American Independence
American colonists were faced with a decision: continue to be a part of Great Britain or secede and become an individual country. The latter was what the majority of colonists favored, and thus making it no surprise that they managed to accomplish this – justified in doing so - and venture out on their own, as their own. Great Britain owned the colonies and the American colonists were proud to be in unity with this colony known as the mother country, until conflicts climaxed and Americans felt there were no other options than to rule their own. The British taxed Americans unconstitutionally, violated their rights, and forced them to rely on Britain to convert their natural resources into usable goods to raise the influx
…show more content…
The British disregarded American rights just as a plantation owner would do to their slaves. Showing no care for the measure of lengths they would have to stretch to in order to keep what they own under their control due to their status of power, the British resulted to violence. In his 1775 document “Declaration of Arms” John Hancock points out, "...The legislature of Great-Britain, however, stimulated by an inordinate passion for a power not only unjustifiable, but which they know to be peculiarly reprobated by the very constitution of that kingdom...attempted to affect their cruel and impolitic purpose of enslaving these colonies by violence..." proving that Great Britain felt that with their power, they had the ability to control these colonies with violence, taking their rights and basically enslaving …show more content…
In this process, the British would make the most of their money from the cost of transportation that the Americans would be required to pay in order to send their pelts across the waters and then to receive their hats once they were composed. Americans were well able to survive on their own with the natural resources they could locate around them. They could plant, raise and grow their own crops to supply for food, they could mine iron and obtain the skill of blacksmithing to then turn that metal into several different things such as nails, tools and weapons. Iron and beaver furs are the natural produce of America, and can be located and harvested from all areas of the land. In the (Barre) 1768 “Causes of the American Discontents,” Benjamin Franklin stated, “…There cannot be a stronger natural right than that of a man’s making the best profit he can of the natural produce of his lands…” exhibiting that the British have again found a way to restrict Americans from their
The main reason for the severance of the colonies from Britain was the lack of equality in parliament and the disregard for colonial needs. Whether it be forcing someone to pay for a war they did not fight or want, limiting one’s need for land, or piling on the taxes, all of these factors played a part in the dissolving of British-colonial ties. The colonists were only human and had the human reaction of defiance to injustice. If the colonists had not of had the audacity that they did, today’s America would be a very different place. Breaking away from Britain was the greatest thing the colonists could have possible done.
The relationship between Britain and her Americans colonies slowly deteriorated between the 1750s and the beginning of the American Revolution. When the first British immigrants settled in America, the relationship of the colonies and their mother country was somewhat peaceful. In the following generations, however, their relationship became tenser as Britain imposed policies and taxes on unrepresented American colonists. The British believed they were right in doing so because they had large debts to pay from ongoing wars with France. These taxes caused uprisings among colonists which contributed to British occupation in America, leading to more rebellions. Eventually, the rift in the relationship between the colonists and the British led to the Revolutionary War and the formation of a new country.
Justification of the Colonists' Declaration of Independence from England Were the colonist justified in declaring independence from England? I feel that they had plenty of just cause to separate themselves. England was taxing the colonies without fair representation in Parliament, the British also took away the right to assemble, and they were using different tactics to attempt to intimidate the colonists. One of the greatest thing that angered the colonists was the taxation without representation. The British government had good reason to tax the colonies, because they just went to war to defend them.
The American colonists’ disagreements with British policymakers lead to the colonist’s belief that the policies imposed on them violated of their constitutional rights and their colonial charters. These policies that were imposed on the colonist came with outcome like established new boundaries, new internal and external taxes, unnecessary and cruel punishment, and taxation without representation. British policymakers enforcing Acts of Parliament, or policies, that ultimately lead in the colonist civil unrest, outbreak of hostilities, and the colonist prepared to declare their independence.
The American Revolution (1775-1783) was a war between England and the colonies which were settled earlier by the English. There were many factors and events that led to the American Revolution. The Revolution was mainly an economic rebellion that was fueled by taxation without representation following the French and Indian War. The English Parliament was more often than not considered cruel and unfair by the colonists. With conflicts over trade, taxes and government representation, the colonies were at a starting line of a revolution that would later transform into the basis of the United States of America.
After the French Indian War ended, the Britain was in debt, and they also wanted to have more control of the colonies, and the colonists. They passed different acts and procedures in order to collect money, and hold the control of the colonists, and the colonies. Yet the colonists were not given any representation, and they were losing their freedoms one by one; these caused a serious tension between Britain and the colonies, which eventually lead to the American revolution, followed by the Declaration of Independence. The colonies were justified for declaring independence from England, because the king of England caused “repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over the states”("The
By the time the colonists had settled into their new land they had established some order such as small governments to keep the colonies in line. The ocean separating England and the colonies made it difficult though for England to guide the colonists successfully the way they had wanted. The main thing the British tried was implementing taxes, but they also went so far as letting the colonies on their own for awhile and using military to keep them in place. On the other hand, the colonists saw that the British were stalling their attempts at self-governing so they worked together to disregard any British policies. By the eve of the Revolution, colonists had developed a sense of their identity and unity as Americans that was brought about by the British parliament. Exasperated by British efforts to hinder their growing self-reliance, colonists began pushing them away by doing various things such as rioting, boycotting, or voicing their opinions on paper.
As a result of the French and Indian War, England’s attention became focused on the areas that required tending by the government other than North America, which provided the colonies with the one thing that ensured the downfall of Britain’s monarchial reign over America: salutary neglect. The unmonitored inhabitants of the colonies accustomed themselves to a level of independence that they had never possessed before, and when these rights were jeopardized by the enforcement of the Stamp Act after the Seven Year’s War, the colonists would not take it lying down. The colonies bound together in rebellion against the taxation without representation through boycotting the use of English goods, as embodied by Benjamin Franklin’s famous drawing of a snake; the “Join or Die” snake, as a whole representing the functionality and “life” of the colonies if they would work together, also forewarns the uselessness and “death” of the individual regions, suggesting that the colonies as a whole would have to fight the revolution against the Mother Country or else fail miserably...
What would influence you to fight for American Independence? Would your family's’ views, your friend’s views, or the views of a political pamphlet influence you? In the beginning of the American Revolution, a man by the name of Thomas Paine wrote a political pamphlet that would influence many Americans to fight for independence from Britain. Thomas Pain used several ideas that include government is a necessary evil, America will eventually be independent, Britain will always oppress the American Colonies to influence the American People, and the importance of allies.
Although, from the british perspective the Americans were just being completely unpractical and attempting to take advantage of the situation. The Salutary neglect is to blame for such hostility because it is the reason colonists came to practice the freedoms they were now so reluctant to give up. It’s like the old saying says” when the cat's away the mice play.” This is exactly what the Americans did whenever England turned it’s back and went to
A new era was dawning on the American colonies and its mother country Britain, an era of revolution. The American colonists were subjected to many cruel acts of the British Parliament in order to benefit England itself. These British policies were forcing the Americans to rebellious feelings as their rights were constantly being violated by the British Crown. The colonies wanted to have an independent government and economy so they could create their own laws and stipulations. The British imperial policies affected the colonies economic, political, and geographic situation which intensified colonists’ resistance to British rule and intensified commitment to their republican values.
The British were trying to control the Americans entirely, with their monopoly on trade, and also thought that the Americans would do everything they demanded them to do. The colonists soon figured out Great Britain's angle on the situation. That was, they didn't understand why they were forced to pay taxes to the British, when they had no say in Britain's actions.
You may or might not have felt the pain of being stuck in a cage, of being treated like a puppet. Well this is how the americans felt during 1775 and 1776. They were governed by the colonies but behind it all was a much greater power. The were british soldiers and loyalists on every corner of the street. They felt trapped. They did whatever it took to be free, to gain liberty. A group called the Sons of liberty worked together to abolish the british rule in america, and they did whatever it took. If it took being violent and disruptive against the loyalist then that’s what they would do. At the end of it all, after the Revolutionary war the colonist received what we were looking for, which was freedom and liberty.
One of the reasons that the colonists wanted to separate from Britain was that people in the colonies had begun to see themselves as small separate nations such as North Carolinians, Virginians, Pennsylvanians, and on goes the list. This started to give them an identity separate of Britain, but in many ways the colonists still considered themselves to be British. Since the colonists continued to see themselves as British, it made little impact that the people in each colony were developing new identities. Another factor that contributed to the American Revolution would be tax collectors. Many people fled to the colonies because of debt, and tax collectors followed to collect on debts that these people owed them. This reason is given a little more weight than it should because the majority of the population was not first or second generation colonists by the mid eighteenth century. Tax collectors would not be able to collect on individuals if surnames changed or the surname died. Royal governors are another small reason that people would want to be free of British rule as they were a constant reminder of British rule over the colonies. However, this reason...
The relations between England and the British North American colonies could always be considered precarious. Prior to 1750 British essentially followed a policy of benign neglect and political autonomy in the American colonies. (Davidson p.97) The colonies were for the most part content with benign neglect policy, relishing in a “greater equality and representative government”(Davidson p.95) within the colonies. Competition among European Imperial nations began to effect British policy toward North America colonies causing rapid shifts from 1750 to 1776. During this period, the British Empire made a series of policy decision that sealed the fate of the British North American colonies and lead to the American Revolution.