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• Great Britain failed to recognize the political and economic maturity of the American colonies.
• The growth of slavery in Virginia in the 1700s led to greater white solidarity and paved the way for the idea
that "all [white] men were created equal."
• The main cause of the Revolution was the contention that local assemblies, such as the House of Burgesses
in Williamsburg, were the source of authority, not Parliament in London.
• The Virginia gentry had the conservative goal of preserving its rule over Virginia but had to resort to radical
and revolutionary measures to achieve it.
• The Revolution had the largely unintended consequence of discrediting nearly all ideas of dependence, hierarchy,
and deference.
• By vesting sovereignty in the people at large, the Revolution enlarged liberty's definition with worldwide effect.
• The Revolution caused a slight and temporary rise in the status of women and led to new thinking, by blacks
and whites, about slavery.
• The shared struggle with the other colonies gave rise to an American identity.
• Virginia's leaders played by far the largest role in founding the new republic.
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