Custom «Professionalism and Debating the American Revolution» Essay Paper Sample

One pivotal event in the American History is the American Revolution. The purpose of highlighting and discussing the historical aspects of the American Revolution in in-depth is due to the profound significance and implications it holds in history of the American people that has led to some unprecedented events that shaped the history in America. The American Revolution War, also referred to as the American war of Independence was fought from 1775-1783 with the Kingdom of Great Britain. The war began on April 19, 1775 with the battle of Lexington and Concord," This war of independence led to overthrowing of the British rule in the America and this signaled change in the history of American politics. However, the professionalism (1850-1920) of American Historians ultimately shapes historiographic debates about the American Revolution and profoundly impact on the understanding of the revolution.

There is abidance in the fact that even before the end of the revolution in 1783, British as well as American adversary had begun to efforts to document the revolution. The perspectives through which the historians documented the revolution have had immense impact on the historiographic debates about the American Revolution. A significant number of Americans remained loyal to the British rule, estimated to be as high as one-third of the population and notable historians such as Peter Oliver in his book Origins and Progress of the American Revolution (1781) wrote from the loyalist perspective.

Despite all the attempts to gain deep insights into the events surrounding the American Revolution, the emergence of history as a professional discipline generated new and competing versions of the revolution. Professional historians jostled for accurate analysis of the revolution from independent perspectives. According to "the professional approach to history spans from the first generation of writers-whose ideas about history were shaped by the Enlightenment-to those of the 21st century-who drew on the rich legacy provided by black studies, gender and women's studies, cultural studies, and ethno-history."

Within the cacophony, the professional filed of history have has not only shaped historiographic debates about the American Revolution but has led also instigated a critical analysis of the events surrounding the revolution. Various perspectives that include social, political, economical, American, British, and feminine have been advanced as presenting the true nature of the revolution. A number of questions have come into sharp focus about American Revolution because of the rise of history as a professional field. Was the American Revolution a radical social movement? What were the impacts of the revolution on women, loyalists, African-Americans or slaves and traditional patriarchalism?

Analyzed from the professional field of history, new and emerging themes on the events and course of war re-occur and instigate further debate as to the accuracy of the past records. In addition to the above, professional history has availed critical areas that were often neglected by early historians. The manner in which in-depth study of the way in which historians dealt with the coming of the American Revolution, the formation of the U.S. Constitution reveals changing patterns as new facts, arguments, and counter-arguments are availed by the professional approach to historical analysis.

In conclusion, an examination on how historians in different periods interpreted these events, their causes, and their meaning presents varying degrees of analysis, leads to emerging themes, and takes the events surrounding the revolution to a critical perspective. In summary, the professionalism (1850-1920), a period marked by the emergence of history as a professional field in the lives of American Historians ultimately has continuously shaped historiographic debates about the American Revolution and profoundly impact on the understanding of the revolution.