Abolition of monarchy

The abolition of monarchy has occurred throughout history, either through revolutions, coups d'état, wars, or legislative reforms (such as abdications). The founding of the Roman Republic is a noteworthy example and became part of the nation's traditions including as justification for the assassination of Julius Caesar. The twentieth century saw a major acceleration of this process, with many monarchies violently overthrown by revolution or war, or else abolished as part of the process of decolonisation. By contrast, the restoration of monarchies is rare in modern times, with only two major examples, Spain and Cambodia.

One of the earliest examples in modern times is the overthrow in 1649 of the English monarchy by the Parliament of England, led by Oliver Cromwell. The monarchy was restored in 1660 although in a more limited form moderated by an independent Parliament.

Anti-monarchism in the United States developed out of the gradual process of revolution that began as early as 1765, as colonists resisted the Stamp Act through boycott and the expulsion and condemnation of royal officials. While subjects of the United Kingdom, a unification of the limited King of England with the King of Scotland, colonists enjoyed a level of autonomy which increasingly clashed with royal and Parliamentary authority which did not consult colonial needs. With the Declaration of Independence in 1776, the most violent wave of anti-monarchical protest began, with the systematic destruction of the relics and symbols of monarchy. Examples can be found in the toppling of the equestrian statue of George III on Bowling Green in New York City. Monarchic loyalists were particularly affected with partisan attacks or harassment, with tens of thousands leaving for Canada, Britain, and other colonies. Wealth or property which remained was typically confiscated. Thomas Paine, the famous author of the revolutionary pamphlet "Common Sense," extolled the colonists to finance the revolutionary war through this means. Even today, very few artifacts depicting the British monarchy from the colonial period can be found in the United States.

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