Colonial rebellions and new nation insurgencies: violence, uprisings, and the genesis of Anglo-American martial ideology, 1600-1800

Abstract

This study explores the evolution of Anglo-American martial traditions and the often violent results of those developments from the period of earliest English permanent North American settlement until the end of the eighteenth century. It examines the causes and consequences of Anglo-American?s martial policies born from English martial ideology based on anti-standing army sentiment and doctrinaire reliance on the militia system to construct a tripartite argument. First, Anglo-American martial policies amplified the dangers and viciousness of reality. Secondly, traditional reliance on the militia created environments with few prepared constabulary forces to effectively suppress localized outbreaks of violence and rebellion. Thirdly, violence and rebellion became mainstays in American society and served as practical outlets of Anglo-American frustration and hostility, first against the British government and then their own administrations during the Early National Period. Inherited American martial ideology remained inflexible until the 1790s and concurrent threats of rebellion and European warfare.