A Study Of The American Revolutions Beginnings

Essay, Research Paper

Pointing the finger of blame at any one country when speaking of war is a difficult task. Each country must take responsibility in the beginning of the conflict. Although there is never one country responsible for starting warfare there is an opinion that one side is more at fault for it s beginnings. From an early age, children in America are taught that the British were responsible for pushing the colonies to rebel and declare independence from their mother country. When looking at both sides of the argument I still believe the British were to blame for igniting the flames of revolution. Many people will argue that the British were fair in the treatment of the early American Colonists and provided for them as they did for their countrymen remaining in England. In my opinion the colonies were thought of as nothing more than an early day sweat shop. By this, I mean that the colonists were basically used to work the land to provide crops which were normally imported from other countries to England. Since they were considered Englishmen and their lands considered property of the crown, the British could pass laws taking from them their basic rights as men. The British thought of the colonists as their primary asset in their practice of mercantilism, which at times may have been profitable for the colonists. Ultimately it became a primary reason for the beginning of social unrest among the early Americans. The colonists were like children who were told that if they don t disturb their parents they could do anything they wanted. While when it became convenient the parents, Britain, came in and started putting restrictions on them. As many in their position, the colonists rebelled against the new found interest in the societies they labored to build, that for so long went unnoticed. The following paragraphs will explain in detail how Britain s neglect of the American colonies and it s use of them lead to the war.

In order to understand why the colonists felt threatened by British control, we must first know who these early people were and what they looked to accomplish by settling this vast new country. The founders of what we now know as the United States were middle class Englishmen and women. These people took a great risk by leaving the security of their homeland to an uncertain future in the New World . There was no promise of even surviving through their first winter. Regardless of the obstacles facing them, these people pressed forward in search of economic and religious freedom. Freedom from a country, whose Kings and Parliament would often promise changes, then would abuse those changes for personal gain. To escape from this fickle government and to pursue their dreams many fled to the New World to set up their ideal colonies. The primary goal of these voyagers was to setup communities that would provide a place for their religious beliefs to grow and the possibility of making a life for themselves financially.

Britain, like many great powers during this time believed in the practice of mercantilism. Stemming from this belief, the Navigation Acts were established to regulate trade in the favor of the British. For a considerable amount of time, these practices were rarely enforced among the colonists. In fact up until 1963 when the French and Indian war ended the Americans were allowed to develop their colonies with little interference from the mother country. During this time a great precipice was forming between the beliefs of the colonists and that of Britain.

With the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1763, signifying the end of the Seven-Year war brought attention back to the colonies. By this time the colonies have been thriving and have become a large supplier of tobacco, rice and sugar, which England normally imported from other countries. Southern plantations began trading with other countries and becoming extremely wealthy in the process. Meanwhile the colonists in the North grew economically as well. The North was an important trading center as well as a supplier of sea harvested goods. Due to the increasing prosperity of the colonies and the fact that France was no longer a threat brought back the unwanted attention of Britain. In the theory of mercantilism, a colony is a primary asset. They can both produce products not found in the mother country and guarantee a market for the country s exported goods. Although some colonists in America benefited from this system many did not. After 1763 the polices pertaining to this practice were enforced vigorously. Virginia tobacco farmers were forced to sell their tobacco only to England where they were promised a monopoly, but over time grew in debt to the same people there were selling to. These once wealthy plantation owners were eventually forced into mortgaging their future tobacco crops in order to get their necessities from England. This led the Virginians north to the New England colonies were the sparks of a revolt were already beginning to blaze. The North suffered as well under the rules brought about in the polices of mercantilism. Since trade was a major industry in the North their economy suffered by not being permitted to trade with other countries. Because the colonies were considered part of Britain essentially they were not supposed to be competition against them. The colonists were enraged that after so many years of being given freedom to council over their