Nathaniel Bacon was a man of intelligence, determination, and to some, great stubbornness. His actions in the early Virginia colony are sometimes looked at as a foreshadowing of what later would become the American Revolution and in a way, the young scholar changed the way the government was structured throughout the early American settlements. The arrival of wealthy, educated Bacon changed the dynamic of the colonies. He challenged the rule of Sir William Berkeley, governor of the Virginia colony in ways that satisfied the rest of the colonists, who had their share of dislike towards the ruler because of his disregard for their opinions and needs. The people felt like they had a voice, a voice that was represented by Bacon. It is fair to say that one of the things he was best known for was his decision to lead various attacks against neighboring Native American tribes who were a constant threat to their frontiers. …show more content…
With his army, Bacon also found other ways to make his voice heard. This included the burning down of Jamestown in September of 1676 and the rebellion led in his name known as “Bacon’s Rebellion.” The short-lived rebellion, fueled by a number of factors—high and unfair tax rates, the feeling of not being protected, disagreement on how to handle neighboring Native Americans, and favoritism/corruption among rulers, just to name a few—unfortunately dispersed following the death of its leader on October 26, 1676. However, Bacon’s efforts had a lasting effect. The most obvious change had to do with the lowering of tax rates. At the same time, the rebellion paved way for equality. The idea of the consent of the people was established and Sir William Berkeley’s successors were careful in the ways they ruled and were mindful of the people, fearing a rebellion similar to Bacon’s would happen
In the first place, Nathaniel Bacon's Rebellion was significant in early colonial history because it pronounced the grim collapse of Native American tribes that were residing in the Chesapeake region at the time. In his Declaration in the name of the people, Nathaniel Bacon cited several discrepancies against the Governor including, "For having protected, favoured, and Imboldned the
It is generally agreed upon that the Revolution was guaranteed- even foretold- since the idea of settling on it was even suggested- no one can give a large group of people the idea to run themselves and still keep control from thousands of miles away. England had it, but lost that control of their child nation in 1766 when they revoked the Stamp Act and gave the colonists the notion that they had the power and authority to independently run the budding country. After being allowed this minute freedom, the colonists were not pleased with Parliament 's taxes and attempts of an iron fist hold on the Americas- and along with their opposing views on nearly everything, decided that they were no longer pleased with being considered British. Salutary neglect also contributed to the colonists ' inflated sense of pride- aptly named because at this time England 'neglected ' the colonies, giving them room for individual theories, politics, beliefs, and the abilities to run their own lives for a while. The freedom was too much for them to go back to how things were before when England decided to tighten their grip. At this time, the colonists started a war to free themselves.
In “Bacon’s Declaration in the Name of the People”, Nathaniel Bacon lists every major offense of Sir William Berkeley, many of which collide with one another to display how the governor’s actions and inactions built upon each other to create turmoil for the people of Virginia. However, Berkeley defends himself and proclaims Bacon a traitor in, “The Declaration and Remonstrance of Sir William Berkeley his most sacred Majesties Governor and Captain Generall of Virginia”. In order to gain the king’s favor, both men write separate declarations, but one has everything to lose while the other has everything to gain.
In 1676, Nathaniel Bacon rebelled and held a revolt in Colonial Virginia. High taxes, low prices for tobacco, and resentment against special privileges given those close to the governor, Sir William Berkeley, provided the background for the uprising. These factors made the rebellion inevitable. All of the chaos was precipitated by Governor Berkeley's failure to defend the frontier against attacks by Native Americans. Bacon commanded two unauthorized but successful expeditions against the tribes and was then elected to the new House of Burgesses, which Berkeley had been forced to convene. Berkeley then sent out a warrant for his arrest and Bacon was put in jail. Bacon soon was released and he immediately gathered his supporters,
Previous to the American Revolution, Bacon’s Rebellion was one of the largest revolts in history, and accordingly its consequences include the American Revolution. It was the war between the English and the Indians, and the civil war between the colonists of Jamestown and their government. But it was also the fierce struggle between two powerful leaders with very different beliefs. The African slaves and white indentured servants joined together to fight side by side against their common "enemies."
The event of Bacon’s Rebellion told by Schweikart showed that the success in colonization was the underlying cause of the rebellion. To start, in Jamestown, there were members elected for the legislative assembly that was divided into an upper house consisting of the governor and council with a lower house made up of burgesses. This participation in politics portrayed the theme of Politics and Power while Schweikart described the background of Bacon’s Rebellion with the white frontiersmen fearing the Indian’s attacks. Nathaniel Bacon Jr. became the governor of Virginia to be involved in the politics by leading the Virginian commoners to rebel for protection against the Indians. Moreover, the Virginians were angered by the fact that Berkeley
Bacon's Rebellion may have served as the first civil uprising within the early settlements of America. Led by Nathaniel Bacon, a militia of armed freedmen, slaves, and poor colonist banded together to fight against a government that they felt was corrupt and did not have their best interests in mind. This paper will examine some of the major causes that led to the rebellion such as the increased westward expansion by the colonists, the civil unrest growing between the social classes, rising taxes, and disputes between colonists and neighboring indian tribes.
Nathaniel Bacon is one of the few rebellious people whose name has been taught from school to school in America. “Why is that?”, you may ask, “why him? Why is his rebellion significant in American history?”. Bacon’s rebellion used to be seen as the start of the American Revolution, but now, modern historians have uncovered the truth of the Virginian Rebellion of 1676. Historians have found out that the real issue that caused Nathaniel Bacon’s rebellion was his stubbornness and selfishness. People may specifically point fingers to a number of reasons for Bacon 's rebellion, they may include the following: economic problems, commercial competition from Maryland and Carolina, a restricted English market, and the rising prices from English
Berkeley saw Bacon’s action as a direct challenge to his own authority. The governor didn’t like his choices, and now refused to grant him anything. However the council, fearing the awful consequences of disrupting an unhappy individual who was ready armed and had the governor, council, and assembly entirely in their power, told the governor to accept his request. With much hesitancy the governor signed it, and put the power of war and peace into Bacon’s hands. This was not a good decision to make considering Bacon just came to the council and threatened them to grant his wishes. He then immediately marched off, achieving his end, which was in effect power to acquire a trust of the Indian trade for himself and his friends. The governor, having failed to raise an army against Bacon to fight his men, had no choice but to flee to the Eastern shore. He then gathered enough strength to return to Jamestown, where he proclaimed Bacon and his men. Berkley had called for new elections to the Burgesses for better aid of the Native American problem. Bacon was not serving his business in the House of Burgesses; instead he was at his plantation miles away. By then the governor had a small party with him. He aided them with clothes, arms and ammunitions, in order to cross the bay and oppose the rebel. Bacon feared that he could not fight against them then decided set fire to the town to solve
In the year 1676, colonists of Jamestown rose up and rebelled against their governor, Sir William Berkeley, following the slaughter of several hundred colonists by the Native Americans. Their leader, Nathaniel Bacon, claimed that he was fighting for the colonists best interests because it was his duty to protect them. Following Bacon 's lead, the rebellion began attacking all Native Americans, both hostile and peaceful. Was Bacon a hero for attempting to protect the colonists, and putting a stop to the attacks from the Native Americans? Or a traitor for attacking innocent people, and trying to take Jamestown from Berkeley and the other colonists? While Bacon claimed his actions were for the protection of the colonists, they do not justify his actions. Bacon attacked many peaceful tribes of Native Americans, and in doing so he put many colonists in danger. And Berkeley was not any better considering he was willing to sit back and watch it all unfold.
When a revolt occurred in American History, there were countless reasons that triggered the public eye to perform acts of violence or open confrontations to the government or a famous ruler. To be more specific, the Bacon’s Rebellion was one of the most famous uprisings in the 1670s and the outcome was being defeated. Nathaniel Bacon, who was a Virginia settler, instigated the issue and wanted to start a rivalry towards the Native Americans. William Berkeley, who was the Governor of the Virginia Colony, was very easy-going about the situation and wanted no tension towards the Native Americans. Bacon believed that the Native Americans was invading Jamestown’s territory area, and he wanted Berkeley to take action by advancing better security. Since nothing was being done on Berkeley’s side of the bargain, Bacon took it upon himself and initiated his opinions to the community. Bacon informed other settlers, servants and slaves to oppose against the Native Americans. Even though this rebellion was about fighting over property, it sparked a lot of additional motives within a one-year period. The revolt had countless cause/effects, and diverse civil rules and beliefs between Berkeley and Bacon. In the 1600’s, events like culture clashing and land rights played a huge role of the riot and molded the background to the Bacon’s Rebellion. Also, the importance of the rebellion encouraged affective outcomes like the Declaration of the People and it becomes one of the first rebellions in the American Colonies.
Bacon and his family were apart of the first class, while the majority of his supporters were what William Berkeley called the “six out of seven parts” that were “poor, indebted, discontented and armed.” The colonists were upset for reasons that began all the way back in England under Queen Elizabeth. First they were thrown off of their farms to make way for the rise of the wool industry. Then, they were thrown into crowded, urban
Berkeley did not care about the farmers. It was obvious that the only thing he
Bacon's Rebellion was a bloody uprising against American Indians and the colonial government whom William Berkeley was a governor. When Bacon arrived at Jamestown, planting tobacco wasn't profitable as it was before. The tobacco price had fallen down as more and more newcomers came to America as laborers in the tobacco fields. Race played a main role in this rebellion in which the American Indians were viewed as trade inferiors to Bacon. Thus, Bacon's motive of getting rid of the American Indians was triggered. Furthermore, the colonial refused to support Bacon's idea in which urged him to challenge them.
Bacon’s Rebellion was an uprising between the poorer classes and the upper class who controlled the government. Many colonists were unhappy with Governor Williams