American Colonies Dbq

It seems that from the moment colonists began to settle in America they stopped viewing themselves as English. The distance alone required them to start their own government, though officially they were under the rule of England. Their lifestyles separated them even further with religious views and values causing major differences in culture. Though the colonists attempted to be involved in the English government the English did not see a plausible way or reason to do so.
When the Stamp Act of 1765, which taxed all paper goods in the colonies, was implemented it was obvious Parliament was blind to the colonists’ perspective. Colonies did not believe they should be taxed without fair representation in Parliament and therefore boycotts and protests made the Stamp Act unsuccessful. Parliament’s response to this refusal would set the tone for American history.

Unfortunately their response was the 1766 Declaratory Acts which repealed the Stamp Act and reiterated the British authority over taxation, much to the colonists’ chagrin.

These Acts were shortly followed by the Townshend Acts of 1767, which attempted to tax the colonists through customs. British customs agents were stationed in Boston to enforce the Acts. Through these actions the British only aggravated the colonists. It had become obvious that Parliament was completely ignorant of the issues surrounding the colonies. It was not that the taxes were too difficult to enforce, it was that the colonists refused to participate in taxation from a government that they were not involved in.
In 1768 Samuel Adams and James Otis Jr responded with the Circular Letter which outlined James Otis Jr’s belief in unwritten rights of human law and fair representation in Parliament. The letter circulated amongst the colonies and bonded the states into a mindset of opposition. This opposition led to the Liberty Riot of the same year, in which James Hancock’s ship, which had been taken by customs agents, was freed by an angry

mob.
Parliament had sent the Army to Boston to help keep the customs agents safe and enforce the Townshend Acts, though it was not a response to the Liberty Riots it occurred shortly after and added to the unrest of the colonists. The soldiers were housed using the Quartering Act and were a great burden to the colonists. In 1770 tensions reached a head when General Hugh White was involved in an altercation with Edward Garrick. Garrick had approached White to collect a bill and was struck by White for disrespect of an officer. Onlookers stepped in to support Garrick and began harassing White. 8 soldiers joined to help White. The situation escalated to the point of the soldiers firing without orders into the crowd of civilians and killing 5 people. This became known as the Boston Massacre in media articles which grossly exaggerated the Army’s role in the event.
Had Parliament accepted American representation in their government the American Revolution might have been avoided altogether, if not significantly delayed. However I believe the physical separation of the colonies from England made it impossible for either side to view the thirteen colonies as truly being English. England had too little involvement in America and working under the assumption that they could use them as a source of revenue grossly underestimated just how far the colonies had developed independently. Resolution was impossible due to England’s lack of attention to the colonies.