American Revolution DBQ Essay

When the United States had their backs on the wall, they depended on military protection to keep them from falling apart. Some say the American Revolution would be unsuccessful without the great leaders. Leaders have all the fame, but those young patriotic kids are forgotten. The leaders themselves could not do anything without committed soldiers. These brave men chose to protect their country, even though they had no experience with war-like encounters. Without them, who knows if there would be the United States of America today. The way soldiers were affected by the American Revolution through the experiences they encountered, the changes in their lives, and the impact founding documents had on them after the war shows why the American Revolution was not revolutionary for the continental soldiers. The soldiers of the Continental Army had a vast majority of young men. There were still some older men who joined. The Continental Army usually recruited the younger men because it was easier to persuade them to join the forces. These men came for various amount of reasons. Some came just for the adventure, they wanted to explore the world, it was their chance to go beyond the boundaries they have known their whole lives. Other were patriotic, and believed that it was their duty to join. Also, if they did not join they would look cowardly, which would make it very hard to find a wife, and start a life of their own. Some of the members were very poor, and found this an opportunity to make some money. Little did they know that the army was in terrible debt. The lack of money the country had caused debt which directly affected the soldiers. This debt was the main reason the soldiers did not experience revolutionary change due to the experience they have encountered. The experiences of the soldiers were absolutely terrible. The soldiers were not given any uniforms, unless they had the financial stability to afford their own. This caused confusion of the battlefield, contributing to deaths inflicted by friendly fire. The soldiers had to find a way to identify one another, and created a similar symbol for each soldier. They attached ribbon on their hat to distinguish themselves from enemies. The soldiers would wear a different color from the leaders, which showed the superiority that the leaders wanted. There was not much respect given to these soldiers on the battlefield and off. The soldiers also had to provide their own boots for combat. Some had the money for couple of pair, others could only afford low quality boots, and other had none. This was a big issue because when the boots wore out the soldiers were forced to walk barefoot. Since the soldiers were enrolled throughout the year, they had to endure the winter months. Their feet were cold enough, but without protection, their feet began to bleed leaving bloody trails in the snow. Unfortunately, the problems went further than just the uniform issues. The soldier’s food supply was a big issue. Whenever soldiers went through a city that had loyalist in it, they would steal the food that was present. The food problem was an issue all year long, but the winter was atrocious due to so many men occupying an area for so long. This caused all the food supply to be taken within a very short …show more content…
There are valid points that would make this statement true. Many positive factors came from the Americans beating the British Army. The facts are that everyone was positively influenced, in the colonies, by this Revolution except the men who fought for it. These teenagers went into war expecting to become wealthier, but they came out poverty-stricken matured men. They experienced things they did not ever want to, their lives were changed forever, and they realised how much the colonies really respected them. These men realised that the American Revolution they once thought would bring them so much greatness was actually bringing nothing at all. The American Revolution was not revolutionary for the soldiers in the Continental