The American War for Independence as a Social Movement

          I would consider the American War for Independence a transformative movement. It aims “at a total

change in supra-individual systems” (Aberle 317). Aberlie cites revolutionary movements as an example

of transformative movements. However, I enjoy learning about history and thus know that, at much of the

beginning of the war for independence, many colonists wished to still repair their relationship with Great

Britain. It wasn’t until much later due to the works of Thomas Paine and others, as well as the drafts of the

Declaration of Independence, that the idea of independence from Great Britain was taken seriously. Before

these ideas became mainstream, it was seen as a radical idea. 

        Therefore, one could make an argument that the war for independence started as a reformative

movement, aiming at "a partial change in supra-individual systems", more of a rebellion than a

revolutionary movement (Aberle 317).

Works Cited

Aberle, D. F. (1966). A Classification of Social Movements. In The Peyote Religion Among the Navajo

    (pp. 315-333). New York, NY: Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research.