American Revolution
美國革命
The American Revolution was not a revolution in the sense of a radical or total 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.
美國革命從發(fā)生根本和徹底變化的意義上說其實并不算是一場革命。這次革命并不是對政治和社會框架的一次突然和猛烈的顛覆,諸如后來在已經(jīng)是獨立國家的'法國和俄國所爆發(fā)的革命那樣。
Significant changes were ushered in, but they were not breathtaking. What happened was accelerated evolution rather than outright 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.
革命帶來了重大的變化,但并非翻天覆地,所發(fā)生的只是進化的加速,而不是一場徹底的革命。在沖突期間,人們?nèi)匀簧习�、做禮拜、結(jié)婚、玩耍。大多數(shù)人并沒有受到實際戰(zhàn)斗的嚴重影響。許多較閉塞的社區(qū)對這場戰(zhàn)爭幾乎一無所知。
America's War of Independence heralded the birth of three modern nations. One was Canada, which received its first large influx of English-speaking population from the thousands of loyalists who fled there from the United States. Another was Australia, which became a penal colony now that America was no longer available for prisoners and debtors. The third newcomer -- the United States -- based itself squarely on republican principles.
美國獨立戰(zhàn)爭宣布了三個現(xiàn)代國家的誕生,其中一個是加拿大。加拿大的第一大批講英語的流入人口來自于成千上萬英王的效忠者,這些人從美國逃到了加拿大。另一個國家是澳大利亞,因為美國不再是容納罪犯和欠債者的國度了,澳大利亞就變成了一個懲治罪犯的殖民地。第三個國家就是美國,它完全建立在共和原則基礎(chǔ)上。
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.
然而即使政治上的顛覆也不如人們可能想象的那樣具有革命性。在一些州,特別是康涅狄格和羅德島,戰(zhàn)爭基本上只是承認了已經(jīng)存在的殖民地的自治。四處被驅(qū)逐的英國官員都被本土的統(tǒng)治階級所替代,這個統(tǒng)治階級迅速地尋求地方權(quán)力機關(guān)來替代國王和議會。