the life and soul of the Revolution without paying close attention to the wartime experiences and agendas for change that engrossed backcountry farmers, urban craftsmen, deep blue mariners, female camp followers and food rioters”(Nash 123). A commonly overlooked part of the American revolution was the women; Abigail Adams wrote to her husband saying “I desire you would Remember the Ladies, and be more generous and favourable to them than your ancestors. ” (Abigail to John). Abigail Adams wanted to remove the “unlimited power”(Nash 128) that husbands had over their wives. Naturally, Adams also supported the abolition of slavery and after she reported on the Boston slaves trying to gain their freedom “slaves in Bristol and Worcester counties petitioned the local committees of correspondence for assistance ‘in obtaining their freedom’”(Nash 129). In Washington Crossing the Delaware the artist depicts Washington on a boat with a black person, a Native American, and possibly a woman (Leutze). This painting shows what America should be, everyone should be on the same level whether you were a woman, slave, or the future president of the United States. Women and slaves were not fighting for completely new liberties; they were fighting for rights that already existed but were only applicable to a portion of the population. Women and slaves were simply trying to obtain the rights they deserved as human beings and as British