American Revolution
event · 2 works · 6 mentions · 9 anchored passages
our revolutionary war · the American revolution · the revolution · our revolution · revolutionary war · the revolutionary war
in the texts
Construction Construed and Constitutions Vindicated
The war by which the colonies vindicated their claim to local and internal self-government against parliamentary supremacy, and which enabled the practical demonstration of self-government.
But the natural right of self-government, and the consequent rights of dividing and limiting power, might have slept forever in theory, except for the American revolution;
During, and soon after a war, firmly waged for eight years, to resist a right to legislate for them locally and internally, inferred from parliamentary sovereignty or supremacy, the colonies or states constructed two unions, and established in both a division of power, bearing a strong similitude to that upon which they were willing to have continued their union with England;
It has been remarked, that the opinion of a state right to local and internal regulation, was derived from the principles of our revolution;
The Unconstitutionality of Slavery
The American War of Independence, used as a reference point for dating colonial slave legislation.
In South Carolina, the only statutes, prior to the revolution, that attempted to designate the slaves, was passed in 1740—after slavery had for a long time existed.
In North Carolina no general law at all was passed, prior to the revolution, declaring who might be slaves—(See Iredell’s statutes, revised by Martin.
These were the only general statutes, under which slaves were held in those four States, (Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia,) at the time of the revolution.