The Stamp Act Of 1763: A New Colonial Identity

Olive Branch Petition was written in July 8, 1775. After one year, we got Declaration of Independence, you can see one year brings a lot of changes just by compare this two documents. It is one of the few document that wrote in American’s viewpoint. Olive Branch Petition is a direct request to King George III, and the petition has been signed by the thirteen colonies’ delegates. Thirteen colonies’ statement at that time is they want to maintain solidarity with the Britain.

The American Revolutionary War was a war fought from 1775-1783, also known as the American War of Independence, between the Kingdom of Great Britain and the thirteen colonies. The colonies wanted independence and free from British rule. In order to gain their independence the colonies had to fight for it.

The Olive Branch Petition was sent from the colonists to Great Britain in hopes of achieving peace and relieving the tensions between them put in place prior to the Battle of Lexington and Concord in 1774. Great Britain responded to the petition with a letter referring to the colonists as traitors to their mother country. This response effectively initiated the Revolutionary War for the colonists. Many varying political views stemmed from whether the colonists should embark on a revolution that would move them out of the guidance of Great Britain and that would provide them independence from Great Britain. Some argued that the revolution would be a “conservative” revolution where every thing will remain largely the same, in terms of political

Slowly but surely, a general resentment of and eventual anger towards England steadily grew among the colonists. Once Britain began to crack down and heavily enforce the Navigation Acts and other similar laws, Americans decided they had had enough. In 1776, prominent revolutionaries convened in a Continental Congress. Among the names present at the Continental Congress, which eventually passed the Declaration of Independence, were such legends as George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson, to name a handful. With the Declaration signed, the members of the Congress placed their lives and danger and shoved America closer to freedom.

From the Stamp Act of 1765 until the Treaty of Paris in 1783, colonists from thirteen small colonies fought for independence from British Parliament and its authority they imposed upon the colonists.   This change for a political revolution to remove British control of absolute sovereignty led to the establishment of a nation that become the United States of America. Tensions were already in place between the colonists and the British, and grew even more when British Parliament placed taxes upon the colonists, creating laws that controlled colonial liberties.  Colonial protests and rejection began with the Boston Tea Party in 1773, followed by Coercive Acts, and in response, colonists created their own alternative government known as the First

The relationship between the colonies and great britain began to turn in the early 1700s . britain viewed the colonies as a source of raw material and also a marketplace for england's goods. In the Declaratory Act, Great Britain argues that the authority was the same in the American colonies as it was in England. This meaning the british government could make any law they wished with no needed approval from the colonies, As stated here ‘’Full power and authority to make laws and statutes of sufficient force and validity to bind the colonies and people of america, subjects of the crown of Great Britain, in all cases whatsoever. ”(pgh.

Prior to the war, the colonies were viewed as an extension of the British government. The colonies’ declaration of independence in 1776, marked a new beginning for the budding nation. This was the first time that the colonists declared themselves to the world as an independent nation. They no longer followed the British government’s laws and newly imposed taxes. During this era, nearly every colonist rallied together to achieve the political freedom that they viewed as inalienable.

There was not one citizen in favor of said acts, so such disobedience led to the First Continental Congress which would lead to the decision amongst states whether they wish to obtain independence from Britain or remain under British rule. Throughout the meeting, many of the thirteen colonies were in favor of independence, yet some wished to remain loyal to Britain until further action had been taken. After the battle of Lexington and Concord, the Second Continental Congress took place which led to all of the thirteen colonies supporting independence from Britain; thus began the era of a revolution. A series of many events in the colonists favor led to the signing of the Declaration of Independence in July 4, 1776. Upon signing this document, colonists felt a sense of national pride and continued the battle against the massive British army.

One major event that took place during this time frame was the holding of the Second Continental Congress in the May of 1775. One important fact to remember is that during this convention, the colonists reaffirmed that they were still loyal to the Crown. They would have been fine with remaining a part of Great Britain’s rule has the King simply took into account some of the issues they had with the way the colonial government was forcing rules into place. Here important men like George Washington formulate the Olive Branch Petition, drafted June 5th, basically asking King George III to take in mind some of their requests and to cease the military intervention. The King refused and decided to wage even more conflict against the colonies; this sparked outrage within the American people pushing them even more to continue their quest to independence from the Crown.

The Americans, resenting the lack of colonists in parliament, regularly made protests to the British government about receiving the same rights as normal British citizens (History.com N.A, 2009). Various disputes ensued, until a group of delegates including George Washington, met in 1774 to raise their complaints about the British crown. This “congress” did not go as far as demanding independence, but it condemned the taxation that the colonists had no say in. Less than a year later, on April 19th, the first shots of the American Revolution were fired (History.com N.A, 2009). As a result of this, America achieved independence and lost Britain a precious colony where it could send its

Because of the great amount of power Britain possessed, the colonists were under oppression, ultimately taking action to defend themselves. Namely, according to document 5, the author states, “what is to defend us against so enormous, so unlimited power?”. As the taxes began to mound on top of one over the other, the colonists began to feel overwhelmed. In response, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and three others, created the Declaration of Independence as a call to war, to offset British rule. Like the Stamp Act, the colonists answered with violence, and the violence only increased as the British made sure to oppress the

This act was passed the same day the stamp act was repealed, which allowed Parliament to create laws that related to the American colonies "in all cases whatsoever. " The colonists relied on the long-standing English tradition that it was unfair for a governing body to pass laws on behalf of people who were not represented in it. Since the colonists were not represented in Parliament, they believed that Parliament did not possess the power to pass laws on their behalf. Because it put an end to rebellions and acts of violence against the stamp tax, the declaratory act is significant in

How or why did the colonists’ sense of a collective British identity change during the years before 1764? British colonists mainly felt connected to Britain for two reasons. One, they shared the same culture and beliefs, and secondly, Britain was once their home country at one point. As newly formed American’s however, they felt as though their rights were being violated by the British, and as such, their identity started to take a new shape and form a new purpose, which was revolution and patriotism, which in return caused them to fight for what they believed in more and more. The colonists' sense of identity and unity as Americans was further developed when they decided to unite in order to fight the British.

Due to the actions of the colonists and at the behest of our King, we have entered into war with the colonies in America. It is the belief of our King and Parliament that the colonists’ demands have gone too far. We have entered into the war to reassert our control over citizens who believe themselves independent of our laws and taxes. They need to remember who funded them, made their livelihoods possible, and developed them into the civilization they are today. These “United States of America” are a sham.

The Constitution of the United States can be seen as a reaction to the British. The Constitution was a piece of work that took many revisions as it was the main framework to our government. When the 13 colonies were under the ruling of Britain, they didn’t want to break away from them. Instead, they wanted to be recognized as part of their government and so in the Stamp Act Congress Resolution of 1765, the English colonies wrote a document that was addressed to the King and British Government.