Second American Revolution

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The first American Revolution spanned from 1775 to 1783, after which the United States received recognition of independence by and from the Kingdom of Great Britain. Rhetorical or hyperbolic references to a Second American Revolution have been made on a number of occasions throughout the history of the United States. Examples include:

  • The War of 1812 between the United States and Britain is sometimes referred to as the second American Revolution, stemming from the second British recognition of 1781 American borders.
  • Some Confederates claimed that they were fighting a second American Revolution in attempting to secede from the United States during the American Civil War. An example of this thinking is James M. McPherson's book, Battle Cry of Freedom.
  • New Left militants during the 1960s and '70s sometimes called for a second American Revolution in solidarity with the Viet Cong and other Third World liberation movements.
  • Both Presidents Richard M. Nixon and Ronald W. Reagan argued that reforms or programs which they favored would amount to a second American Revolution.
  • American armed resistance to a fictional Soviet invasion in Amerika (TV series) was described by its supporters as a second American Revolution.
  • The Second Civil War, a 1997 made for TV movie.
  • Shattered Union, a 2005 PC game developed by 2K Games. It depicts a civil war between six factions of the former United States and the European Union, following the destruction of Washington DC in a nuclear attack.
  • The movement initiated by Ron Paul's 2008 presidential campaign has been characterized as a type of Second American Revolution.
  • Season 2 of Jericho; a Second American Civil War begins between the United States and the separatist Allied States of America.
  • In the show Venture Brothers Col. Hunter Gathers reveals that a Second American Revolution took place. He refers to it as "the second American Revolution — the invisible one".