Choice Between Life and Liberty

Hegemony is the idea of a dominating group imposing their beliefs upon a subordinate group and in a way making them believe that this way of thinking is best for them and will benefit them.

An example of this can be seen in the revolutionary framers of the constitution and the starters of the revolution. They were seen by many historians as just "rebels". However, if you look at the revolution from the British perspective you can see it more clearly. America was a colony of the British so they were just another part of the British empire and were themselves British before they were truly "Americans".

Basically the "rebels" wanted to kick the British out of America because they were being taxed, but in a way it was their right to tax them because it was the British who protected them. The Americans knew that the British would always have control over America and they could make them pay whatever they wanted. It made them feel inferior so the more wealthy people wanted to rebel. The poor people didn't care at all in many cases because their lives were bad to begin with. No matter what happened they didn't want to choose sides. They just wanted to work and maintain their lives. The problem with the rich people was that they needed everyone to help them rebel against the British, but the poor and middle class really didn't want to go to war and die.

To get these people to help in the battle against the British the smart and rich people basically tricked people into thinking the British were horrible. They exaggerated the Boston massacre where only about 2 people died. It was actually the rebels who pushed the British into shooting to defend themselves. The Declaration of Independence was printed and circulated to everyone who could read. Generals and even George Washington read the declaration to their soldiers to increase moral and remind them why they were fighting.

The important thing was that they used philosophy to persuade others. They used very general words and always made their effort look like it was their duty to their happiness and liberty. They were born with the right to live free to cover up the fact that they were rebelling from their government. They imposed their way of thinking upon the poor which had a lot to do with status of economy and opportunity that the poor did not have. They used ways of media, such as news and printed works to help persuade and manipulate the poorer, subordinate group. They became without an option because it was either fight against the British or lose all human rights.