Regulator Rebellion Research Paper

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To better understand the Regulator Rebellion, we have to first unfold the driving forces behind the rebellion. The main forces that contributed to the rebellion were an accumulation of how the economics aspects, such as unfair debt and taxes, would turn the settlers into rebels and lead them to war, how similar political beliefs between the North Carolina Regulators and the Citizens of Rowan and Orange Counties were articulated through petitions, could lead both parties to become aggravated and want revenge for being treated unlawfully, and religion. In Breaking Loose Together, Marjoleine Kars sets out to prove religion as the cause of the Regulator Rebellion, but it turns out that corrupt politicians were at fault. Kars also discusses how, …show more content…

Many North Carolinians became strongly dissatisfied with the way the government was handling the colony’s affairs. Their troubles were not with the type of government that they had or the laws of the colony but with how they were being abused by government officials. “The grievances that were affecting the daily lives of the colonists included excessive taxes, dishonest sheriffs, and illegal fees” (28). After many disagreements and minor battles, a group of Regulators were formed. Their main goal was to restore law and order and establish institutions of local government. “In May 1771, Governor William Tryon led militia forces against the Regulators and defeated them handily at Alamance Creek. Most of the rebels were pardoned, but seven of the leaders were hanged” (193). Although movement did not survive, tensions between east and west …show more content…

“The religion of Husband and other Regulators—frontier Protestants who were members of Baptist, Presbyterian, Quaker, Moravian, and other evangelical or pietistic sects—emphasized an individualistic approach to church, salvation, and personal morality that profoundly influenced their understanding of public relationships and economic issues” (87). What Husband advocated was political activism based on Christians’ moral duty. The use of ‘God’ was present in the citizen’s petition because they, too, were religious people, who were trying to make a better life for

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