08 American Revolution（在线收听）

08 American Revolution

The American Revolution was not a revolution in the sense of a radical or toal change .It was not a sudden and violent overturning of the political and social framework, such as later occurred in France and Russia, when both were already independent nations. Significant changes were ushered(引导，展示) in, but they were not breathtaking(惊人的，惊险的). What happened was accelerated evolution rather than outright(直率的，彻底的) revolution. During the conflict itself people went on working and praying, marrying and playing. Most of them were not seriously disturbed by the actual fighting, and many of the more isolated communities scarcely knew that a war was on.

America's War of Independence heralded(预报，宣布) the birth of three modern nations. One was Canada, which received its first large influx(注入，流入) of English-speaking population from the thousands of loyalists(忠诚的人，反对独立的人) who fled there from the United States. Another was Australia, which became a penal(刑事的) colony now that America was no longer available for prisoners and debtors. The third newcomer-the United States-based itself squarely on republican principles.

Yet even the political overturn was not so revolutionary as one might suppose. In some states, notably Connecticut and Rhode Island, the war largely ratified a colonial self-rule already existing. British officials, everywhere ousted, were replaced by a home-grown governing class, which promptly sought a local substitute for king and Parliament.(现在就算是政治革命也不如以前想像的那样具有革命性。在一些州，特别明显的像康涅狄格和瑞候德岛，战争在很大程度上批准一些殖民居住地自治的做法已经存在。英国政府到处掠夺，它被本国的政治阶层所取代，而这个政治阶层很快地在当地为国王和国会找到本国的替代品)