During the time period of 1750 to 1776, the colonists, to a moderate extent, identified as American. In determining why a vast majority identified as American and why some didn’t, one must look into detail the social, political and economic standpoints that led to such divide. Throughout all 3 points, Thus, the identification of being “American” and its usage depended on the view the person had of Great Britain. In the economic standpoint, due to the “No taxation without representation” slogan being violated by the British, most of the colonists weren’t against the anti-British sentiment boiling up due to the conflict. The ensuing increase in tax acts later led to the practice of tar and feathering tax collectors, and, to a bigger scale, the Boston tea party. The latter event raised both American Patriotism and pride due to the protesters finally having some effect on the British tyrants by damaging their economic system. Due to the coercive acts blocking the main source of supplies for the city of Boston, donations were being given by fellow colonies, further reinforcing the patriotism in …show more content…
The social, political, and economic reasons are factors in determining whether a person considered themselves “American” as well. But a possible factor as well might be fear. Due to the constant tension of being forced to participate against the British, most colonists saw the practice of tar and feathering, as well as the throwing of cheaper tea and the destruction of the Gaspee to be too much for just the right to be taxed with representation. The acts listed above were too much for some of the colonists and adding to that, the fear of Great Britain’s punishment should the colonists fail to win the Revolutionary war added intense fear and pressure to the bystanding citizens. Therefore, fear was also a factor in determining to what extent the colonists considered themselves
During the early 1700’s, Great Britain’s government wanted to reassure that all of the colonies the possessed in American remained under government control and followed any laws and rules applied to the land. One of the ways Great Britain maintained economical order of their colonies was thru a series of British taxes that the citizens of their colonies were forced to pay off. These colonists weren’t trilled to pay off the debts of the British government. The British faced a disagreement with the payment of the taxes from the colonies. Making them concerned of losing their land in America.
Elena Contreras Mrs. Polatty AP US. History/4B 20 September 2016 DBQ #1 WC: Scattered across the timeline of the period that includes the 17th and 18th centuries, the English colonies managed to construct an uncommon government system filled with revolutionary ideas that only pertained to their specific group. They created a unique government that permitted each individual person to have a say in the decisions about the country. The whole general idea of political rights created a well-known status that was unique to America alone.
Long after King Charles II’s reign, King George III, followed in his footsteps, which drove a wedge between England and the colonists (“King George and His Parliament”). That wedge caused the colonists to draft a proclamation of their grievances’, and to define their inalienable
To remedy this situation, Great Britain determined that the American Colonies should be taxed as an instrument in dissolving the country’s debt. The American colonists, especially in the North, took great exception with this decision. This arbitrary, and ultimately Draconian, course of action would result in punitive
Although the Declaration of Independence is now viewed as the official document that wholly released the United States from the political grasp of Great Britain, this was not the initial intended purpose of this document. In fact, at the time the first draft was written, the Colonists merely desired better treatment from the then supreme political power. Yet certain events inspired the American colonists to rethink their proposal for negotiation- events that led to revisions present in the final draft of the Declaration of Independence. As a means to ridicule Britain on its unjust principles, the Colonists imitated the British Declaration to expose Britain on its hypocritical views of equality. Therefore, it is easy to conclude that the American
At first because the American people felt that they were part of Britain that they would be free of taxes with the goals of making revenue. The first of these taxes was the Stamp act causing direct tax on the colonies. Due to colonists not being represented and taxes becoming higher, the population began to try to reconcile with Britain peacefully however this led to a divide between those loyal to Britain called the loyalists and those who felt oppressed to the point of immediate action called the Patriots. In churches, ministers such as the Quaker leader tried to settle down their congregation by addressing the attitude that people were feeling and discussing in a candid tone how harmony would eventually be restored.(Doc 4) Patriots did not believe this publishing documents peacefully participated in boycotts against british goods in a silent revolving against the British government. However due to the taxes following the stamp act such as the tea acht and the cohesive acts tension grew to the point of revolts.
As the colonies sought to break free from British rule and establish an independent nation, the American Revolution was an important turning point in history. However, not all colonists held the same viewpoint on this issue. Loyalists and Patriots emerged as two separate groups with opposing perspectives on American independence from British rule. The opposing views of Loyalists and Patriots on American independence from Great Britain can be analyzed through the perspectives of loyalty to the crown, economic interests, political rights and representation, and social and cultural identity, revealing the complex issues and motivations behind each group's position during the American Revolution. Loyalists, also known as Tories, were strong advocates of the British Crown.
At the dawn of the 1770s, American colonial resentment of the British Parliament in London had been steadily increasing for some time. Retaliating in 1766, Parliament issued the Declaratory Act which repealed most taxes except issued a reinforcement of Parliament’s supremacy. In a fascinating exchange, we see that the Parliament identifies and responds to the colonists main claim; Parliament had no right to directly tax colonists who had no representation in Parliament itself. By asserting Parliamentary supremacy while simultaneously repealing the Stamp Act and scaling back the Sugar Act, Parliament essentially established the hill it would die on, that being its legitimacy. With the stage set for colonial conflict in the 1770s, all but one
The American colonies represent the ideals of the mother country through their devotion to their own liberty and justice, and to monetary gain. Colonists use English arguments to justify their aversion to the increases in taxes and regulations after the French and Indian War, using the British argument that it is a nation’s autonomy that determines its freedom. Because the colonists are not represented in the English government and do not have a substantial voice, they have reason to believe that they are not equal to the British, as citizens. Because they are not true citizens, they are unaffected by increases in taxation and denounce the stifling acts. Also, the colonies, like their mother country, are attracted by the profits generated by
Before the American Revolution, the colonists still considered themselves to be English and followed British rule. However, the American revolution allowed them to separate themselves from British rule and form their own separate power. This separate power unified the colonists who now shared the same political, religious, cultural, racial, historical, linguistic, and ideological views which were different from their views under British rule. They were beginning to pave the way to becoming "Americans" rather than English.
Between 1763 and 1775, there were three ‘Imperial Crises’ which occurred between the British and the American colonists. The conflict that was produced during this period arose through an undefined balance of political and economic power between the two parties. In 1763, Britain had just concluded the French and Indian war and was left with an immense and almost crippling debt of around 140 million pounds sterling (“Turning Point In American History”). In Britain’s eyes, the most effective way to reduce this debt was increased taxes. Unfortunately, the people of England were already massively overtaxed, which meant the last option for the British was to tax the American colonists.
representation at all were contributing to the changing feeling among many. While there were plenty who were opposed to the policies in all the colonies, Americans disagreed about the “means, the methods and the ends to the opposition” (Jensen). In the 1760’s, Great Britain was at its pinnacle of world dominance while at the same time riddled with political instability due to incompetent politicians who were helping themselves to the deep pockets of the crown (Wood 175). These factors contributed to the near fatal bankruptcy of Britain on the edge of an abyss. These events continued to lead the colonies on a collision course for independence, with Britain instituting taxes and controlling interests and restrictions in the colonies.
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 people of America (colonists) were tired of being controlled by England. They wanted to be free and independent. They believed that they were able to control themselves and be their own country. They wanted England to let go of their control and to view them as independent and their own country.
Britain was cutting of and taxing the colonists an improper amount. The intolerable acts are what sparked the colonist’s resentment towards Britain, with biased taxes and unfair regulations. Patrick Henry’s empowering rhetoric in his “Speech to the Virginia Convention” uses an abundance of pathos to persuade and emotionally charge the colonists