Amid the eighteenth century by disposing superfluous acts like the Stamp Act, the Townshend Act and the Sugar Act, the British were causing havoc among the colonists. These influences by the British upon the colonists, were bringing about conflicts such as the Boston Massacre and Boston Tea Party. As a result, the colonists developed a sense of unity and identity as Americans, to a great extent. The French and Indian war and the taxing by the British brought about the colonial unification, while ethnic diversity and the separation between Europe and North America caused the distinctive American identity. As the colonists continued to developed to a sense of their identity and unity. The colonists progressively moved far from being faithful …show more content…
Many colonies adopted some sort of political institution, that gave voting right to each and every men. In the North, most colonists were able to engage in the neighborhood Town Meeting and voice their sentiments. These new political organization, that the Americans had developed and learned to value, caused Americans to forge a unique identity. Additionally, the vicinity of the Atlantic Ocean made it progressively troublesome, for the British to have firm control over the colonists, and the freedom that came from this environmental obstacle, contributed to the development of a distinctive American identity. The ethnic diversity among the colonists, further developed the sense of identity as Americans. Numerous individuals who lived in the colonies were not English, rather they were either German, Dutch, Swedish, Jewish, Scots-Irish, and French. A few individuals were a blend of a wide range of ethnic groups. This blended group of individuals, which could not be could anywhere else on the planet, prompted the production of a different identity (from
One of the British actions that angered the colonists was the Stamp Act. The Stamp Act was passed in response to colonist's complaints about the Sugar Act. The Stamp Act, according to the chart in document one, forced colonists to buy a stamp and place it on all of their paper products. Colonists boycotted the Stamp Act and and formed the Committees of Correspondence and the Sons of Liberty. The Sons of Liberty, according to document two, tarred and feathered British officials and tax collectors to protest the Stamp A...
The British were facing economic difficulties after the French and Indian war; therefore, they passed taxes on the colonies to help repay the debt. Initially, the British introduced the Sugar Act in 1764. The colonists did not approve of the British taking control over them. The colonists opposed the Sugar Act because they had to pay three cent tax on sugar. In addition, the Sugar Act increased the taxes on coffee, indigo, and wine. This act was the start of colonist frustration. Subsequently came the Stamp Act the following year in 1765. The Stamp Act was the mind changer for many colonists known as the Patriots. The Patriots started forming as a result of England enforcing acts. The patriots believed the colonies should go to war and separate
At the beginning of the war, everything was in array and no one could agree on anything, disorganization and uncertainty overwhelmed everyone. Organizations that were meant to be unifying factors for the colonists, like the Continental Congress, were little more than debating clubs that had to work for weeks before they could come to a decision. As time went on and the Tea Act was put into place the rage of the people made them grow closer. By the eve of the American Revolution, Parliament’s aggression towards the colonists had drawn a distinction between the colonist’s political, economic, and social ideas and those of the British. Colonists had embraced a new identity that helped fuel their resistance against Britain (American Identity and
By this point, the colonists were beginning to question Britain’s motives towards them. They believed they were being treated like slaves and being used solely for the economic growth of Britain. One night, in 1773, the colonists rebelled against these taxes on their tea. A group of men dressed as Native Americans boarded a ship at Boston Harbor and unloaded three vessels of taxed tea (Boston Tea Party). This event, known a...
In the mid eighteenth century colonist of the new world started to rebel against Britain. Living in the colonies cost Britain a great deal of money Colonist did not like that they were being taxed. There were several acts passed that angered the colonists. For example, the Stamp Act, the Stamp Act was passed in 1765 taxed all legal documents including newspapers and other printed materials. The Stamp Act affected all that bought printed materials and it did not affect the poor because it was not too expensive. The colonist started to rebel and boycotted “No taxation without representation.” The colonists rebelled in many ways one of them was the Boston Tea Party. The Boston Tea Party occurred in 1773 as an act of revolt colonists threw tea cargo of a ship to the ocean. These acts of Britain towards the new colonies caused colonist to revolve and declare war to separate from Britain. The colonists were not justified to going to war to break away from Britain because England was paying more taxes and the mother country deserved absolute respect; however, the colonists were justified to break away from Britain because they were taxed without representation.
To what extent had the colonists developed a sense of their identity and unity as Americans by the eve of the Revolution?
With previous turmoil in Great Britain, the colonies in North America had flourished early on due to salutary neglect and developed characteristics which soon defined Americans. An eventual conflict leading up to the revolution would be the drastic contrast between Britain and its colonies. Britain, an Old World country, had for centuries held onto their way of living and prided themselves on being Englishmen hence when faced with the fact that their much "inferior" counterpart have became "either an European, or the descendant of an European" British authorities intervene and catalyst what soon to be the birth- or rather the formal introduction- of a new man; "He is an American from the new mode of life he has embraced ". This mode of life, recognizably the American way of life, was a land of opportunity and equality for all. There was no real social hierarchy, aristocrats were few, and because of human freedom sentiments (mainly founded in the outspoken Middle colonies) America was unlike anything known in Europe.
...Sugar and Stamp Acts). Before the era of Enlightenment, colonists were angered by the British interfering with their new country, but never thought to rebel against their homeland. However, with their newfound knowledge of Enlightenment principles like freedom and reason, many colonists began to see the taxes as unfair. Knowing that political power was in their hands, they stood up against the British government stating that they were an independent country. Additionally, as the British government continued to try to interfere with American government, many colonists began to want a new government that was based on Enlightenment principles instead. This led to the American Revolution because the colonists with their gained knowledge of the world and society yearned for a government that guaranteed everyone natural rights under the law.
The Intolerable Acts of 1774 greatly fueled the First Continental Congress. In response to the Boston Tea party, the British Parliament decided that a series of laws were needed to calm the rising resistance in America. “One law closed Boston Harbor until Bostonians paid for the destroyed tea. Another law restricted the activities of the Massachusetts legislature and gave added powers to the post of governor of Massachusetts.” As one can imagine, the American colonist viewed this as the British attempt to curtail their quest for independence.
The Sugar Act of 1764, which lowered tax on imported molasses in hopes that the colonists would pay it, made them feel that their Englishmen rights were violated. The second act was the Stamp Act of 1765 that placed taxes on printing material, which had infuriated the colonists enough to unite and boycott British goods. Another important act was the 1773 Tea Act that threatened to drive colonial tea merchants out of business by removing the taxes that the British East India Company had to pay, which led to the Boston Tea Party. All of these acts encouraged the colonies to unite and revolt against the British, and one example of this rebellious attitude is the 1770 Boston
Through many means of protest such as the Boston Tea Party, boycotting British goods and products, and the formation of many protest groups such as the Sons and Daughters of Liberty that made it possible for the colonists to fight off the English influence. The Boston Tea Party in Boston was a major factor when it came to the independence of America because it showed that the colonists could work together and formulate a plan such as disguising themselves as Mohawk Indians to intimidate the enemy and successfully dispose of hundreds of barrels of tea into the Boston Harbor. Now with cause comes effect, the cause was that the English had lost a lot of money and profit once the tea was disposed of, but the major reaction of the English was to retaliate. England had sent an increase in troops to the colonies to oversee what was happening with the formulation of protests and the British government had also passed the Intolerable Act, which closed down the harbor to repair any damage caused by the actions of the Boston Tea Party, and made it so that more restrictions were put on the colonists for their actions. As a result of this act being put into place, the colonists had also retaliated by forming the First Continental Congress which was a meeting of the delegates of the thirteen colonies except Georgia because Georgia was a state that homed debtors and criminals. As stated in Document E, “A Declaration by the Representative of the United Colonies of North America, now met in Congress at Philadelphia, setting forth the causes and necessity of their taking up arms.” This has showed that the colonists would do anything and everything within their power to rid the colonies of the oppressive and selfies rule of the British empire forever even if it meant violence and death would be a result of their
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.
To the south of New England were the middle colonies. There the soil was fertile, and the weather more acclimated to farming (Sarcelle, 1965). Rivers flowed west toward the frontier, enabling transportation. The middle colonies, as opposed to the relatively Puritan dominated New England, were very diverse in people. A mixture of Dutch, German, Swedes, English and other smaller groups were present in middle colonial cities such as New York (Higginbotham, 1996).
The imperial tactics of the British Empire were exercised on the colonists through heavy taxes trade restrictions because of their mercantilist economy. The Stamp Act taxed the colonists directly on paper goods ranging from legal documents to newspapers. Colonists were perturbed because they did not receive representation in Parliament to prevent these acts from being passed or to decide where the tax money was spent. The colonists did not support taxation without representation. The Tea Act was also passed by Parliament to help lower the surplus of tea that was created by the financially troubled British East India Company. The colonists responded to this act by executing the Boston Tea Party which tossed all of the tea that was imported into the port of Boston. This precipitated the Boston Port Act which did not permit the colonists to import goods through this port. The colonists protested and refused all of these acts which helped stir the feelings of rebellion among the colonists. The British Mercantilist economy prevented the colonists from coin...
The colonies of the New World were formed by a very diverse group of people. The colonists had personal reasons for settling in America. Socially, politically, and religiously they all differed. I will explain their backgrounds on each and then tie it all together showing you how our country came to be an equal nation of all these peoples.