Disagreements erupted over how the colonies felt that they should be treated and the way they were actually treated by Britain. The British stance was that the colonies were created for the benefit of Britain and the Colonialists wanted more say in their own existence. One main cause of the revolution was that the Colonists wanted more representation within the British government hence “no taxation without representation”, (Hickman n.d.), Britain was unwilling to do this. Another factor was the geographical distance between Britain and the Colonists, this created a sense of independence with in the colonies. Britain therefore tried to tighten control over the Colonists through a series of acts designed to quell any sense of rebellion.
He argued that social development studies showed changes in their social behaviors and their interactions once in their new environment. Thus, he concluded that the new society was uniquely America. He has a very valid argument, but I believe he could have maintained the strength of his argument while also including the fact that the American people coming from British roots, the Puritans, the Royalist elites, the North Midlanders of England and the North British and Irish were still unique as a sub-culture melded together by the choice for religious and economic freedom. The pursuit to own land and accumulate wealth, and not be under the rule of the crown was first and foremost in the early colonists minds. Fisher rests his entire point of view based on the roots of the four British folkways that separated the settlers in America.
Early settlers had a variety of reasons for seeking a new homeland. The Pilgrims of Massachusetts were spiritual, self-disciplined English people who wanted to escape religious persecution. Other colonies, such as Virginia, were founded principally as business ventures. Colonists viewed America as a place they could go to practice their religion freely. However, most people looked badly upon religions outside of their own.
He wanted to show that supporting the independence movement instead of remaining loyal to the British Crown was a better idea and would result in happier lives. 2.) What does Paine see as the global significance of the American struggle for Independence? Freedom was the entire goal here because Paine believed the colonists deserved the right to be free from the British monarchy. If America were to remain under British rule it would only cause more conflict between the countries in Europe because other countries were trying to get a piece of America for themselves.
Americans felt that since they had no representation in Parliament, and that there were decisions being made for them without proper representation, that they were slaves to the forceful word of the British crown. Even some countrymen in Great Britain felt that the Americans were being treated unfairly. Lord Camden believed that Americans were not being given their natural born rights as men. “My position is this – I repeat it – I will maintain it to my last hour, - taxation and representation are inseparable: - this position is founded on the laws of nature,” (pg.95, Major Problems in the Era of the American Revolution, Brown). It seems there was a miscommunication, because Britain was treating the Americans different from other British and also wanted to keep major control in anyway, like restricting trade from any other country (like France and Spain).
Some of the measures that the British government brought in might have over stepped the boundaries and this will also upset the colonist. The colonies have never been happy with the fact that Britain had the right to regulate trade, but they have never really been happy with the face that the British policies will increase the internal tax. Then the stamp act was brought in the colonies together agreed that Britain had no right to tax them in this area. The stamp act was tax on documents. If you wanted to print anything such as newspapers
John Hughes and Benjamin Franklin came up with the Stamp Act which many people did not like. (DOC G) John Hughes was beggining to run the government down into nothing. Which would cause more taxes for the Americans and whatnot. The Americans would really begin to not like John Hughes and want to separate from Britian even more. So these were some of the reasons tt the American colones separated from the British.
Unlike New England, the Chesapeake region developed a society that was not primarily dependent on religion; most of these people came to America to seek economic prosperity. From the beginning, New England and the Chesapeake region were deviating, which was caused mostly by the fact that settlers developed a society around different goals– that is developing a religious, communal society in New England and seeking gold or cultivating crops for economic prosperity in Chesapeake; in addition, different climate and response to economic gap also contributed to the regions’ differences. New England maintained a strong, communal identity while the Chesapeake remained widely scattered. When New England settlers first arrived, they had strong ties to religion. John Winthrop, the first governor of Massachusetts, emphasized in his sermon that they were to be “a city upon a hill”, where everyone can see them and can be represented as a model Christian community (Doc A), which would also shame England into truly reforming the Church of England.
The Revolutionary War: Why was it fought and was it preventable? Many believe that the trouble started brewing in 1763 at the end of the French Indian War but in all truth the colonist first started feeling discontent with the passing of the Navigation laws in 1650. This law stated that all goods flowing to and from the colonies could only be transported in British vessels. It was aimed to hurt rival Dutch shippers. This law kept money in the empire but hurt the pockets of the wealthy colonists mercantilist that depended on the shipping trade.
However, the many taxes passed by the British Parliament hindered their progress, upsetting the colonists. One of the first significant taxes was the Sugar Act of 1763, enacted by the british parliament, which added a tax to sugar bought by the colonists. This tax enraged the colonists because they enjoyed the use of sugar and they didn’t want to have to pay more for it. The colonists, in response, began to smuggle sugar and other goods. The british, in response to the smuggling, set up a court without a jury present and the presumption was that the colonists were guilty.