English And The Colonies: British Pre-Revolutionary War

The struggle between insiders and outsiders has been a central thread in American history. One could point out that it stems from the history of the Americas as a place where a man could win power, wealth, and glory, even if he had to steal it from someone. The United States is also rare as one of the first places where a rebellion actually worked. Outsiders rising up to try to improve their lot in life has been common. But they rarely if ever worked.

For 10 years or so years, Great Britain experienced a deteriorating relationship with her 13 colonies in North America. The Revolutionary War was a direct cause of this poor relationship. There were many events that caused turmoil but there were several key events that turned the table. British Parliament, in 1765, adopted the Stamp Act, which levied taxes on paper for to generate higher revenue from the colonies. The colonies responded with the Stamp Act Congress who simply opposed this legislation.

In North America during the seventeenth century there were a lot of changes, a lot conflicts and a lot of resolutions. The English colonies that were established during this time period underwent huge amounts of change. Some of these changes were good and some of these changes were bad. They would go from being almost left to themselves to being one of the biggest things for the monarchy, for a number of reasons.

On May 9, 1754, Benjamin Franklin published his Pennsylvania Gazette newspaper, featuring one of the first published political cartoons in US history (Herskovits 2). The cartoon displayed a disconnected snake with the bold words “Join, Or Die” printed on the bottom. Contrary to popular belief that the cartoon was Revolutionary War propaganda, Franklin’s cartoon sought to unify the colonies in the French and Indian War. Prior to the French and Indian War, England’s North American colonies were mostly individual states. Other than sharing a common nationality and ruling government, the colonies had very little in common.

Historically, it is believed that the causes of large scale events and wars are often rooted in the outcomes of previous conflicts. The American Revolution, one of the largest most historically significant events of all time, was caused by a multitude of events. Specifically, many of the causes were in fact the results of past conflicts and ongoing tension, such as the French and Indian War and British taxation acts. Contrary to popular belief, the impact of American Revolution was not solely confined to the colonies and the British crown. Aside from leading to American independence, the American Revolution was a part of a larger global conflict, involving issues between Great Britain, France, and other foreign nations.

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.

The colonists and England had trouble with each others as the colonists developed on their own as time went on. Great Britain and her North American colonies originally conflicted over economic issues rather than political and social controversies and differences. According to document 2, it’s stated that colonists were allowed to have all their rights and did not have to pay taxes passed by the government. This proved that the issue was not originally based on politics as they had all their freedom.

The American Revolution came about after much conflict with Great Britain. Mostly, the conflict was over taxation that the colonies saw as unfair. You see, the colonies were still under the control of Great Britain, which was ruled by King George the Third. At this point in time Great Britain was in very serious financial debt due to the French and Indian War.

During the 16th and 17th century, England began trying to colonize the New World. England sent out many colonists in an attempt to make more money and gain more land in the Americas. These colonies were separated into different sections: Plymouth Bay, and the Southern Colonies. Although each of these colonies were English colonies, they all developed differently. The southern colonies were split into two groups - Upper South (Chesapeake Bay) and the Lower South (The Carolinas).

Beginning in the 18th century, colonial frustrations with the British monarchy intensified. For many decades, the colonists had been left to govern themselves in a process referred to as salutary neglect; however, after Britain went to war against France in 1754 colonial management of affairs would be stripped away. This would be the first spark of many that would inspire the American Revolution. Though the United States would experience significant changes in their government, economic system and social conditions, influences from their mother country would always be apparent. Before 1660, England had governed the Chesapeake and New England colonies loosely, allowing the colonies to develop their own system of government which regulated affairs.