Second American Revolution
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The first American Revolution raged from 1775 to 1783, after which the United States won its independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain. Rhetorical or hyperbolic references to a Second American Revolution have been made from time to time. Examples include:
- The War of 1812 between the United States and Britain is often referred to as the second American Revolution, stemming from the second British recognition of 1781 American borders.
- Many 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.
- Madison Avenue has sometimes used the phrase to describe new products.
- The Second Civil War, a 1997 made for TV movie.
