Duggan 1 Paul Duggan APUSH-3 10-20-10 American Revolution DBQ During the period from 1775 to 1800, American’s views toward Britain began to change. British policies between 1763 and 1776 intensified the colonial’s resistance to Britain and commitment to their new Enlightenment ideals. The policies involved many taxes which the colonists’ resisted due to their belief that such taxes without representation abused their rights. Americans began to look for political, economic, and social freedoms that Britain continued to deny them. They felt that the king was abusing his power as a monarch and therefore their rebellion was for a just cause of declaring the independence they wanted.
Although historians generally regard the Articles of Confederation as a complete failure, they were actually a necessary step in the formation of the Constitution which laid out a balanced government in accordance with the ideals of the American Revolution. Adopted by the Second Continental Congress at the height of the Revolution in 1777, the Articles of Confederation reflected the fears of American citizens, in particular, the fear of tyrannical rule. When the Articles failed, a stronger and more stable government replaced it, the government America has today, defined by the Constitution. Errors made under the weak Articles of Confederation were the catalyst for the ratification of the Constitution. The Articles played an important role by proving a strong central government was not to be feared, it was a necessity.
At first, the British practiced “Salutary Neglect”. Salutary neglect was an undocumented, though long-standing, British policy of avoiding strict enforcement of parliamentary laws, meant to keep the American colonies obedient to Great Britain. After the
This paper will establish the argument that Britain no longer benefited from a mercantilist relationship with the American colonists after 1763. Before 1763, the colonists accepted Parliament's right to take actions on their behalf and even the primacy of England's economic interests over their own. Prior to the Seven Years' War, almost all parliamentary actions had been designed to regulate trade, and while the colonies at times regarded these acts as unfair or inopportune, they did not regard them as especially oppressive or burdensome. After 1763, however, Parliament's actions began to clash with the colonists' interests. At the end of the Seven Years' War, France surrendered Canada and much of the Ohio and Mississippi valley to British rule.
During the French and Indian War of 1754-1763, the British and American colonists were united against the French and their Native American allies. This allowed for a moderately stable relationship between the colonies and their motherland. However, after the French receded from their North American territory in 1763, the British began to impose more restrictions on the colonies regarding land acquisition and economics, putting a strain on what used to be a peaceful affair. Before 1763, Britain was not opposed against the westward expansion of the colonies into territories outside their original boundaries such as the Ohio River Valley. However, after the end of the French and Indian War, England became more strict in terms of land acquisition after these territories were surrendered to the British empire.
The American Revolution did not satisfy the colonial goals for civil, political, social, and economic rights; however the Constitution did. All the American Revolution did was drive the British out of America. With the British gone the Americans had the ability to strive for civil, political, social, and economic rights, but the Articles of Confederation became an obstacle in their path to their rightful goals. During the American Revolution the American people wrote a lot about what they wanted to accomplish and attain. In Document A, the Declaration of the Causes and Necessities of Taking Up Arms, it is written that the American people feel they have been wronged by England because their rights are restricted and wish for these basic rights to happiness and such.
Burke simply did not believe in overthrowing the social order or existing French monarchy. In contrast to the French Revolution, the American Revolution did not result in a new social order, for most of the colonial rebel leaders were already aristocratic, wealthy, and propertied men. These men wanted to rule the colonies as they saw fit, rather than subject
The colonial governments tried to reach a peaceful reconciliation of these differences with Great Britain, but were continually ignored. The King neglected the colonists’ appeal and dictates laws without their consent. After many peaceful attempts, the colonists had no choice but to declare independence from Great Britain. In this Declaration, the argument is very clear and convincing. To make his case for independence effectively, Jefferson begins by using moral reasoning and deductive logic, then shifts to inductive logic to lead up to the conclusion.
The theory of political independence emerged in the colonies after the French and Indian War in 1763 due to recurring crises, such as taxation, trade regulations, and many other wrongful laws. The original plan, or call to action, of the colonies was the eventual plan to reconcile with Britain and return to the era of salutary neglect, which was lost after the French and Indian War. After particular events that led up to the American Revolution, the colonists formed a more united nation and realized their need and want for independence. During 1763-1766, many unfair acts were passed, beginning with the Proclamation Act of 1763, which prohibited the colonies from going west of the Appalachian Mountains. This law angered the colonists because this impeded them from obtaining new, cheap land.
Growing Sense of Independence through Salutary Neglect The irony of Britain’s policy of Salutary Neglect was that although the goal was to maintain control of an improved America, it resulted in an opposing effect. Instead, when the British turned their back on America, it became the catalyst for the independence of the colonies. The purpose for this policy was to allow the American colonies to grow stronger on their own. The British’ inattention resulted in colonies gaining a strong sense of independence demonstrated by their implementation of Legislative Assemblies, commerce, and religion during this period of Salutary Neglect. During this phase, the colonies began developing their own government.