Long-term social, economic, and political policies fostered by Britain before 1750 thoroughly impacted the developing American mindset. These fundamentals, such as legislative assemblies, commerce laws, and religious events, provided the basis for what was to become an independent American nation. This sovereign and unique culture, which developed slowly inside the thirteen colonies, can be greatly attributed to the continuous policy, protection, and influence that Britain provided.
The lack of unity inside the thirteen colonies led to a little political basis for a national consciousness of any sort. But, the three thousand miles that separated England, also created a huge lapse of royal governmental influence. Therefore, for the most part, the colonies were independent from one another and loosely affiliated with their mother country. Although each colony had a governor (who was appointed by the king,) the legislative houses ran by the colonists possessed the most significant amounts of power. Not much could be done about this abundance of American freedom however. As John Garraty states, it was nearly impossible for British representatives to have any sort of influence because they were “prisoners of their own surroundings.” Even the Privy Council, (which was set up to advise the king about colonial matters,) could not formulate a policy for the colonists as a whole. Therefore, as the American society progressed and developed, these well-functioning representative institutions played an important role. Dating as far back as the Plymouth settlers, the colonies generally conducted themselves; without much outside interference. In this way, they developed individually, and established the right of self-government. These fundamentals, which were created due to the absence of a British governmental policy, changed the path of the American colonial society, and still lie at the center of the democratic framework that exists today.
The prerequisite to the formation of the American colonies was the recognition that their sole purpose was to satisfy the needs of their mother country: Britain. This idea of mercantilism had a profound effect on the economic growth of the thirteen colonies. The colonies were generally “dumping grounds” for surpluses, as well as a place to find raw materials, which would ultimately lead to an income of gold. In order to achieve these goals, Britain passed a series of Navigation Acts, beginning in 1650. They called for British ships to control all trade, and for goods going to the colonies to stop in London first.
For example, the Navigation Acts of 1660 and 1663 specified a number of key trade related rules. First, they specified that all colonial trade had to be carried on ships owned by British or colonial traders. Secondly, all colonial goods bound for North America had to pass through certain English ports, in order to be taxed and monitored. Finally, enumerated goods such as sugar were to be shipped only to English ports. Despite these laws existing, the government in London did not enforce them strictly up until 1763. This policy is often referred to as ‘salutary neglect’ and it had the effect of introducing a perceived sense of autonomy and self-determination in the North American colonies. Following 1763, the British government began to enforce the Navigation Acts British lawmakers began to introduce more Acts which further restricted and monitored colonial trade and increased taxes. To the parliament in London this was just enforcing and building upon old laws, an opinion that was not shared by the
Since the founding of the Thirteen Colonies, the colonists enjoyed a degree of autonomy and self sufficiency from the mother country, England. The colonies had colonial assemblies, which were more democratic than England’s and were independent governments. British mercantilist laws were not strictly enforced due to the policy commonly referred to as salutary neglect. However, as the British increasingly ignore the problems the colonies faced, the colonies began to look for a common government to lead them. This eventually led to three distinct efforts at intercolonial cooperation and union: The New England Confederation, Penn’s Plan of Union, and The Albany Plan of Union. Therefore, although there were unsuccessful attempts to unite the colonies, there was a strong desire for a common government.
First of all, each of the different colonies’ founders all expressed sentiments to establish a solid and uncorrupt government. One that would honor God. This government would be made up of a Governor, and a general Assembly and/or provincial Council where most political and judicial decisions would be made and agreed on together. In the Mayflower Compact, Fundamental Orders of Connecticut, and the Frame of Government of Pennsylvania, men were given the right to vote and choose the officials and representatives who would have a place in the government. These first colonies also promised the people that justice would be restored, it would not be sold, or withheld.
When the colonies were being formed, many colonists came from England to escape the restrictions placed upon them by the crown. Britain had laws for regulating trade and collecting taxes, but they were generally not enforced. The colonists had gotten used to being able to govern themselves. However, Britain sooned changed it’s colonial policy because of the piling debt due to four wars the British got into with the French and the Spanish. The most notable of these, the French and Indian War (or the Seven Years’ War), had immediate effects on the relationship between the colonies and Great Britain, leading to the concept of no taxation without representation becoming the motivating force for the American revolutionary movement and a great symbol for democracy amongst the colonies, as Britain tried to tighten their hold on the colonies through various acts and measures.
Of the many circumstances that promoted a developing American identity, British mercantilism and their following regulations on it is of the utmost importance. The British government believed that wealth was power and that a country's economic, military, and political wealth could be measured by the amount of gold or silver in its treasury. To amass this wealth, the British passed laws to regulate the mercantilist system. The Navigation Law conceded that all commerce flowing to and from the colonies could be transported only in British vessels. Other events that infuriated the colonists were the insufficient amount of currency in America as well as Britain's right to nullify any legislation passed by the colonial assemblies. One such thing that encouraged a unity amongst the colonists was Benjamin Franklin's cartoon showing the necessity of a unified American government. [Doc A] Although some may say the mercantilist system was excellent for the colonists, it actually burdened the colonists with annoying liabilities. Mercantilism stifled economic initiative and imposed a rankling dependency on British agents and creditors. With the continued efforts of complete control by the British, the colonists became livid and developed a better sense of their identity as Americans; they knew what had to be done!
The thirteen American colonies were under the British control until they declared their independence from British in 1776. A year after the declaration of independence, the continental congress established the Article Of Confederation, which was the first constitution in the United States. According to manythings.org, “During that war, the colonies were united by an agreement called the Articles of Confederation”. It was later ratified in 1781, but it had many negatives because it was very weak. According to manythings.org, the Articles Of Confederation did not: organize a central government, create courts or decide laws, nor provide an executive to carry out the laws, and all it did was just create a Congress. This congress was very useless
Self-governance was a primary idea of the settlers in North America. Once English settlers began to come to the new world in the 1600s, they knew they needed to have their own freedom for themselves, after all that is why they left Great Britain in many cases. Self-governance is most notable in the earliest form of the Mayflower Compact in 1620 for Virginia. Great Britain began to deteriorate the self-governing nature of the colonies in the mid-1700s through various acts it deemed to be necessary. The enforcement of these acts caused the colonists to be unhappy with the actions Great Britain was taking and so the phrase “taxation without representation is tyranny” came.
The British policies having to do with the American colonies that passed between 1763 and 1776 were an attempt by Britain to have the colonists pay for the French and Indian War and an attempt to keep the colonies subservient to British rule. However these policies backfired and cause the colonist’s to resist British authority and strengthened their commitment to republican values in government. The policies implemented new taxes in order to raise funds and caused what the colonists believed to be injustices to go unchecked by the government, as well as causing the colonists to turn to republican ways of self-governing. The colonists felt as if they were not being properly represented in the British parliament, which led to them turning towards
The mindset of the colonists at the time was of course different than the British governments: Geographically, it only made sense that there would be a sense of independence and individualism among the colonies. • The fact that there were colonial legislatures indicated that politically, the colonists were independent from the crown. The colonists had begun to levy taxes and pass laws so this just further deepened their thought that these were their rights. • Many mindsets were also created from literature and works from the Enlightenment thinkers like Hobbes, Montesquieu, Locke, Rousseau which emphasized a limited government, the separation of powers and a social contract. Major Acts & Effects
Self-interest can be seen in many of the writings throughout American history. The mercantile system, as exhibited by the British on the colonies, was an extremely hedonistic approach to gaining wealth for themselves. Mercantilism, as set forth by the Navigation Acts, imposed strict and extremely descriptive laws that would limit and exploit trade in the colonies, allowing Britain to control the wealth and profit of materials and goods in America. These acts were used to keep America from trading with any other countries. As stated in the Navigation Act of 1660, "no goods or commodities whatsoever shall be imported into or exported out of any lands" to his Majesty belonging"in any other ship or ships...as do truly and without fraud belong only to the people of England or Ireland" (Restoration 98). Britain knew that by controlling the colonies in this manner they could take the raw materials out and sell the finished products back, and by doing so they would profit greatly. This mercantile system exemplifies the arrogant minds of the British while America was developing. This system would soon become a failure due to the people's demands to have representation along with taxation, and their desire to separate from England as a free and independent state. Likewise, it was due to self-interest of the greedy planters and the self righteous farmers in the south that slavery was highly used. At that time they needed all the labor they could get, and the cheapest way to obtain it was through the purchase of slaves. Some of the slavery was downplayed by calling it indentured servitude, where servants were essentially slaves for a limited number of years.
The New England colonies developed a close-knit homogeneous society and a thriving mixed economy of agriculture and commerce. They developed this by creating a group called the New England Confederation. This focused on the protection of the people in the colony in the event of enemies trying to attack them. On page 49, it says “The primary purpose of the confederation was defense against foes or potential foes, notably the Indians, the French, and the Dutch.” They created this as a safety net for the New England colonies. Every part of the New England colonies had two votes, it didn’t matter on the size of the colonies. The ran it as their own because the king of the time didn’t care much for the colonies.
One way of the British controlling the colonies was to impose trade regulations on them. They forced the colonies to trade only with them, as dictated by the Navigation Acts and the mercantile system.
A new era was dawning on the American colonies and its mother country Britain, an era of revolution. The American colonists were subjected to many cruel acts of the British Parliament in order to benefit England itself. These British policies were forcing the Americans to rebellious feelings as their rights were constantly being violated by the British Crown. The colonies wanted to have an independent government and economy so they could create their own laws and stipulations. The British imperial policies affected the colonies economic, political, and geographic situation which intensified colonists’ resistance to British rule and intensified commitment to their republican values.
The American Revolution was marked by the colonies’ independence from Britain. This separation pronounced a new age marked by a decisive political change in the colonies because of the implementation of the Enlightenment ideals and the continuation of English liberties. However, the American Revolution was considered a conservative movement because it “originated from an effort to preserve the existing liberties of the colonies rather than create new ones” (Strayer, 782). Furthermore, the revolution occurred not on the issue of taxation, but on the issue of representation. The colonists believed autonomy was part of their birthright and as Englishmen along with their economic rights and their “natural rights to life, liberty, and property” (Kramnick, Lockean Liberalism). These two sentiments can be seen in their famous slogan “No taxation without representation”. By challenging their economic interests, their established traditions of local autonomy, and their identity as true Englishmen, the colonists were truly infuriated. Thus the American Revolution didn’t grow out of the social tensions within the colonies but rather from an unexpected effort by the British government to tighten its control over the colonies and ex...
There were a myriad of differences between Great Britain and her American colonies in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, but these differences can be divided into three basic categories: economic, social, and political. The original American settlers came to the colonies for varied reasons, but a common trait among these settlers was that they still considered themselves British subjects. However, as time passed, the colonists grew disenfranchised from England. Separated from the king by three thousand miles and living in a primitive environment where obtaining simple necessities was a struggle, pragmatism became the common thread throughout all daily life in the colonies. It was this pragmatism that led the colonists to create their own society with a unique culture and system of economics and politics.