T H E A M E R I C A N R E V O L U T I O N " G I V E
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H O P E L E S S D R E A M M A R C H 5 T H , 1 7 7 0
Last night, the night of March 5th, blood flowed out of the limp body of the five men and splattered onto the floor. Moonlight shone on their mangled lips and their distorted figures were caked in dry blood. The congealed brown blood once drizzled down their faces like rain down a window pane. Noah, my younger brother, was one of the men that laid in that river of blood – and he has never got up again. I can't just resign to my doom, actions must be taken. I must do something for Noah. Last night's massacrewas just a breaking point of the tension that has built up long ago… Our celebration after the British army won the French and Indian Warin 1763 now seem ironic. At that time, we all thought the triumph signified a bright future – but it turns out to bring us in a harsher condition than before. To fulfill Britain's financial shortage from troops and weapons impaired in the war, the callous parliamentforced a tax on all sugar for us in 1764.I remember how my my father complained about not being able to afford rum and how mother grumbled about the increasing price of molasses. Nobody wanted to pay any tax to Great Britain. For this reason, we boycotted and protested against it. As a result, the inhumane Sugar Actwas repealeda year later; however, good times didn't last long. Later that year, because of the Sugar Act's failure, the parliament tried to impose tax on all paper document and named it Stamp Act. How greedy and intolerable! Fortunately, we were able to convince – using tar and feather– the tax collector into resigning. Consequently, this act was repealed a year later as well.
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Afterward, King George IIIand his parliament are ignorant enough to not learn from their past mistakes. Without warning, they imposed a high tax on us again from 1767-1768. We are like caged animals with no freedom and rights. Again, nobody bought any British goods due to the tax. As a result, the Townshend Taxwas repealed in March 1770. Meanwhile, in October 1768, King George III decides to send more red coats to suppress us.I have heard rumors that fights broke out, the customs agents were beaten up and that those red coats were paid poorly.I wonder why they are still working for the belligerent British.
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The British are killing innocents. Feet stomping, we suppressed the anger that was boiling inside and tried to rebel peacefully against the discriminating rules. Eyes unconcentrated, the careless red coats pulled down the trigger. Those blood thirsty devils should really *get off their high horses. In addition, the parliament is imposing a tax on us without our consent. I have had enough! Even though my parents aren’t happy about the additional tax and had boycotted taxed goods as well, they had always told me to put safety above everything and are very sensitive to the topic of revolution; however, I couldn't help but think about how life will be like if we were independent and free. Should I tell them about those thoughts…
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* A T T H E D R O P O F A H A T = I N S T A N T L Y * T O O K D E A D A I M S = S E T Y O U R S I G H T S T O K I L L Y O U R T A R G E T S
A P O S S I B I L I T Y S E P T E M B E R 1 9 T H , 1 7 7 7 Years ago, I used to think that equality and liberty are only dreams that are far away; however, I still kept hope. It wasn't until our respected general quoted "that all men are created equal, that they are endowed, by their Creator, with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness" in the Declaration of Independencethat ignited my little flame of hope and turned it into a flaming blaze of fire.I am willing to sacrifice anything for liberty, even risk my own life. I left my parents because of our different beliefs. After Noah's death, the patriot army was already starting to form and I wanted to be enlisted. I tried to convince my parents but ending up in a great argument. They believe the risk is too high and the chance of winning is too low. I figured that I had to become independent myself if I wanted an independent country – and I had to do something for Noah. Therefore, I ran away at midnight. For now, the decision seems to be right. Recently, our army defeated the redcoatsat the battle of Saratogaand I have heard rumors saying that France decided to form an alliance with us *at the drop of a hat. I can already see our bright future! So much has happened after I enlisted in the patriot’s army in 1774. Let me start from the beginning… The battle of Lexington and Concordin April 1775 was the first battle of the revolution, also the first battle that I have fought. I remember… with each bullet fired my hands shook violently. On bad nights I still hear screaming, see the blood, smell the gun powder; however, this is who I choose to be and this is the life I choose. I am a soldier and this is war; you fight and win or you die. We fought with our lives on the line and *took dead aims. As a result, we defeated the battered lobsterbacksand General Gage led us to America's first victory!I wonder if mother and father are proud when they heard the news…
A month later, however, the red coats defeated us at the battle of the Bunker Hill; luckily, they had suffered more from this battle: they had nearly 1000 casualties and we lost 400 of our compatriots. Another month passed by, the Continental Congress wanted to establish peace with Britain and sent out the Olive Branch Petition. The dictator didn't even read itand had no respect for us at all. This determined my thought of staying in the army and fight until we gain independence. I can't believe we even tried to communicate with this tyrant. On January 10th, 1776, Common Sense, a pamphlet written by Thomas Paine, was published. To me, the pamphlet is unputdownable and I believe many others felt the same. It stirred up our passion and united us again. July 4th, 1776, is the most important and memorable day of my life. The final draft of the Declaration of Independence was adopted.The words are what keeps me alive and I feel deeply connected to them. It perfectly explained to the foreign nations why we had chosen to separate themselves from that tormenter G E N E R A L oversea. The other nations will understand the condition we are in and possibly W A S H I N G T O N ! provide aid. I have heard the generals discuss how our respected general Washingtonand his 5400 tactical troops overwhelmed the German forces after crossing the Delaware Riveron Christmas, 1776; they retrieved Trenton again.Victory and independence seem to be close at hand! Now, the French have come to aid us due to our victory at Saratoga. I am thrilled and proud to see that we are finally being recognized throughout the world. We will win this!
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T H E R E A L I T Y S E P T E M B E R 3 R D , 1 7 8 3
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Hands shaking, a surge of adrenaline spun through me when I heard the news this morning. We have finally gained liberty, finally earned respect! For me, there is nothing but an impish glee. I am still as blissful as when I first heard the news and I cannot describe how ecstatic I feel in words. The Treaty of Paris, signed just last week in September 3rd, 1783, have formally recognized the defeat of the vulnerable British and our independence.So much has happened in the past six years, I can’t help but ponder… What led to all of this? First, we had seven months of hard training, from December 1777 to June 1778, at Valley Forge. There was rampant disease, notoriously cold weather, and semi-starvation.I remember having a argument with one of the soldiers who wanted to desertthe troop and invited me to join him. He said he couldn't withstand the cold and the living condition is killing him. I argued back and told him to stay loyal to the army; however, I didn't report him and he fled at last. He isn’t the first that has deserted. I was hopeless about the future and war at that time. Luckily, most soldiers were like me. As a result, all the hard work paid off and we were able to grow stronger after surviving through the training and it has turned us into an even more unified force! Later, on March 1, 1781, the Articles of Confederation, the first written Constitution of the United State, was finally ratified.Under this article, states stayed independent and Congress serving as the last resort on the appeal of disputes;however, I highly doubt that the central government will have the ability to levy the taxes and regulate commerce as the states have become overly independent. The constitution is certainly imperfect, but we will see how it turns out after putting it under action later when we gained independence. After all, it’s our first trial at this and I believe it’s a pretty good start.
In the same year, in October 1781, we began our final attack, the battle of York Town. I remembered that we captured two British forces and this led to the surrender of British General Cornwallis and 9000 troops two days later.I felt the determination of my enemies and I was shot in the leg during the battle. The wound took a month to heal and I had to *bite on a bullet when I was getting healed. After the war, we put *feathers in our cap. Our respected General Washington and his troops, alongside with forces under the French Court de Rochambeau, placed Yorktownunder siege.We had a smart tactic, the French fleet blocked the entrance to the Chesapeake Bay and we began our bombardment in the frontline. As a result, we won! Later, the scared British began peace negotiations with us. Finally, all of this led to the Treaty of Paris signed last week. The British ceded most of its territory east of the Mississippi River to us, doubling the size of the new nation and paving the way for westward expansion. The victory of the revolution used to only be a dream - but it turns out to be the reality. Fortunately, my parents have survived through the revolution and has been working as farmers. I believe the argument that we had seven years ago resolves itself with the independence. Now thinking back, we would never have been forced to pay so much taxes, never have to suffer cruel condition at Valley Forge, most importantly, Noah would have never died in Boston on that snowy night if we were living in a country like this from the beginning – but we can prevent those unfairness from now on. T H E * P U T F E A T H E R S I N Y O U R B A T T L E O F C A P = I T W A S O N C E A Y O R K C O M M O N P R A C T I C E T O T O W N A W A R D A F E A T H E R T O A S O L D I E R W H O H A D K I L L E D S E P T E M B E R A N E N E M Y . * B I T E O N A B U L L E T = T H E O C T O B E R P R A C T I C E O F C H E W I N G O N 1 7 8 1 A B U L L E T W H E N B E I N G D O C T O R E D W H E N N O P A I N K I L L E R W A S A V A I L A B L E .
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“Task 8 - Common Sense - The American Revolution.” Google Sites, sites.google.com/site/stanfordtheamericanrevolution/content/task-8---common-sense. “Puerto Rico and The Treaty of Paris.” Puerto Rico 51st, 12 Jan. 2016, www.pr51st.com/puerto-rico-and-the-treaty-of-paris/. “George Washington.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 9 Mar. 2019, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Washington. “American Revolution.” Ducksters Educational Site, Technological Solutions, Inc., www.ducksters.com/history/american_revolution/life_as_a_revolutionary_war_soldier.php. “Siege of Yorktown.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 25 Feb. 2019, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Yorktown. Editors, History.com. “Boston Massacre.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 27 Oct. 2009, www.history.com/topics/americanrevolution/boston-massacre. Klein, Christopher. “The Stamp Act Riots.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 14 Aug. 2015, www.history.com/news/the-stamp-actriots-250-years-ago. “Stamp Act (1765).” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 21 Feb. 2019, it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stamp_Act_(1765).