Today we took a breather from PPT and enjoyed the PBS documentary Liberty: Reluctant Revolutionaries. This documentary exposes both sides of the lead up to the revolution showing us that both sides American and British share the blame for the distrust and resentment held between the two. For Homework tonight please review your notes and respond to one of the prompts below.
Instructions: please type your reply and keep the length between 150-250 words. You may post your response on the blog or you may print it out. If you print, do not forget to include a full heading (name, class / period, date) on the left hand margin. The assignment number will be 19. This will be due on Friday September 26th!
Prompt 1:
During the decade before the outbreak of war, what were the two major attitudes of the colonists toward Parliament and the British Empire?
Prompt 2:
What could have prevented the colonists' declaring independence and going to war?
If you completely zoned out during the video here is a link for you to refresh your memory:
REMINDERS:
Your Homework (above) is due Friday September 26th!
Your binder check is October 2nd!
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWhy did you delete this Ms. Schievelbein?
DeleteI edited my response and reposted it.
Deletethe video isn't working
ReplyDeleteTry clicking the watch on Youtube link next to the full screen button. Or just try searching for the video on Youtube (Liberty: Reluctant Revolutionaries) sometimes youtube decided to be grumpy and needs to be reloaded.
DeleteBan-Jian Pan 5th Period
ReplyDeleteI think the fact that if Britain would have at least showed the colonists the respect they wanted and treated them as British would have treated herself, it could have prevented the colonists from declaring independence and going to war. The main reason why the colonists wanted freedom and independence was because they saw that not only did great Britain just use them to gain more wealth but they didn't have any say in basically anything, which led to the passing of the different acts without the consensus of the colonists, which, of course made the colonists pretty angry. In addition to all of this the colonies got all the bad goods from Britain. So because of the lack of respect from Britain, and because they, the colonists, had no say in anything, they decided to not be a part of Britain anymore and start their own nation by going to war.
S. Rivera 5th period
ReplyDeleteThe whole reason for rebellion and war for the American colonies was that they were not treated as independent British people. Being physically separated from the Parliament gives them a sense of freedom under the King's rule; this inspires them to get ideas far beyond what the population inside Britain thinks of. The king is threatened by their changes that he suppresses them by taxes and avoiding beneficial laws to show them who is boss. If the king had turned these positive ideas to benefit both the government of Britain and the colonies, then he would be in control and the colonies would be happy because they believe they agree with the king and his ideals. There is a middle ground between dictatorship and absolute monarchy; this is where cohabitation is key to unifying a separated population. Both sides need to understand and be reasonable to utilize why the king did his actions and how they differ in effects of standard colonial and British life. Keeping the population happy is keeping the government running and increasing what you can do to the population. The anger towards the king and Parliament was because they couldn't govern themselves in respect to the government above them. A parent lets their children be independent for personal choices as long as they don't break rules; if they past a line then the parent redirect the negative action towards a positive lesson.
Krystal Roark 5th Period
ReplyDeleteTwo of the major attitudes of the Colonists toward the British before the war were either friendly/loyal or resentful. They were polar opposites and, like in the American political system, the moderates weren’t very influential in the causes/outcome of the war. Before, and even during the war, there were colonists that were loyal to the crown. Many of these were the richer, more prominent colonists/elites. They didn’t have a problem with the British because they had always considered themselves as British. At the other end of the spectrum, the other colonists felt as if the King and Parliament were being disrespectful, passing a ton of laws without consent and getting in their business whereas before the French/Indian war, Britain, for the most part, didn’t try to govern the colonies. The British Empire was flailing after the debt from the French/Indian war and attempted to bring in more revenue by taxing the colonists on pretty much anything which only made the separation between the two groups even more substantial and lead to conflict.
Ariana Hernandez 2nd period
ReplyDeleteBefore the Stamp Act and other taxes were put into action, the colonists didn't despise the British. The colonists actually were very pleased to be involved with them. They liked the British. The colonists were doing things that the British were doing and the majority of the British didn't take this very well. To them they were doing things that only English people do, not colonists. The British decided to put the Stamp Act into action. The Stamp Act was very good politically, just not socially. The colonists were appalled and felt downgraded. For, not only did the British tax the colonists, they taxed British servants, women, and people not of high political standards. This left the Colonists feeling like they weren’t respected. Not only did they not feel like they were being respected enough, but the British and the colonists traded with each other. The British weren't supposed to tax them on goods. The colonists also felt that parliament should be making the call on these things and not the British. Therefore, because of these taxes being placed on the colonists everything after this was like a domino effect leading up to the war. So, if the British had just given the colonists the same respect they were giving their own people and if they hadn't placed the taxes on the colonists then I don’t believe the war would have happened. If these things were prevented then maybe it'd be a different story.
Romy Ftaiti, 8th Period
ReplyDeleteBefore the Stamp Act, the thirteen colonies were never even doubting the British and Parliament. In fact, it was quite the opposite. They loved everything British, so far as to have all of their items made by British hands only. After the French/Indian War, England's debt spread to America, where taxes were being thrown at the colonists for revenue. This, as we know, upset the colonists a great deal, and caused a great split amongst them, which would eventually lead to the Loyalist and Patriot parties during the Revolution. The domino effect leading to war had already started, with Britain only piling on more and more taxes and acts to continue angering the colonists. These Acts were largely ignored by the colonists, and the British sent troops over, which only further angered the colonists, leading to mass riots and petitions to cancel them, which were all ignored by Parliament. The domino effect continued and continued to pile up, with revolution looking very probable.
K. Moreno 8th
ReplyDeleteThe colonists looked up to the British. They wanted to be like them and trusted them. Although, the British didn't really like them for that. They looked down to the colonists. The British didn't respect them and made the Stamp Act. This was the last straw for the colonists. The separation between them grew and thing after another it led to the war. Therefor, if it wasn't for the British decision to make the colonist pay taxes and thinking they were better than them the war wouldn't have happened. The colonists didn't want to be less thought of and disrespected; put matters in the own hands and fought for independence.
Hannah Schievelbein 3rd pd
ReplyDeleteThe British enforced the Stamp Act on the colonist to make extra money to help run the government. The whole reason that the colonists' went to war and declared their independence is because of the Stamp Act. The colonists felt like the British didn't respect them and that the stamp act was the "first step to slavery". Colonists believed that the British were bullying them. They believed the British should not be able to make laws for them. If the Stamp Act never took place, the colonists would not feel like the British were trying to control them. The reason the colonists declared independence is because they didn't feel dependent because the British were going to go through with the Stamp Act forcing the colonists to pay taxes on legal documents, playing cards, etc. The British made money by trading with the colonists. Not by taxing the colonists. Therefore, if the British didn't enforce the Stamp Act, the colonists wouldn't have gone to war and declared independence because they had no reason to. They felt independent so why would they need to declare their independence? The Stamp Act is the whole reason that the colonists declared independence and went to war.
"They felt independent so why would they need to declare their independence" ???
DeleteI mean if the British didn't enforce the stamp act, the colonists would feel independent. Therefore, they would not need to declare independence because they already felt independent.
DeleteChristine Croll, 8th Period
ReplyDeleteOnce the ball got rolling, I doubt there was much the British government could have done to prevent the American colonies from gaining their independence in one way or another. Until the French and Indian War, the colonists had little contact with England outside of trade. Parliament left them fairly well alone, and they became accustomed to making their own rules, setting and collecting their own taxes, et cetera, and were used to not being ordered around. Once Parliament decided to begin taxing the colonies, however, the colonists flipped. They had no representatives, no power in the government, and until that point they had no need for it. They were semi-independent, and content to be so. If, after the Stamp Act was repealed, Britain had backed off, the American colonies would likely have been content to remain colonies. Kind of like Canada; they gained independence quietly and without bloodshed, and still have close ties to the mother country.
Kailey Villarreal, Period 2nd
ReplyDeleteThe colonist would have been content with the British if they did not declare the Stamp Act. The colonist were ticked off that the British declared this act without consulting them, because they were separated from the British. It took weeks for the news to reach the colonist. Once the colonist heard the news an uproar started. The colonist were unhappy and shocked by the British and started revolting against them. If the Stamp Act was not enforced the colonist would not have declared their independence and went to war with the British. The colonist were victims needless to say they got the short end of the stick, because they were separated from the British. The colonist felt they were capable of enforcing their own laws, but by the British enforcing the stamp act the colonist felt they had no say in their own laws. They revolted, the British then created the Quartering Act to corral the colonist and show them who is boss. The Quartering Act made the colonist even more upset, because they had to use their money to buy supplies and house the British troops, who they don't want there in the first place. If the British would have been more thoughtful about the colonist they would not have declared their independence or have gone to war with the British.
Malerie Crow
ReplyDelete8th period
Before the war for independence between the colonists and the British, there were two major views towards the British from colonists. You had the loyalists, otherwise known as the tories, and they were very pro-British. They loved the king and truly believed that the British empire was the way towards economic success. The majority of loyalists were split into two groups. There were those that enjoyed a leisurely lifestyle and actually benefited from the British taxes and when it came to Parliament, the loyalists had no reason to oppose it, as it was acting in their favor. The other side of the loyalists were those whose lives were relatively unaffected by the taxes and saw no reason to oppose the British empire, or care about the actions of the British parliament. On the other hand, you had the patriots. who had become increasingly less like the British. This group had no views other than independence. The patriots often became violent towards the loyalists and made very big arguments to get others to join their view. An example of this would be Thomas Paine’s article “Common Sense,” in which he explicitly states that his entire purpose of writing it was to “...offer nothing more than simple facts, plain arguments, and common sense...” The patriots didn’t like the Parliament because they had no say in it, they were being taxed, and there were no representatives from the colonies to vouch for them.
Their were many things that the British did that angered the colonist. In 1765 the Parliament passed the stamp act. The stamp act placed taxes on legal documents, newspapers, and other items. these taxes caused an uproar in the colonies.Although the taxes did not really make any difference in the economy in England the British passed the act anyway. Another thing that angered the colonist was the British sent troops to the colonies because of the riots that took place because of the act.As a result of the riots the Boston massacre happened in 1770 and 5 colonist were killed by British troops.If these events never happened the colonist would have still felt the sense of pride to be of English origin they had after the French and Indian War .If the colonist still had that pride it could have prevented war and the colonies from wanting independence.
ReplyDelete3rd period
DeleteAt first, colonists were proud to be british. They respected, and were loyal to Britain. However, Britain did not feel the same way about the colonists. They looked down upon colonists and treated them with disrespect. To Britain, colonist were not fellow british citizens. This disrespect and condescending attitude towards the colonists was the first step to disorder in the colonies. The colonist new that they were looked down upon and they soon realized that they were just a way for Britain to gain more money. After the French/Indian war, Britain had loads of debt and to help fix this they issued the stamp act. To the British, the stamp act was no big deal but to the colonist it was a slap in the face. First, Britain treats them disrespectfully and now they are taxing them with absolutely no say from the colonists. The colonist were far from Britain and this led them to think and govern themselves freely. They saw the stamp act as bullying. The colonists petitions against the unfair act were ignored and soon an uprising began in the colonies. Britain sent troops to protect officials, but this just made the colonists even angrier. If Britain would have treated the colonist as fellow british citizens, gave the colonists a say in government, and let the colonists govern themselves the colonist never would have declared independence and gone to war.
ReplyDeleteTo prevent the colonists' declaring independence and going to war, the British could have not taxed the colonists as much and treating them somewhat as equals. Britain started out with the stamp act which caused utter mutiny throughout the colonies, because it was taxation without representation which is what they do to children, women, indentured servants, and slaves. They soon repealed the act but followed it with another called the declaratory act instead of letting the wounds heal and tensions fall. To add even more insult to injury Britain followed it with the quartering acts, the Townsend acts, the sugar act, and the coercive acts. All of these acts were like a slap in the face to the colonists. Before they had been put forth, the colonists had been proud to be British, but there was one problem, Britain didnt see them as British. The colonists were treated like dirt, worse than slaves, this also angered the colonists. Had the British not taxed the colonies so feverishly and treated them as equals they couldve prevented the colonists from declaring war and their independents.
ReplyDeleteDuring the decade before the outbreak of war between the colonists and Britain, there were two major attitudes of the colonists towards Parliament and the British Empire which was either loyalty or strict resentment. When the colonist first arrived to the New World, they were proud to be of British origin; completely loyal to their mother country. However, as time went on, the colonist felt as if they were being looked down upon by their respected homeland , which was without a doubt true. After the French/Indian War, the British Empire was hit by a massive amount of debt that they planned to get rid of step by step which introduced the Stamp Act. The Stamp Act (to the British) was an easy way to gain money to get rid of their debt, however, the colonist thought it was completely disrespectful. Once more and more laws and acts kept coming at the colonists, they decided that it was enough and started to realize that they wanted to govern themselves without the British Empire and Parliament's say so. After being ignored several times, the colonists acted out and started to uprise against their unfair government. In all honesty, if Britain had treated the colonist with better respect and a higher say-so in the government of their home land, the colonist probably would have still held their loyalties to Britain, never declared independence or gone to war.
ReplyDeleteLannette Bone, 5th
Brooke Sjoberg 8th period
ReplyDeleteThis is another point in history where empathy would have been helpful in avoiding conflict. During the French and Indian war, neither the British or colonists were familiar with each other and inevitably, some feathers were ruffled, and bitter feelings towards the British began to take form. These negative feelings were exacerbated by the taxes that the British decided to impose on the colonists in order to pay their war debts. Instead of considering how the colonists would feel about being taxed for simple things like sugar, printed documents, and the like, the British assumed an attitude of "my land, my rules", and levied them anyway. Naturally, the colonists were outraged- not by the taxes themselves, but because they had not been consulted. They called this "taxation without representation". Had the British been forthright in their intent to tax the colonists, they may have been more open to the taxes. And in the same vein, if the colonists had taken a minute to consider why the British had levied extra taxes, the interactions between the two might have been just a little less violent. A large part of what inhibited the growth of the relationship between the British and the colonies is that the British believed themselves to be completely separate from the colonists, countrywide to what the colonists believed- they fully identified as being British. This tendency of the British to look down their noses at the colonists also contributed to the poor relationship between the English and the colonists.
Mr. Womack, I meant to say "contrarywise", not "countrywide".
DeleteIn the beginning the colonists were proud to be British, they were happy that they were not Spanish or French. Eventually after the French and Indian war they needed more money since there was not a demand for weapons and such. So they started to tax on a lot of things. Parliament introduced the Stamp Act which put tax on legal documents. The colonists were extremely unhappy and started to riot. Eventually the colonists were starting to realize Britain is not really that great. They wanted to be able to govern themselves and be independent even though they were connected to Britain. The Quartering Act sent British troops to enforce rules in the colonies and they lived in their houses. No one wants to have someone they do not know living in their home, so colonists were not happy about it. Eventually even more acts were added and it started to pile up and get worse.
ReplyDelete2nd Period
DeleteS. Marek
ReplyDelete2nd Period
The colonists’ would not have declared independence and war if the British did not tax them or pass multiple acts without their consent and try having full control. In the mid 1700’s, the British and the Parliament had passed many acts, most dealing with taxing the colonies. Though each act was passed, the colonists were not told or had a saying about the acts, which brings up the phrase “taxing without representation”. The British and Parliament saw taxing the American colonies to help house the British troops and benefit their trade, but the colonists’ saw those as another British attempt to tax them without consent. Aside from the acts that dealt with taxing, the Declaratory Act passed in 1766 had showed that the Parliament had full control of the colonies. The British saw that as a way to reaffirm the colonies of who was in control, but the colonial reaction of that was that they wanted sovereignty from the British. If the British had let the colonists’ have a part in the decision making as to whether the new acts would be passed or not, the colonists’ declaring for independence might’ve not been a thought, and so would be the same for going to war.
Kelly Casey 3rd period
ReplyDeleteDuring the decade before the outbreak of war, the two major attitudes of the colonist to parliament and the British empire were that the majority of the colonist really expected there would be a compromise and they would see eye to eye. Even after Lexington and concord most of the colonist simply saw themselves defending their rights as people of the British empire. Others believed that if the crown could tax them without reperesentation then other rights could be taken away from them. They thought that sooner or later all the colonist would be slaves and that they would be forced to fight back. The end.
Karla Beltran 6th Period
ReplyDeleteBack in the 1700's, so many things angered the colonists, eventually driving them to edge making them declare independence. Because so many things drove to to do it, it could have been prevented in so many ways as well. One of the options was the fact that if the colonies would have never started to rebel and govern themselves, Britain would have never gotten mad in the first place completely being able to avoid declaring independence. Another option would have been that if Britain was just a little nicer and didn't place taxes on everything the colonists used, they could have probably also avoided the independence movement. One of the things that really drove the colonists over the line was the Stamp Act. The Stamp Act was pretty much a tax on all legal documents. It drove the colonists over the line, not because of the tax itself, but because the British did it without their consent. The fact that the colonists didn't receive a fair warning before it being placed on them, made them so mad that drove them over the line and as a result decided to declare independence.
During the 1750s and 1770s inthe colonies most everyone was happy with the way of the things. The colonies were proud of the English way of life and products. The English were making money off of the products they sold to the colonies. Things however turned south when the French and Indian war began. This was not just a war for land in the colonies but across the globe. From this war future leaders of the revolution would rise like George Washington, but tensions between the colonies and England would rise as well. While the English were victorious the war was costly and would require a fair amount to pay it back. The British saw the colonies as an answer to the solution. To them the war was fought on their home front and by them so they should have to pay for it. This would lead to the stamp act quartering act and declaratory act which taxed any paper document which required the official British stamp forced colonists to house and feed any British soldiers out of their own pockets and gave England the power to create any law they pleased. All of which were fought by the colonist who viewed this as unfair due to the lack of representation on the matter. Which would lead to the revolutionary war.
ReplyDeleteThe American colonies, in their perspective, had many reasons to leave Great Britain and start their own nation. After the French and Indian War, the American colonies were proud to consider themselves part of the greatest nation at the time since Great Britain won and gained so much from the war. As much as the colonist wanted to be like citizens in Great Britain, Britain saw the colonists as lower beings and as a source of income. This sparked distrust and some hate from the colonists and elites towards Britain, those feelings could have been easily avoided if Britain treated them with respect. Since Great Britain was in debt because of the of the 7 Years War, they started to tax the colonists. The colonists, not ever being taxed before, were angry over the situation. Over the years, British Parliament put in place acts that were suppose to help Great Britain pay off the debt, but most colonists ignored them. It was not until the Stamp Act was put in place taxing all legal documents, this angered the colonists. It would not have been that bad, but the fact that British Parliament passed the act without the colonists consent made the Americans upset. To make matters worse, British Parliament passed the Declaratory Act, basically saying that British Parliament and the king can pass any act they want with or without the colonists consent. By saying that, the colonists knew they were going to have change something themselves if they wanted the unfairness and cruelty of Great Britain to go away. If the British were to treat the American colonists with respect and handle the hostile situations which they created with care, instead of making it worse by passing unfair acts, things could have turned out better for the British. If only Great Britain saw through the perspective of the colonists and not through the idea that pushing colonists with acts will make them submit, the colonies probably would not have revolted and left Great Britain.
ReplyDeleteperiod 6
DeleteOne of the many things that could have prevented the colonist declaring independence and going to war was all the act that were placed upon them. Many of the acts frustrated the colonist because it made them feel like the British could do whatever with out any permission or at least an over look. They just did what they wanted and really just focused on the "i" in team.Which in the long run obviously didn't work out. One of the main acts that set the colonist off was the Stamp Act,which was basically putting taxes on their legal documents. With all the acts around this time, this headed towards their want of independence. Some of the problem could have been avoided if they were just treated in a better manner and not felt less or pushed around like the British had made them feel.
ReplyDeleteR. Briseno 3rd
ReplyDeleteColonists wanted independence due to the fact that they were simply fed up of getting pushed around by Britain. The colonists were upset because they were not treated like the British, they were a few steps away from being on the same social level as slaves. There were several taxes but one of the most famous was the Stamp Act, which colonists looked at as just another way to get money out of them. This was a simple but controversial act just like all of the others in this time period. The Stamp Act was just a tax on all legal documents. The fact that the taxes went to England instead of staying within the colonies angered the colonist almost as much the taxes themselves. If Britain just treated the colonists with even the slightest fairness then that might've lead to the colonists not wanting independence so bad. Colonists were fed up with taxes varying from paint to legal papers to quartering soldiers. As a result Colonists just disobeyed or protested the laws and taxes. The protest vs the Stamp Act eventually won. As a result the Declaratory Act was formed. This gave Parliament the right to make laws and once again stiff taxes. One year later the tax on finished goods was formed, so Colonists decided to boycott English goods. Colonists simply weren't treated fairly and felt that if they were going to be taxed to the death and "bullied" then they will just try and get independence.
The two main feelings the colonists had towards British Parliament before the war was anger and distrust. Originally, the colonists were very proud of their British nationality. However, the British looked down on the colonials and always found some fault in their lifestyle and never let the colonists truly "fit in". The British were also significantly more relaxed about religion than the colonists. This caused some slight distrust towards the British Empire. Then, the British Parliament began passing several acts that taxed the colonists without the colonists' consent. This angered the colonies greatly. The colonies felt they were not properly represented in government and that the British had no right to pass laws without their permission. These feelings of distrust and anger eventually lead to war.
ReplyDeleteThe British couldn't have done anything to have prevented the colonists declaring independence. They might have been able to postpone it for a few years, but they couldn't have stopped it. The colonists escaped Britain so that they could be free, but Britain started taking advantage of the fact that colonists were proud to be British. The British had good intentions, but they went a little too far. The colonists wanted so badly to be free from their oppressors, that they turned their backs on their friends and family.
ReplyDeleteCont. Of my response
DeleteThe British abused the colonists need for supplies and goods. The Colonists were told not to trade with certain people because they were Britain's trade competition. When Britain went into debt, they needed more money than they were being given so they raised taxes on the colonists. Those taxes angered the colonists and created tensions between Britain and their American colonies, even the British Loyalists were becoming angry. The colonists decided that enough was enough and declared war, after trying to show the British government that they were tired of all of the taxes. The British could not have done a single thing to stop the American Revolution from coming, they may have temporarily paused it, but the change was coming.
Well there is not much the the British could have done to avoid the colonist revolting, because the colonist wanted to be seen as equal (which is weird cause in reality we are better than those Europeans) but England had some kind of superiority complex and was not having that. Also it would have helped had they not put into motion the horrendous acts (stamp, sugar, intolerable, ext.) by the pompous people of parliament who thought they knew best. Also the British had the audacity to question why the colonist were mad, which is like punching someone and asking why they have a bruise. So shame on England for looking down on the future greatest nation and doing nothing to accommodate for us. So in the word's of Ms. Swift we are never ever getting back together England.
ReplyDeleteC. Flores 3rd
ReplyDeleteBefore the outbreak of war, the colonists in America viewed themselves as apart of Britain and were loyal to their mother country. Britain, on the other hand, saw the existence of the American colonists under the crown for mercantilist ideals. If the American colonies were not neglected of British rule and polices, the colonists would not have declared independence and could have kept united with Britain. The French and Indian War was the turning point for this British-colonial relationship. Britain’s debt greatly enlarged and contempt for colonials created a need for reorganization. Because of this salutary neglect, the American Colonies governed themselves with their own political systems and created laws or rights from their own habits. Parliament wanted to prevent smuggling and loss of money, so laws were passed over the colonials and the mother country such as the Sugar Act, to raise prices on molasses, and the Currency Act, abolishing paper bills, in 1764. The American colonists refused to pay the tax and protested the hard currency is causing a shortage of money. Colonists began to view the Acts as taxation with out consent and sent petitions to Britain, but were ignored. With a mutual enemy the colonists were able to unite against Britain, but this could have been prevented if not for salutary neglect, which allowed the colonies to grow their own independence.
During the decade before the outbreak of the war the two major attitudes of the colonists toward the Parliament and Britain were mainly that of resentment and anger. The reason behind these negative feelings was that there were many unnecessary taxes placed on the colonists by the Parliament and Britian. Some examples of these unnecessary taxes are the Stamp Act, Sugar Act, and The Townsend Revenue Act. The Stamp Act was pretty much a tax on all documents or all pieces of paper used by the colonists. The Sugar Act was a tax put on sugar and molasses, the buying and selling of it. And the Townsend Revenue Act was basically a tax on all other items such as glass, oil, lead, paper, and mainly tea. All of these acts were made by Britain to put the colonists down to sort of try to show them that they had the real power, but the colonists could only take this treatment for so long until they were fed up with it (Boston Tea Party).
ReplyDeleteLyndsea Lomas 6th
ReplyDeleteThe Colonist considered themselves to be British, however the British didn't see them as being apart of the British. Which is shown throughout the following years. The undermining attitude towards the colonist was one of the very first steps on the road to independence. The colonist realized that they were looked down on by the British and that they were an easy way for the British to make money. After the French and Indian war the British owed a lot in debt, and thinking that it was the colonists fault for the debt because the British protected them. And believing they owed them. The British proclaimed laws/acts to tax the colonist in order to pay off the debt owed. This lead to the uproar of rebellion in the colonies. Realizing that the British aren't all that great and loyal as once believed, they decided that they wanted to become independent, rely and govern themselves. If the British had recognized the colonies as one of them and not have taken advantage of them by applying taxes, that could have prevented the colonist from rebelling and declaring independence.
During the decade before the war the colonists felt "Good to be british" although Britain did not consider them British, so they taxed them. The colonists were frustrated and upset about the taxes so they started to rebel. As they started to rebel the colonists discovered that they relied on each other so then they were not only frustrated, but they felt powerful. All these states came together and helped each other out in times of need, they also started to rebel against Great Britain and that lead to the Boston Tea Party and much more. Without each other the colonies would have never been able to attack Great Britain with such power alone. They needed each other to feel that unity to make them feel as if they had a chance - which they did - against Great Britain.
ReplyDeleteMartha Vargas 6th
ReplyDeleteThe reason the colonies declared independence and went to war with Great Britain was because of how they were treated by their mother country and Parliament. The colonist viewed themselves as British people and they were very proud to be British. But Great Britain did not see the colonies the same way, they saw the colonies as an economic source which would bring in trading goods and money. The colonies started to notice how things actually were and how Great Britain actually viewed and for the what reasons they used the colonies. The British and Parliament had no respect towards the colonies and they did not treat them as independent British people. The colonies did not like not having no respect from Great Britain so they declared war. But, all of this could have been avoided if Great Britain had actually respected the colonies and gave them the rights all independent British people deserved. If Great Britain had actually respected the colonies since the beginning then the colonists would have not declared independence and would have not gone to war with Great Britain.
Claudia Guajardo 6th
ReplyDeleteThe two major attitudes towards the British Empire and the parliament were anger and resentment. Colonies at this point were more than mad, they were angry because no one was representing them at the time were taxes were being put on things they bought and the parliament was taking control. Colonies couldn't stand the idea and they couldn't wait for things to get worse. They became there own government and united together help get through this. Anger turned into a rebellious side that the empire was not looking forward to see.This was the first time were you say colonies working together rather than individuals. Colonies became one and fought against the British Empire and the parliament.But as they were angry at the empire there also came resentment over the parliament. Colonies couldn't believe that a parliament was being put on them even after all there hard work. These two major attitudes towards the British Empire and the parliament left a rebellious and remarkable point in our history.
Before the outbreak of the war for independence between Britain and the colonies, the colonists were divided into two major groups. The Loyalists were people who favored Britain over the colonies. They remained loyal to the British Empire and the Parliament because they believed in the king's rule and agreed that the way the British Empire was governing would truly better their economy. However, many of the Loyalists only favored Britain's rule because it was beneficial towards them, other Loyalists were simply not effected by it so they were content with Britain's conditions. The other major group was the Patriots. The Patriots believed strongly in the idea of independence for the colonies and separation from the British Empire completely. The distance between Britain and the colonies made many Patriots believe they were already separated from each other, they believed they king to be a tyrant and a tyrant could not rule an independent nation which they saw themselves as. Many Patriots were angry with Parliaments rule in the colonies, many of them rebelled and they even began to attack Loyalist and British officials. Taring and feathering was used by the Patriots to humiliate, torture or sometimes kill anyone who was loyal to Britain.
ReplyDeleteD. Hill 8th period
ReplyDeleteThinking about things from the colonists’ point of view, they had many reasons why they rebelled. However, the British had several opportunities to prevent the "American insurrections" within the colonies itself. The time period of the “rise to rebellion” can best be seen as the 1740’s to the late 1770’s, and it was during this time that the king of Britain/Parliament were passing acts (laws) that after a prolonged period of time highly angered the colonists. Most of the acts passed into law were mainly trade laws, and taxes on common goods that colonists frequently purchased in their daily lives. Some of these acts were the sugar/molasses act, the stamp act, and even the intolerable acts. Most excerpts you see about the point of revolution was probably about the idea of “taxation without representation”, well this is where it came from. As long as the crown didn’t pass laws like these, then there is a possibility the colonists would have stayed loyal, or at least supported British life.
The colonists first saw themselves as a part of the British. Then after the Stamp Act the colonists got very upset because they were being taxed on goods. They weren't only taxing the colonists but the also not very high on the political pole British. This upset the colonists because they felt like they were being used and disrespected. They thought they shouldn't be taxed in goods that were being traded between them and the British. The colonists filled up with anger because of the new tax. Now maybe if the tax wouldn't have been so steep and also maybe Parliament taxed goods coming into Britain and evened it out the colonists might now have gotten so upset. But the fact that the colonists thought that it was unfair and that they were being disrespected helped lead them to declaring their independence.
ReplyDeleteShelby Garrett
ReplyDelete6th period
The colonist used to like the British. Then they declared war on Britain because they were treated very unfairly. Parliament put different taxes on them and eventually the colonists got tired of it. Loyalist were for the most part ok with what Britain did and just wanted to please the king whereas the patriots were not fond of what was going on at all. Once the British forced the Stamp act on the colonist to make more money for the economy this angered the colonist. If the British didn't tax everyone and everything this would've prevented the colonist from going to war. The quartering act really pushed colonist over the edge because they didn't want to have to pay for the housing of British troops who kept forcing them to pay more and more taxes for things. All of the acts that were put into place led colonist into declaring war so to prevent them from doing that the British shouldn't have placed so many taxes.
The two major attitudes of the colonists toward the Parliament and the British Empire were fairly contrast with each other. One one side you had the colonist who resented the Parliament for their "unfair" taxes and rules. The Parliament kept imposing new taxes on the colonists further enraging them.The colonist did not adhere to the new taxes, they simply went on ignoring them, but it did not last long. The Parliament imposed the Decalatory Act stating that they can impose taxes without the colonists consent. The colonists felt outraged that their say was not cared for by the Parliament and that they were treated like they were nothing. On the other side we had our loyalists. These loyalists were reluctant for change, but agreed with whatever the British Empire did. The loyalists loved their colonies and did anything to protect and defend it. This led to conflict between the loyalist and the colonists as their ideas differed. If the Parliament wasn't so harsh and strict to the colonists, and let them have a say in new taxes, war could have been prevented.All in all the British Empire was too strict on the colonist as they did all they could to lessen their war debts and put taxes on the colonists, they could have resorted to other solutions to pay their debts.
ReplyDeleteMichelle Mendez 5th
ReplyDeleteIsrael Pedro Valdez 5th Period
ReplyDeletePrompt # 2
The colonists' uprising could have been prevented if the British had been more open minded, and willing to listen, but they were so deeply rooted in their ways of mercantilism, and grubby land grabbing, they refused to think of the citizens-their citizens- well being and just that of their own homesteads'. They should have listened to their citizens and allowed the people more representation, and also the ability to trade with other countries, why should Britain be able to do things the British colonies cannot? The colonists tended to be people originating from Britain, so the fact they were not given the rights of a British man made it like they were not even British, they lost their home country connection, and the break off was sure to ensue once the connection had been lost. They did not feel like they were English anymore, on the other hand they found camaraderie in each-other, soon developing a sense of, “Patriotism,” with their fellow Americans. If Britain had made them feel more included, more taken care of, and more represented, they probably would not have felt that need to break off from their mother country, allot of fighting would have been saved, though still things would be different today, so it may be for better or for worse, but it could have easily been altered.