Seven Years War Turning Point Essay

Many consider the Seven Years’ War a major turning point for America, and they are correct. The Seven Years’ War, also called the French and Indian War, was fought between Great Britain and France from 1756 to 1763 with Britain as the victor. The war started with the French and Indian War (1754) in the 13 colonies when the British and French forces disputed over land. After much fighting, the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1763 officially ended the war. As a result, Britain got almost all the French land in North America, not to mention the increasing debt. With so much new land and power, there came many more problems than the debt, especially with the colonies. The Seven Years’ War significantly changed the relationship between

America and Great Britain, notably because of the Proclamation of 1763, taxes, and colonial unity.
When Britain won the war, they got all of the land east of the Mississippi River.

The problem was that the Native Americans that had already settled in the area. As more and more colonists moved past the Appalachian Mountains, they encountered Native American tribes causing many conflicts. This lead to Pontiac’s Rebellion, where a number of tribes attacked British settlements and forts, killing thousands. Consequently, the British passed the Proclamation of 1763, forbidding all colonial settlements passed the line to maintain peace with Native Americans. The colonists were furious because they could not settle or use any of the lands they had so valiantly fought for. The lack of consideration from Britain created growing anti-British feelings and ultimately lead to the American Revolution. Before the war, most settlers were loyal to Britain, but after this policy was passed, colonial tempers became

heated.
The Seven Years’ War was extremely expensive for Britain, more than doubling their debt. George Grenville, Prime Minister, was tasked with the job of finding a way to lower the massive amount of money Great Britain still owed to others. He decided to tax the thirteen colonies more extensively, starting with the Stamp Act, which imposed forced colonists to buy a stamp for every piece of official paper. The duty was met with resistance and colonists started using the slogan “No taxation without representation” again to represent their reason for being mad. Colonial assemblies were called to talk about how to deal with this situation, the Stamp Act Congress. The act was eventually repealed in 1766 following protests and angered people throughout the colonies. More taxes followed, including the Sugar Act, Townshend Acts, and the Tea Act. After Parliament passed each duty, colonists got riled up even more and there were increasing protests and boycotts. The people were filled with hatred and wanted independence more than ever. In the time before the Seven Years’ War, colonists were not taxed as heavily and paid the required taxes, what infuriated them more was that they were not part of the decision. With much opposition, most of the acts were repealed, however, dislike for Britain was already in the minds of many colonists.
Finally, the Seven Years’ War, also called the French and Indian War, united the colonists and colonies against British policies and Great Britain itself during the Revolution.

The Albany Congress was first created to discuss the French and Native American threat and how to defend against them. It was the first assembly during the French and Indian war, and about half the colonies came together in the meeting. This was the start of many meetings during and after the war, for example, the Stamp Act Congress and the Sons of Liberty. As time went on, more colonies got involved and began meeting more frequently; furthermore, the colonies realized that they could do more together and had much in common. In October 1765, the Stamp Act Congress met to decide the actions to take against the Stamp Act. This was also one of the first assemblies that lead to the American Revolution, and other meetings like this one also helped unite the colonies and prepare them for the upcoming problems and issues. The British and some American governors tried to stop most of the colonial assemblies in fear of more severe protesting and boycotts, but they were unsuccessful. In addition, the Sons of Liberty were responsible for the Boston Tea Party, the event that started the Revolution. The Boston Tea Party was when 342 chests of tea were thrown into the ocean as a protesting action against the Tea Act. In response, Britain passes the Intolerable/Coercive Acts to punish Boston, however, the other

colonies sent supplies and aid to the people of Boston and showed how the colonies were now acting as one. Eventually, the colonies used this unification to turn people against Britain everywhere and fight against the British.
In short, the Seven Years’ War was the major event that changed the minds of Americans and will allow the Americans to get rid of the British once and for all. The Proclamation of 1763 was one of the first British policies as a result of the war, and it started making the colonists enraged. Great Britain then passed a series of acts and duties that only fueled the anger of the people. In the end, Americans and British people had become adversaries, and the uniting of all the colonies did not help solve any problems. In the long run, the Seven Years’ War, or the French and Indian War, will always be the crucial turning point in American history.