Presenting Transgressive Borderlines and Tyranny
Olivia Haemmerle
Mrs. Lewis-Cantor
U.S. History 1 Honors
Yellowstone
1 November 2016
"Give me liberty or give me death" why did the colonists feel it was necessary to give their lives in order to achieve freedom? Though known as the American Revolution throughout the world, it should be called the British Revolution for many reasons. The British colonial policies was more liable for the final political split than were actions taken by the colonists. The British played a larger role in this division because of their taxing, governing, and military action across America. In 1763 to 1775, the British enforced unjust laws and the colonists decided they needed to gain their independence.
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Before the colonies started to riot, Britain placed a salutary neglect on them giving them freedom and allowing them to get away with following minimal laws. Salutary neglect is a term that refers to the British Crown policy of avoiding strict enforcement of parliamentary laws meant to keep American colonies obedient to England. Along came the Currency Act, which prohibited the colonies from issuing paper money. The Currency Act angered the colonists because they already had a trade deficit with Britain, which just made it worst for them. Another act that caused economic problems was the Boston Port Act, which closed the Boston harbor, and ships were not allowed to come in for any business. Many colonists were deeply affected by the economic problems in the colonies, it made some poor and disallowed other to flourish in their economic status. The British made colonists feel powerless politically with all the new laws being enforced at the same time. The Proclamation Act of 1763 prohibited the colonists from settling beyond the Appalachian Mountains. This made many colonist furious because they could not grow crops there, people lost land they owned, and it limited people’s settling space. But In the Proclamation of 1763 King George states “The several Nations...of Indians...should not be molested"(George III “Proclamation Act” ). this was a good idea because they did not want more conflict with the indians but the colonists could not see it that way.One Act that caused a major political dispute was the Stamp Act, this act was "An act for granting and applying certain stamp duties, and other duties, in the British colonies and plantations in America"(Geroge III “Stamp Act”). The Stamp Act made certain paper items expensive and overall caused the colonies to come together with a common enemy. The Stamp Act Congress ,which was the first form of
Salutary neglect was a colonial policy in which England relaxed its enforcement of most regulations in return for the continued economic loyalty of the colonies. As long as raw materials kept flowing into the homeland and the colonists continued to buy English-produced goods, Parliament did not supervise the colonies closely. The colonists were able to influence the king-appointed governors, from the approval of laws to the appointment of judges, since the colonial-assembly paid the governors’ salaries and not the king. It was because of their influence with the governors that they were able to develop a taste for self-government that would eventually create the conditions for rebellion.
The Revolution was a changing moment in American history, which brought us to be emancipated from the British Empire, and in turn create our own country. There was a chance that the American Revolution might have never happened, and the American colonies would have stayed with the British Empire, and we might still be under British control. The event that triggered the Revolutionary War was tighter British control in the colonies. How did tighter British control in the colonies lead to the Revolutionary War?
By 1763, Great Britain was already one of the most powerful countries in the world, owning territory from the Hudson Bay to the Caribbean Sea and from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi River. With such extensive land to control, the British turned to intimidation and regulations to establish their dominance over the colonies. Throughout the next decade, the British Parliament would implement strict laws to keep the colonists in their place—under the authority of the government across the ocean. Although Britain thought that these acts would be accepted by Americans, they had actually initiated a war for independence. Both elite and common people recognized the injustices happening in their country and decided to fight back against the
Proclamation of 1763 was created by King George III and was issued on October 7th 1763 during the end of French and Indian war It prohibited Americans from colonizing west beyond the Appalachian mountains. It improved relations between natives, Great Britain, and France. Native Americans owned lands in the west of Appalachian mountains, where it created problems with lot of Americans. So, this proclamation helped to avoid warfare with the Indians. This law has no effect on controlling colonial expansion.
(Doc B). This display of intolerance towards the colonists settling the Native’s lands foreshadowed Pontiac’s Uprising and the violence between the two groups. In order to ease the tensions Britain made the Proclamation of 1763, which stated that colonists could not settle past the Appalachian mountains. The Americans were outraged by this and defied this political act and continued to flood the West with settlers. This was not the only outrage in America.
These factors were geography, goals, and leadership, and they assisted the colonists in becoming their own free country. The American Revolution was fought in its entirety in the American colonies. This was an enormous advantage for the colonists, as the British army and navy rarely spent any time in the colonies that they were governing. The English were far from their own land and their own resources and were therefore at a severe disadvantage when fighting the war.
At the end of the French and Indian war, King George could not take such utter disrespect. The British started to put in new laws and boundaries in place that ultimately would hurt every party that was involved with them. The British had lost a tremendous amount money as well as the French did paying off the money to wartime debt. Lots of Indians lost their lives and had the land taken away from them. The American colonist are the only ones out of the seven year war to come out somewhat unscaled.
There were a mixture of people in the colonies at the time of the American Revolution. The Englishmen that lived in the colonies felt that the British government was treating them badly. As the government continued passing laws and taxing the colonies, the Englishmen began to rise slowly toward war against British. The British government was using the colonies for economic gain. By the end of the Seven Year War the British government was millions of dollars in debt.
The relationship between Britain and its American colonies was civil at first but began to strain in the mid-1700’s. In the beginning, Britain ruled colonies with little involvement because they were busy dealing with the French and Indian War among other things. As a result of this, the colonies were typically left in charge of themselves with little interference from British authorities. After years of being left alone, the colonists had developed a feeling of freedom and independence. When the war ended there was a significant change in the relations between England and the colonies.
(Jefferson) Although the British claimed the Proclamation of 1763 to cure the bad relationships with the Indians, the Americans saw it as a direct attack on their rights. This prohibited the Americans from settling beyond the Appalachian Mountains.
The American Revolution was, to date, the best event to happen on American soil, providing freedom and representation in government to the individuals who fought so hard for it. France and Spain aided our cause, helping this group of brave colonists to defeat the strongest army in the world. But, there is a question still not answered; were the colonists justified in breaking away from Britain? The American colonists were justified in breaking away from the British because there was taxation without representation, they had no freedom, and the British government violated their individual British rights. I believe the American colonists were justified for breaking away from Britain because there was taxation without representation.
The stamp act taxed even the littlest of things such as newspapers, documents, licenses, molasses and even playing cards. It angered the colonists, so they responded with violence.
One time the British passed a law that allowed the british soldiers to forcefully live in the colonists’ home! The colonies started out to benefit Great Britain, but after one war and lots of laws, the colonies were going to be part of a revolution. What was the American Revolution about? Economic Rights or Civil Liberties? On one hand the British instilled unfair regulations on trade and goods.
Soon after the Seven Years’ War, the British and the colonists learned that victory came with a rather expensive price (Kennedy, Cohen, & Bailey, 2010). Great Britain tightened its grip on the colonies in North America, expecting colonists to pay for their financial struggles. In order to make colonists pay for the war, Great Britain reminded the North American colonies who had authority by controlling the colonists to submit to various ordinances ratified by British Parliament. This action only showed that arrogance leads to rebellion socially, economically, and politically. Socially, a lack of communication between Great Britain and the North American colonies was to blame for the Revolutionary War.
The Proclamation of 1763, was a rule that was later established by King George III in order for the colonies to stop expanding. This later affected the Americans, causing them land that could no longer be purchased from the Indians. The Americans did not favor this because this caused them to not make money from