Confederation In The 1860's

In her most recent book, Lafayette in the Somewhat United States, Sarah Vowell asserts that the United States were not, in fact, united until Britain forced them to unite over issues of taxation. Her assertion is based on the largely divided culture of the then-colonies, and how even neighbors like New York and Connecticut would get into arguments over territory. Were the colonies united before 1776, or were they as divided as Sarah Vowell argues. A case can be made for either argument. True, there were divides between the colonial governments, but when the time came, every colony pitched in to assist Massachusetts, and each sent delegates to the Continental Congress. Vowell’s argument is that it was

The French-Indian War of 1754-1763 resulted in political, ideological, and economic alterations within Britain and its American colonies.

4. How did the Great War for Empire change the relationship between England and its American colonies?

Macdonald often called the father of Confederation, he is the first and second longest serving prime minister in Canada for that many consider him the best leader in Canada. For example said Wilfrid Laurier, said in the House of Commons, June 8, 1891: "It may be said without any exaggeration whatever, that the life of Sir John Macdonald, from the time he entered Parliament, is the history of Canada." Conservative Senator Hugh Segal said “Macdonald 's legacy to the country is the country itself,” Macdonald shaped the modern Canada and wanted to see it united. He foresaw the expansion of Canada “from sea to sea” and during his leadership, aside for the four original province, Manitoba, British Columbia and Prince Edward Island joined Canada. Macdonald dream was creating the National Railway which would also unify the country, and the railway was built through hard work, sweat and blood in ten years. National Railway was very significant to expansion and growing of Canada. Historian George Stanley wrote in The Canadians, "Bonds of steel as well as of sentiment were needed to hold the new Confederation together. Without railways there would be and could be no Canada." While Macdonald was country leader he tried to allow women and Aboriginal people to vote in 1880’s. He attempted to pass the bill, but got nowhere with it . During his leadership in 1873, he established the North-West Mounted Police that was sent to Alberta and Saskatchewan. If it was not so successful

William Lyon Mackenzie King, a man of glory, forever changed Canada’s constitution during the tumultuous nineteenth century and resolved all difficulties Canada faced on its way to becoming a strong, independent, and autonomous nation. His contributions and sanctions targeted all factors at the time and had interrelated effects on the construction of Canada. Unlike other Canadian politicians, King handled every crisis with thorough planning and achieved promising outcomes from unsolvable problems. It is without a doubt that King was the most influential figure in Canada’s development. His role in the autonomy, economic development, and social stability stands as solid evidence of the pioneering impacts he had on Canada’s advancement.

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. On the other hand the British deprived the colonists of even the most basic of rights. The American Revolution was more about Civil Liberties because there are three main arguments that support it: Taxation without Representation, the Quartering Act, and the Intolerable (Coercive) Acts. These actions that the British did justified the colonists’ revolution.

The French and Indian War left England with a debt of £130,000,000. To help pay off the debt Britain set up taxes, to collect money, on frequently used products by the colonists. The Molasses Act put a six pence tax on every gallon of molasses. The colonists thought this was a lot of money to pay so they did everything to avoid it. This act was not really enforced and the colonists did not really obey this act. Britain needed a way to fix this. They came up with the Sugar Act, a set of taxes to help Britain raise money. Taxes were not a new thing for the colonists, but these new taxes caused big issues.

One of the first things that sparked the unification among the colonies was the Albany Plan of Union(1754). The document was mainly drafted by Benjamin Franklin. It was drawn up because the of the frequent wars between Great Britain and France would often cause violent conflict near the American Colonies and the skirmishes the settlers had with the Native Americans caused many people in the colonies to feel unsafe. This plan was the first step into allowing the colonies to govern themselves, at least in regards to protecting the colonies ' safety. With the Townshend Acts(1773) and Coercive Acts(1774) passed by the Parliament of Great Britain, the colonist responded with violence and called for a Continental Congress. The Declaration and Resolves

Compromises seemed to be working in 1820 as a solution to political issues that America agreed to disagreed on. As seen in the Missouri Compromise, where Henry Clay made slaves free in twelve states and not free in the other twelve; in order to keep everything balanced. But between the period of 1820 to 1860, compromising took a shift and no longer seemed to be the solution. Compromises worked with Henry Clay in the Missouri compromise in 1820 but by 1860 due to a series of geographic, political, and social changes compromises were impossible.

Settling in the New World provided both the American settlers and the British government with many opportunities. For the colonists, North America provided an opportunity to improve their lives and escape religious persecution. For the British, settlers in North America provided access to raw materials and new markets in which to sell finished goods. This mercantilist relationship continued for several years, until the colonists began to question Parliament’s right to treat them differently than other British citizens. Taxes were imposed on the colonists as a means of helping to pay the debt Britain had incurred fighting the French. Troops stationed in North America were viewed with suspicion by the colonists, often resulting in hostile encounters

In 1689, the British and the French entered a long period of frequent warfare known as the Second One Hundred Years’ War. The British government had to start directing its focus towards the French rather than its colonies in the New World. Due to the constant warfare, the British did not enforce the Navigation Acts that regulated and controlled trade going to and from the colonies. This sort of political and economic strategy was called salutary neglect. The Americans enjoyed minimal interference in their trading and the American economy grew and developed under this salutary neglect. However, after the French and Indian war ended in 1763, the British government was severely in debt. It started to enforce the Navigation Acts and imposed

There were many important Compromises between the years of 1820 and 1860, some that worked completely and some that didn’t. In the early nineteenth century, people were good at compromising and making things work for everyone. How long did perfect compromising actually last? Slavery began to split the nation apart, causing compromising to become hard to do. Slavery was one of the biggest problems between 1820 and 1860. Sometimes two states had to be added to the Union at the same time, to make things fair. The North and the South fought almost constantly over the issue of slavery, sometimes things were able to be worked out about it, but as the years passed, the problems with slavery and territory started to become too big to ignore or

On July 4, 1776 the founding fathers decided to separate from England. In a document called The Declaration of Independence, the colonists stated their reasons for why they were leaving England and making their own nation. The colonists were justified to break away from England for reasons like the Intolerable Acts, unfair taxes, and tyranny among others.

After years of being controlled by the French, the thirteen American colonies thought that the Seven Years War would be their salvation. While the British did defeat the French and gain the territories in the colonies, it was not the answer the colonists were looking for. The British gained complete control over the colonies. The colonies were tired of being restrained and saw a new destiny for themselves: freedom. The results of the Seven Years War were united colonies and a drive for independence.