"Retrieving the American Past" and Gordon Wood's novel "The American Revolution".

Equality means different things to different people. Many historians, from the "Retrieving the American Past" viewed "inequality and the deference of inferiors to superiors were crucial to the maintenance of political and social order"(Newell, 65). According to Gordon Wood, equality was "the most powerful idea in American history." Both these sources provide some valuable insight to what went on before, during, and after the revolution, which allows Americans from this century to gain perspective on …

…Jarrett and St. John gave first hand accounts of how they viewed society and how it affected them. All these historians and writers created the argument that equality isn't an easy philosophy to achieve. Politics, republicanism, race, gender and social status were all factors in determining equality in America. The revolution was suppose to make the changes necessary to make America equal among men however two hundred years later that movement is still being argued.