American History Prior to the Term Paper

Thus, the latest influxes of immigrants from Europe prior to the war may have been the worst off. The Revolution shifted the social realities for all indentured servants in the colonies, and only less so for Blacks.

Only war could undermine the social structure that enabled the restrictive hierarchies to exist. The war led to forced migrations of people, the disruption of established avenues and systems of trade, and political upheavals (Fogelman 58). Fewer whites would be employed as servants following the war, even though for Blacks in the new America slavery remained a way of life. Indeed, the Revolution meant freedom and justice for some but not all. Fogelman notes that after the war slave imports temporarily increased, at the same time that indentured servitude for whites became less acceptable (61). The irony would become quintessentially American.

Similarly, Zuckerman points out the tremendous impact that the war would have on shaping social norms in the former colonies. Mundane matters like manners characterized the spirit of the Revolution. Prior to the revolutionary era, social stability depended on a strict enforcement of Old World patterns but the budding spirit of independence and freedom emerged prior to the outbreak of war. The breakdown of Old World social hierarchies was possible for many reasons: the fact that immigrants were actively forming new communities with new values; the fact that many immigrants were in fact able, willing, and ready to forge new identities; and the fact that many immigrants successfully broke the chain of servitude before they called themselves "American."

With no long lineages to point to, European immigrants could place themselves anywhere they liked on the social ladder. Pointing out the preposterous pretentiousness of the Old World aristocracy became a New World reality, one that would support grounds for a revolutionary war. Zuckerman's anecdotes do not reflect reality in the colonies for the majority of residents, however.

Not all immigrants were able to extricate themselves from the stratification system, and especially Blacks. The African slaves that had migrated by force for a century prior to the Revolution would only become more integrated into a hierarchical system that prevailed in the South. For African immigrants before the Revolution, egalitarian ideals meant little if nothing because Europeans excluded Blacks from the debate. When historians analyze the role of the Revolution in changing the character and course of American history, the experiences of all individuals and not just white males must be taken into account. Oppression was a way of life for the majority of residents of the colonies regardless of…