Analysis of Edmond Burke’s Speech Essay

The colonists would not always feel this way in fact, “During the 1760s few colonists expected or wanted independence from an empire that had been so beneficial for them and which seemed so

The years of 1763-1765 were truly defining moments for colonist of the colonies, soon to become the United States of America. ‘’War! War! This is the only way!” American Colonist shouted,as they took to the streets proclaiming defiance of British rule. “We as a people shall fight for our freedom and have victory.No more shall we continue to let others control our countries and give our money to a monarch who has no concern for our right’s, dedication that was put forth to help fight and respect us as loyal subjects.We must fight for our freedom!” When American colonist waged war it proved to be the only way for the colonies to become free from Britian. In turn, the colonist were justified in breaking away from England because of: The

In contrast, some divisions of the colonial population supported Britain whole-heartedly with their lives. They delighted in the short-lived emboldened ties. A New England minister proclaimed “…the Children of New England may be glad and triumph, in Reflection on Events past, and Prospects for the future…” (Document E). Comprehensibly, he felt that Britain gave them a future, that they owed their lives to their mother country. “…Mother, who has most generously rescued and protected us, [must] be served and honored…” (Document E). This is a deep contrast to the ways of thinking possessed by the soldiers and Native Americans, and it would not last long.

a. The British people are referred to as “our British brethren.” They and the colonists share a “common kindred”. But they, like King George, “have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity.” Thus, the British people must be held, like the rest of the world is help, as “enemies in war, in peace, friends.” The king and Parliament bear the brunt of the colonist “wrath.” It is the king who is charged with all their grievances. His history is one “of repeated injuries and usurpations.”

Today, many American’s are proud to identify that the Declaration of Independence marks the beginning of freedom for North America. However, as students in history classes across American schools and colleges dig deeper into the realities of the country’s battles for freedom of rights it represents that from the beginning the Revolution was in the hearts and minds of the American people. The signing of the Declaration of Independence on the face of it depicts it as liberty and democracy, but the realism is that the American colonists had little choice or no choice at all, in how the American British governed its people. It is clear, the American colonies never gave up their fight for freedom and human rights, but the British Revolution still

He tries to convince the colonists that the king is not a good man or ruler. As a matter of fact, he uses the situation to divide the right from the wrong. This shows that his goal is to display to the

The wars which happened between 1754 and 1763 had a high impact on the colonies that were initially proud to be part and parcel of Great Britain. However, as it was noted later after the war, most colonists got increasingly bothered by various Acts passed by the Britain

One reason the colonists were able to experience democracy and self rule as new founded Americans, was because of the large distance between them and Great Britain. By the ocean (Atlantic) being there it made it extremely difficult for the British to have strong control control over the colonists and their freedoms. Edmund Burke, a member of the House of Commons and a supporter of the colonies, stated in 1766 that “…The eternal Barriers of Nature forbid that the colonies should be blended or coalesce into the Mass…of this Kingdom.” (Document B). The “tyrant three thousand miles away” (Document D) attempted to have tighter control over the colonies by enabling the Sugar Act, Stamp Act, Quartering Act, and the Declaratory Act and speed up the

For a better part of the eighteenth century, the American colonists expressed vexation and disapproval of the "coercive " acts, which the British Government perpetrated on the colony through series of legislative acts by the British Parliament. Prior to the acts that the colonists in America termed as atrocious and oppressive, they were willing to cooperate and reaffirm loyalty to the King of England. Some of the legislations and declarations that colonists participated in was the sustenance of British soldiers in the colony, payment of import tariffs and other forms of taxes to support the British central government. These are but a few, the reasons as to why colonists objected to the mode of British rule in America. Another concern was the "Rights violations" by the English government regarding economic progress and representation. Because of these grievances, British colonists in America stepped up agitation through violation of the "tyrannical" Acts and petitions through the Continental Congress. The essay explores the grievances that Colonists in America held against the British government, in riposte to "My Dear America Cousin" letter.

While it is a fact that Edmund Burke’s thoughts on rebellion had not been known at the time of the American Revolution, his ideology is actually mentioned in the Declaration of Independence, which was written fourteen years before his Reflections On the Revolution In France. (Perhaps the American Framers were ahead of their time.) In the beginning of the Declaration of Independence, the Founding Fathers lightly touch upon the ideas of Burke and are surprisingly quick to dismiss them, which is reasonable given their grave circumstances. The Declaration of Independence states:

The relations between England and the British North American colonies could always be considered precarious. Prior to 1750 British essentially followed a policy of benign neglect and political autonomy in the American colonies. (Davidson p.97) The colonies were for the most part content with benign neglect policy, relishing in a “greater equality and representative government”(Davidson p.95) within the colonies. Competition among European Imperial nations began to effect British policy toward North America colonies causing rapid shifts from 1750 to 1776. During this period, the British Empire made a series of policy decision that sealed the fate of the British North American

In 46 Pages author Scott Liell is able to poignantly illustrate the colonies metamorphosis from a dependent arm of the English Empire to an independent country, the catalyst for which was Thomas Paine's Common Sense. Liell is able to not only articulate the turning point of the American consensus towards independence, but he also very intelligibly depicts the sentiments of all facets of colonial dogma and the torrential effect that Common Sense had in loosening the cement that held those beliefs. Using fantastic examples of the opinions of Tories, Whigs, and those ambivalent towards independence, Liell efficiently and

In the late 1760s and early 1770s the American colonists were living a fulfilling and satisfactory life through the means of labor. Labor, which was considered a “painful necessity” of life to those in poverty (such as servants or slaves) throughout the other parts of western society, brought about a “hard-earned prosperity” to the American colonists (Wood, 116). This showed a surplus of middle-class families who were able to live a comfortable life through hard work. Wood argues that due to these beliefs, Americans felt anxious at the prospect of being oppressed by the British and suffering a loss of their liberties. The colonists worked very hard for their prosperity so it was natural “that throughout America, we find these

In this essay I explain the evolution of American attitudes and ideologies—apropos of Britain—from 1764 to 1776. I do so by, first, beginning with providing the context and explaining the state of the relationship between America and Britain throughout the course of the years 1764 to 1774, which in turn, consequently lead up to and instigated the creation of Thomas Jefferson’s 1774 piece entitled A Summary View of the Rights of British America. Next, second, I situate and analyze this very piece, that being: Thomas Jefferson’s A Summary View of the Rights of British America, which is was a tract written before the Declaration of Independence, in which Thomas Jefferson (under his own personal authority/discretion) lays out—for the delegates of the First Continental Congress—a set of grievances directly against the King of England and his corresponding Parliament, and moreover, ultimately radically forewarns and threatens specifically the King of England to fundamentally change, alter, and lessen Britain’s stronghold on America or else something will be done on behalf of America. Finally, third, I reach to and evaluate another subsequent document, that being: the Committee of Five/Continental Congress’ 1776 Declaration of Independence, which is a statement written by the so-called “Committee of Five” (Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert Livingston) and the Continental Congress, which was to be adopted by the newly formed United States of

“Is there a single trait of resemblance between those few towns and a great and growing people spread over a vast quarter of the globe, separated by a mighty ocean?” This question posed by Edmund Burke was in the hearts of nearly every colonist before the colonies gained their independence from Britain. The colonists’ heritage was largely British, as was their outlook on a great array of subjects; however, the position and prejudices they held concerning their independence were comprised entirely from American ingenuity. This identity crisis of these “British Americans” played an enormous role in the colonists’ battle for independence, and paved the road to revolution.