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Revolutionary Era Research Paper

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During the Revolutionary era, the general public, or the working class, used violence to show their displeasure towards the financial wealth the elites had accumulated. Class resentment was as big of an issue during the Revolutionary period as it is today in the modern-era. One of the most notable was the attacks on theaters during the 18th century. Although there was an underlying issue of religion that came into play, there was also the fact that while the population starved, elites were able to frequent “large houses, [with] silver plate, fine furniture and good wine.” [pg 85] Countryman states that, “most disliked the theaters because of the symbolization – glittering ostentation and callous unconcern in time of distress” and when looking at the factors that facilitated the gap between the “haves” and the “have nots,” it should not be surprising that the conflict lead to violence and …show more content…

The inability of the common people to obtain hard coin led to the confiscation of property, lawsuits and imprisonment. [countryman149]. Husbands stated that the poverty deepened due to the lack of money in circulation. Further explaining that the elite had a mentality of superiority and no incentive to help the working class. He phrased it as, “ordinary farmers were a lower class to be ruled” and the elite tried to rule the farmers from financial, to social and economical. [p255] Large farmers cornered the market on tobacco in Virginia creating a dependency from smaller farmers who needed their prestige, name and existing connections for a fair market price for their crop. This allowed larger, elite farmers, to set market prices and pay what they wished. To bridge this gap in fair market values, they [elite farmers] offered consumer credit at high prices. This round-robin of financial manipulations resulted in rebellions and

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