THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION
In the year 1763, Great Britain stood victorious in North Americaafter sweeping France from the continent with the assistance of theAmerican colonists, and few would have predicted the end of the long tiesbetween the English Crown and the American colonies. Yet by the last monthsof 1774, "only those with closed eyes and minds could avoid the conclusionthat the Americans were headed toward open and armed rebellion againstGreat Britain and the powers of the English monarchy" (McDowell, 45). The Americans, however, did not rush into a revolution, for beforethe final breach England and the colonies suffered under a long series ofconflicts that steadily grew in strength and importance, and "during thetwelve years of disagreements preceding the engagement of arms at Lexingtonand Concord, the clashes between the mother country of England and theAmerican colonies waxed and waned in intensity" (Reeder, 56). The thirteen American colonies, with over two million citizens whichincluded some 500,000 black African slaves, formed a diverse group ofpolitical, cultural, economic and religious entities grouped together in arelatively narrow band of farms, cities and plantations that stretched
The organization of royal governments in New Jersey,Delaware and New York changed often and in the latter case was influencedby powerful land-holding families such as the De Lanceys. Most of the colonies had developed from 17th century settlements thatrepresented attempts by the English Crown or numerous British entrepreneursto set up strategic or profit-making outposts in the New World. Whether held in Britain bypolitical ties, patriotism or economic interests, 5many Loyalists were to suffer irreparable losses as a result of therevolution. 2 To the north lay the four colonies of New England-Massachusetts,Connecticut, New Hampshire and Rhode Island-"which had been foundedprimarily by groups of religious dissenters, such as the Puritans whosought to establish a theocracy free of the burdens of the decadent Englishchurch" (Bicheno, 156). The economic, political and socialstructures would also be different, for there would be no President,Congress or Supreme Court. The four middle colonies-Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey andDelaware-"had emerged from a long history of imperial rivalries andproprietary grants to form a prosperous region by the eve of therevolution" (Penner, 123). First, the Revenue Act of 1764, known in America as the Sugar Act,became law and marked an attempt by the British government to deal with itnational debt. Not all colonists became revolutionaries and very large numbers ofLoyalists remained devoted to the Crown. The costs of the Seven Year's War,of which the French and Indian War in North America formed but a part, hadleft a huge national debt hanging over the government of England. And like the current state of affairs in GreatBritain, the monarchy would be in control and the United States would benothing more than an extension of the British Empire. Politically, these middle colonies presented aconfused picture of relatively weak governments. Consequently, "as soon as the French had been pushedfrom North America, a series of British ministries began to reserve theeasy-going economic policies of the previous decades and sought to enactand vigorously enforce a series of taxes and trade laws" that would resultin tapping the colonial economies for the benefit of the English Crown(Bradley, 182). he Atlantic coastline from Canada to Florida and interspersed withsettlements that reached westward towards the Appalachian mountain barrier. This act placed a tax on imported foreign molasses from suchplaces as the West Indies; the American response was one of outrage, forthis act intended to raise revenue directly from the colonies which wasseized upon by James Otis who initiated the famous "No taxation withoutrepresentation.
Common topics in this essay:
Stamp Act,
Rhode Island-which,
North America,
American Revolution,
English Crown,
Crown American,
England American,
Carolina Georgia,
Crown Ketchum,
Indian Wars,
english crown,
american colonies,
north america,
american revolution,
american colonists,
national debt,
french indian,
british government,
economic policies,
17th century,
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