Section+1+Under+what+conditions+are+people+justified+in+revolting+against+their+government?+PDJ

= Section 1: Under What Conditions Are People Justified in Revolting Against Their Government? =

The Common Sense by Thomas Paine states that...


"Society is produced by our wants, and __government by wickedness__; the former promotes our happiness POSITIVELY by uniting our affections, the latter __NEGATIVELY by restraining our vices__. The one encourages intercourse, the other __creates distinctions__. The first is a patron, the last __a punisher__."

"This necessity, like a gravitating power, would soon form our newly arrived emigrants into society, the reciprocal blessing of which, would supersede, and __render the obligations of law and government unnecessary while they remained perfectly just to each other__; but as nothing but heaven is impregnable to vice, it will unavoidably happen, that in proportion as they surmount the first difficulties of emigration, which bound them together in a common cause, they will begin to relax in their duty and attachment to each other; and this __remissness, will point out the necessity, of establishing some form of government to **supply the defect of moral virtue**__."

Thomas Paine points out a situation in which a government becomes necessary; in fact, he's making a reference to what actually happened in America, and what such government spawned from necessity should do.

Also, Paine makes a direct comparison between society and government - this comparison shows, or rather emphasizes the role of the government, which is represented as unfavorable. According to the second excerpt listed above, Paine also states a hypothetical situation in which the 'punisher' (the government) is not necessary - an environment where people in the society remains __perfectly__ just to each other.

Since, such hypothetical situation is highly unrealistic, Paine states what a government should be doing. He states that the government should supply, or set out the right path for the existing defect in moral values.

Thanks to Mr. Paine, we are now aware of how 'negative' the existence of government can be perceived, and how it is necessary regardless - also, he pointed out what a government is supposed to be doing.

On top of the information provided by the Common Sense, here are some examples of conditions that make the American Revolution justifiable:

a) Clearly, the colonies were not receiving the right 'service' the government was supposed to provide them. As a result, the colonists developed their own state authorities which were stubbornly rejected by the British Parliament.

b) The British Parliament, as demonstrated through various acts such as the Sugar Acts and the Stamp Acts, could impose, without the consent of the colonies, impose economic pressure.

c) Despite the burgeoning significance of the colonists' own cultures, the British sustained the expression of condescending attitudes, and considered the colonists as inferiors.

Now back to the basics - the definition of the word 'revolution' is, according to the Merriam Webster Dictionary, **the overthrow or renunciation of one government or ruler and the substitution of another by the governed.**

The oppression under which the colonists suffered from the British was mostly mutual - there were voices from different class of people demanding change. As later stated in the Declaration of Independence, the colonists demanded the 'natural rights' such as the ability to pursuit happiness.

Not only was the government failing to carry out the duties it was supposed to, but also, the rights that belonged to the colonists at the time were either taken away, or threatened. Such conditions constructively create a situation where 'revolution' (as the definition of the dictionary provides) becomes justified.

The following chapters will reinforce the stance on how the American Revolution is justified. In viewing those information, one must have in mind, that the conditions in which the colonists were in at the dawn of revolution was inevitable and evidential.