Confederation In 1865

Stephan contemplated before he sat down, pulling the chair out slowly, dreading the family's nightly dinner conversation, what Great Britain was doing wrong. First they moved away to the new land, then Britain gave them grief. The proclamation of 1763, when King George told the colonists not to move westward, and the Indians not to move east, there was almost a hand drawn line. The colonists were not very happy, next year, came the sugar act in 1764. The taxes were high on cloth, sugar, coffee, and wine for the colonists, and the naval officers searched ships carefully to stop smuggling. The colonists were, again, not happy. Now, a year later, was another act, the stamp act, and I bet you can guess, the colonists were not very happy.

By the time the Stuarts came to power, the seamen of Elizabeth’s era had turned their attentions away from plunder and conquest to development/growth of capital and commerce. England settled North America and most of the West Indies and already had established trading stations from West Africa to India. For the first time since the discovery of the new world, the English saw the colonies as a place to settle, govern and develop and not to conquer, plunder and abandon. The imposition of laws is always preceded by the intent of

For example, as directed by the Navigation laws, Virginia tobacco planters who played by the rules could only sell their products to England, even if other countries were offering a higher price. The Americans answer to this was to largely ignore the mercantile system and smuggle their products to other ports.

To insure that the American colonies would contribute to this overall sense of British wealth, various Navigation Acts were passed beginning in 1650 to regulate trade between the colonies, England, and the rest of the world. In many cases, ships carrying American products to other European countries had to stop in England first to pay duties before continuing onward. Also, goods traveling to and from America had to be

(Devore, Lecture #3.) Even though most of the credit was issued from England, it allowed the colonists to buy more things and further strengthen and enhance the cohesiveness of the colonies. By this time the colonies had already well established external trade relationships with both the Indians and other countries. One of their major trade partners was the West Indies, where the colonists procured molasses from which they made rum. (Devore, Lecture #3.) All of these economic developments – consumerism amongst the colonies, Anglicizing of the colonies, the newfound availability and use of credit and the abundance of external trade – play a major role in the reasons that lead up to the American Revolution.

Lastly, That it is the indispensable duty of these colonies, to the best of sovereigns, to the mother country, and to themselves, to endeavour by a loyal and dutiful address to his Majesty, and humble applications to both Houses of Parliament, to procure the repeal of the Act for granting and applying certain stamp duties, of all clauses of any other Acts of Parliament, whereby the jurisdiction of the Admiralty is extended as aforesaid, and of the other late Acts for the restriction of American Commerce.

Dictating that Massachusetts produce a certain annual allowance of cotton for the crown would be ridiculous. Due to distance, the Crown was unable to directly regulate economic policy and trade within the colonies so the colonists were forced to devise a regulatory system. This system allowed “a young business man [to] borrow money and move into trade, challenging the commercial position of older, more experienced merchants” (Text, 51).

For years Britain’s economy reaped the rewards of financial gain through the laws of the Navigation Acts which forced the use of only British vessels for trade between the Britain and its colonies and the Triangle Trade which Britain and its colonies and Africa traded between themselves for slaves, raw goods and manufactured products. During this time Britain’s concern for a relationship with its colonies diminished and as time passed so did the colonists sense of being British. As more immigrants from other nations settled in the colonies and children born in this new land became adults, being British lessened.

Ladies and gentlemen of the colonies, there is wonderful news of the tremendous Articles of Confederation. Though the war for freedom fights on, these new laws will make our soon to be new country considerably better. First off you can finally some money into savings. England taxed our money out of our pockets, so we shall no longer have it from the government. We as states can choose what want to states. Something even better is we shall no longer have a single leader. No one to dictate us no one to oppress us anymore. Laties all those elegant silks and fancy jewelry you want you can get. Trading is so much easier your loving husband can get you anything you want, but of course for a price. Whatever state you live in has its own special money.

Finally Pitt’s actions in trade and diplomacy contributed to a British recovery in which it once again became a powerful participant on the world stage. From 1783 to 1790 Britain saw a doubling in imports from 10 to 20 million pounds, contributing to government revenue through import tariffs and duty on goods. There was also a rise in exports from 12 to 20 million pounds, adding to the rise in GDP over the period. This was achieved in part by actions by Pitt: the reinforcement of the Navigation acts, already in place for many years, gave control of trade back to Britain, ensuring that all trade in Goods between America and Britain was done on British ships. This again was not a new policy, but example of Pitt making use of previously neglected legislation. Restrictions on trade including ones in 1787 to protect British farmers

Before 1806, the United States economic system flourished due to the European War. Before these decrees were issued, the United States was able to deliver goods to both Great Britain and France. This, however, changed. The conflicting degrees ordered that the Americans were to stop at Great Britain to pay fees and go over an inspection before heading to France; while on the other hand, Napoleon had ordered that neutral ships should avoid receiving inspection. Furthermore, anyone who disobeyed Britain’s orders would be stopped and seized upon. The United States really had no other option but to trade with other neutral countries until the policy changed, or the wars

I was unaware of how grueling and unpredictable the process was. I did not realize that in order for New England colonists to make one a trade with a country that is owned by the British as well they would have to sell their goods to the merchants, the merchants had to try their hand overseas to see if they make safely into a new port with their goods, then they have to see if they can sell their goods at a lower price than they bought it for, and so many more steps. Learning about all the steps that people in the 17th century had to take to trade only a few goods makes me so grateful for how efficient getting products from other countries is now, and I believe the early trading system paved the way for our trading now which is very cool to me. In terms of the article, I read there were a lot of

Commanding Canada West, once known as Lower Canada, and Canada East (Upper Canada) from one single, unmanageable legislature became challenging. Becoming united was the solution to this problem. The Province of Canada was not the only colony who believed Confederation was the best option. Union of all the British North American colonies meant one government would replace Nova Scotia’s, New Brunswick’s, and PEI’s separate legislatures, and the government would cover PEI loan payments. It also promised that British Columbia would receive the transcontinental railway (Canadian Pacific Railway) they have always wanted, and Canada would cover the colonies’ debt. Confederation was the least undesirable of changes proposed by the Fathers of Confederation.

Local artisans, laborers, and small merchants who traded outside of the British Empire, embraced the boycott of British goods and severance with England entirely because it afforded them economic opportunities that made the risk of revolution worthwhile (p. 145, Berkin). These groups had been living under the yoke of unfair taxation and an inexhaustible source of British competition in labor and goods. Revolution, for them, meant “a release from Britain’s mercantile policies, which restricted colonial trade with other nations, held out the promise of expanded trade and an end to the risks of smuggling (p. 145, Berkin).”

The greatest barrier to free trade in Great Britain in the 1840s were the Corn Laws. The Corn Laws principally benefited the landed aristocracy, the strongest group traditionally represented in Parliament. Thus the landed aristocracy can and should be viewed as an institution as well as a separate interest group, given their hegemony over policy within the nation for several centuries. The rise of the merchant classes and the enfranchisement thereof provided the catalyst necessary to promote a sweeping change of the traditional policies.