Analysis Of 'A Calm Address To Our American Colonies'

498 Words1 Page

In the reading of A Calm Address to our American Colonies, Wesley analyses all the arguments the colonies have to be upset with England and counter argues them. In the beginning, he addresses the fact that they say they can't be taxed without representation, yet he himself also has no representation in the government but still pays taxes. Another point he makes is their hypocrisy in saying they are slaves without votes when the real slaves are the ones at their sides getting whipped who truly do not have any rights and are considered property.
After this he goes on to list all the grievances the colonies have by number and points out the flaw in each argument. One argument he makes is that the colonies sought out England for protection in the war and were glad for their help up until they had to help contribute towards the expenses. England imposed one small tax on the colonies to pay for their expenses, and in turn the colonies go into an uproar, which is unreasonable to say the least. Towards the end he makes another important counterargument, which is that the colonies say they never agreed to get taxed or give their …show more content…

His writing makes a reader doubt the veracity of the American Revolution and the right of the colonies to fight for independence. Personally, my perspective changed and I no longer saw England as some tyrant power who tried to strip the colonies of their rights and taxed them unjustly. I began to see how England’s actions were justified and my patriotism took a blow. England clearly had a right to tax, as is evidenced by the charter and especially because the taxes were for expenses racked up for the protection of the colonies in the French and Indian War. Overall, Wesley makes a very convincing argument that the colonies are acting irrationally and unreasonably, which makes you wonder whether one should be proud of America’s “honorable” fight for

Show More
Related

  • Benjamin Franklin was a Political Hero in Sheila Kemp's The Cockpit

    2015 Words  | 5 Pages

    In closing, Kemp--and I must agree with her-- adamantly stressed that Franklin sent the Hutchinson/Oliver letters, though it was a lack of judgment, in order to calm the storm. Which was a mistake, at least in my view. As Kemp states,”If anything, Franklin’s fundamental error was the direct result of his emotional attachment to the Empire and of his naive assumption that men more sympathetic to the colonies might yet rise to positions of power in England.” (Kemp, 94). In her next two chapters Kemp largely focused on the internal insecurities of the British Government, and the ramifications of the Cockpit incident.

    Read More

  • Taxes By Soame Jenyns Summary

    1254 Words  | 3 Pages

    Soame Jenyns, a member of the British Parliament from 1741 to 1780, wrote a pamphlet called “The Objections to the taxation consider’d” in 1765 in which he defended the Parliament’s right to tax the American colonies. Jenyns is clearly writing this to the colonists to read, almost seemly in a mocking way, as stated in the very first paragraph, “…who have ears but no understanding…” He then goes on to bring up three key points that the colonists have given as reasons not to be taxed by the

    Read More

  • Bernard Bailyn's Essay 'A Response To British Corruption'

    581 Words  | 2 Pages

    In his essay “The American Revolution as a Response to British Corruption”, historian Bernard Bailyn makes the argument that the American Revolution was inherently conservative because its main goal was to preserve what Americans believed to be their traditional rights as English citizens. He argues that the minor infringements on traditional liberties, like the Stamp Act and the royal ban on lifetime tenure of colonial judges (even though Parliament ruled that judges in England should exercise this right), made the Americans fear that they would set a precedent for future greater infringements on their English liberties. To prove this argument, Baliyan quotes famous primary sources, like John Dickinson, Sam Adams, and various colonial rulings.

    Read More

  • The British and the American Colonists: Tension Prior to Revolutionary War

    1033 Words  | 3 Pages

    When the colonies were being formed, many colonists came from England to escape the restrictions placed upon them by the crown. Britain had laws for regulating trade and collecting taxes, but they were generally not enforced. The colonists had gotten used to being able to govern themselves. However, Britain sooned changed it’s colonial policy because of the piling debt due to four wars the British got into with the French and the Spanish. The most notable of these, the French and Indian War (or the Seven Years’ War), had immediate effects on the relationship between the colonies and Great Britain, leading to the concept of no taxation without representation becoming the motivating force for the American revolutionary movement and a great symbol for democracy amongst the colonies, as Britain tried to tighten their hold on the colonies through various acts and measures.

    Read More

  • Were the American Colonists Justified in Waging War and Breaking Wway from Britain?

    942 Words  | 2 Pages

    The colonists were in every right, aspect and mind, not only justified but also it was about time that they stood of and actually take action against the British. The choice of going to war with them, was the only choice that they had. All diplimatical options that they had ceased to stand a chance against the tyrant Britain. From the very beginning when the colonists felt upset against their mother country and the way that they went about the law making, up until the beginning of the war, they tried all diplimatical options that they had, by sending letters, you name it. When they didn’t work then they had no other means but to declare war.

    Read More

  • The Making Of A Patriot Sparknotes

    1181 Words  | 3 Pages

    Benjamin Franklin, one of the Founding Fathers to the United States, was not a patriot but a mere loyalist to England before the dissolution between England and the colonies occurred. Sheila L. Skemp's The Making of a Patriot explores how Benjamin Franklin tried to stay loyal to the crown while taking interest in the colonies perception and their own representation in Parliament. While Ms. Skemp alludes to Franklin's loyalty, her main illustration is how the attack by Alexander Wedderburn during the Privy Council led to Franklin's disillusionment with the British crown and the greater interest in making the Thirteen Colonies their own nation. Her analysis of Franklin's history in Parliament and what occurred on the night that the council convened proves the change behind Franklin's beliefs and what lead to his involvement in the Declaration of Independence and the American Revolution.

    Read More

  • Slavery In Woody Holton's Black Americans In The Revolutionary Era

    1667 Words  | 4 Pages

    Similar to the previous document, Document 6, the individuals writing this urges the state of Massachusetts to grant them freedom. In the introduction to this document, a contradiction is addressed by Holton, discussing the colonists’ views on King George III’s policies. Holton states: “White colonists’ protests often charged that the policies adopted by King George III and Parliament took away their liberty and even threatened to “enslave them” (Holton 46). Based on this, one would imply that the colonists are not used to this type of oppression being placed on their lifestyle. It seems that the colonists felt as if they were going to be treated like slaves. This protest contradicts itself because the colonists are the originally the ones that are oppressing and setting strict rules and laws against African Americans. In addition, it appears that the colonists are unbothered with treating the slaves worse than the result of King George and Parliament’s policies, but suddenly it is not okay once that action is placed upon the colonists themselves. Another document that speaks on these contradictions is Document 10. This document examines Phillis Wheatley’s letter to Samson Occom. Wheatley’s letter to Occum denotes the colonists’ insistence to break free from Britain’s wrath and their persistence to keep slavery in the United States. Wheatley attempts to

    Read More

  • Thomas Paine Common Sense Rhetorical Analysis

    861 Words  | 2 Pages

    “Common sense will tell us, that the power which hath endeavored to subdue us, is of all others, the most improper to defend us.” Such words scribed by the Revolutionary radical Thomas Paine epitomized the drive behind the American Revolution of the 18th century. For nearly two hundred years, the citizens of the American Colonies had been fastened securely to the wrist of the mother country, England. They had tolerated the tyrannous rule, but not without the simmer of rebellious thoughts. As England piled tax after tax onto their colonies, thoughts of revolution and revolt sprung up in the minds of the colonists and brewed there, waiting for a catalyst to drive them into action. The catalyst ignited on January 10th, 1776 when Thomas Paine published his fiery pamphlet ‘Common Sense’. The 48-page pamphlet presented before the colonists a vision for independence that had never been conceived before. It radically altered the course of the Revolution and would later find itself molding the foundation of America’s government indefinitely.

    Read More

  • Fallacious Arguments In the Declaration of Independence

    569 Words  | 2 Pages

    The rhetorical style uses persuasive ideals in the use of language. For example, in the first sentence of the second paragraph, the parallel structure and repetition of the word “that” enable the writers to articulate with excessive clarity their fundamental beliefs. The second paragraph is similar to the concluding paragraph because it also relies on parallel structure and repetition of “that” when declaring the colonies free and independent states. Also,the repetition of "He is,"which is the only phrase other than "He has" in the list of “complaints” shows present tense. In this case present tense leads to urgency to the need for a revolution. Which tells the audience that the only other option is, desolation, and tyranny. There is also negative diction about the actions of the British king(George III) that carry to the emotional appeal. Finally,the prime of the last line effectiv...

    Read More

  • Robert Eldon Brown Was The American Revolution

    1019 Words  | 3 Pages

    Taylor believed that the revolution was more than just gaining independence from Great Britain, and not only did he believe there was other motives that fueled the revolution, he also believed that the solution of the revolution didn’t completely end once the colonies gained their independence, but continued for about 20 years after there was still an internal revolution on home ground being fought between the upper and lower classes throughout the colonies. Taylor does agree that part of the American Revolution was becoming independent and free of the British control, but Taylor disagrees with the fact that that was the only purpose and outcome of the movement. This prize winning author adds that the revolution was more or less two parts, part one was gaining independence and achieving a successful democracy throughout. While part two of the movement, was the internal issue facing the colonies, the differences between the classes and the inequality that influenced the division. Unlike Brown’s article, Taylor didn’t emphasize Great Britain’s role in the revolution, but instead he focused on what he

    Read More

  • What the Revolution Really Was

    998 Words  | 2 Pages

    In conclusion, the changes in the colonies were so significant that they seemed to create a completely different country. This was especially true with the ideas of an economic system, a common lifestyle, and religious diversity. The changes they made and became accustomed to, also began to change their political beliefs. This is what ultimately led to the war that people today are so accustomed to calling “the American Revolution”. According to John Addams, however, “The war? That was no part of the Revolution; it was only an effect and consequence of it. The Revolution was in the minds of the people… years before a drop of blood was shed at Lexington.”

    Read More

  • Summary Of The Nature And Extent Of Parliamentary Power

    1213 Words  | 3 Pages

    Hicks wrote, “ their superior power to reduce their fellow subjects to a state of subornation inconsistent with their natural rights, its conflicts with their own constitution”, which explains the colonist’ point of view about how England actions towards their other colonies around the world. The colonies would have hope that parliament would allow their natural rights to be followed as their cousin in England, but the colonies’ rights were dismantled; to the colonist; to justified the needs of the mother country. Bailyn states “the crown is a tyranny in the colonists’ belief, and a tyranny over the body and souls by their policies in the civil affairs of the colonies.” Bailyn reveals that the paranoia of the colonies falling into the hands of a tyrannical was in its final phase, after having their rights suppressed; it would eventually lead to their enslavement unless the colonist react before

    Read More

  • Analysis Of American Sphinx By Joseph J. Ellis

    1477 Words  | 3 Pages

    However, the author 's interpretations of Jefferson 's decisions and their connection to modern politics are intriguing, to say the least. In 1774, Jefferson penned A Summary View of the Rights of British America and, later, in 1775, drafted the Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms (Ellis 32-44). According to Ellis, the documents act as proof that Jefferson was insensitive to the constitutional complexities a Revolution held as his interpretation of otherwise important matters revolved around his “pattern of juvenile romanticism” (38). Evidently, the American colonies’ desire for independence from the mother country was a momentous decision that affected all thirteen colonies. However, in Ellis’ arguments, Thomas Jefferson’s writing at the time showed either his failure to acknowledge the severity of the situation or his disregard of the same. Accordingly, as written in the American Sphinx, Jefferson’s mannerisms in the first Continental Congress and Virginia evokes the picture of an adolescent instead of the thirty-year-old man he was at the time (Ellis 38). It is no wonder Ellis observes Thomas Jefferson as a founding father who was not only “wildly idealistic” but also possessed “extraordinary naivete” while advocating the notions of a Jeffersonian utopia that unrestrained

    Read More

  • Difference Between Thomas Paine's Common Sense And The Declaration Of Independence

    1888 Words  | 4 Pages

    All men were created by God with certain God-given rights, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It is the right of the people to eradicate this form of government when it becomes destructive to these rights. The Declaration then goes on to state many things that the king of England has done wrong or against America. He has not allowed Governors to pass laws that are of great importance. He has made judges dependent upon him for their salaries; they must do what he says is right in order to get paid. He has cut off their trade from other parts of the world. He has waged war against them. He has done numerous things that have not been taken care of after multiple petitions have been set out to be received by the king. They want to be enemies in times of war and friends in times of peace. It is the right of these colonies to be free and independent states, and they have freedom to do that of which all independent states have to do. They end with the statement that they have a firm belief that this is the Providence of God to be

    Read More

  • The Arguments of Thomas Paine and James Chalmers Over the Revolutionary War

    735 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Revolutionary War was one of America’s earliest battles and one of many. Although, many came to America to gain independence from Great Britain many still had loyalty for the King and their laws. Others believed that America needs to be separated from Great Britain and control their own fate and government. I will analyze the arguments of Thomas Paine and James Chalmers. Should America be sustained by Great Britain or find their own passage?

    Read More

More about Analysis Of 'A Calm Address To Our American Colonies'

Open Document