Interpretive Schools: The Role Of Historiography In History

The American Revolution, although thought to be so, was not something that all the colonists of America wanted to happen. The colonists fell under one of three opinions on independence: a patriot, a loyalist, or a neutral. The patriots were completely done with Great Britain and wanted independence. The loyalists wanted the colonies they lived in to remain a part of the glorious British Empire. Lastly, the neutrals didn’t know where they stood concerning independence, or didn’t care. Despite many arguments given by either side, patriot or loyalist, a copious amount of colonists didn’t have or want a side.

Last of all, the ideological relations between Britain and the American colonies were altered because of the French and Indian War. The relationship between the American colonies and Britain is becoming more strained because the cost for the war (on Britain’s side) and the needs of the colonists. In Document D, a Massachusetts soldier writes in his diary about his regiment being treated poorly or “like slaves.” It was believed that once they completed their duty, they would be able to return home but this wasn’t the case. Therefore, doubt started to arise in the colonists. They began to question whether Britain was going to do what was best for them. Another way the colonists’ relationship with Britain was being strained was through the taxes that Britain imposed on the colonists after the war (Stamp Act). Benjamin Franklin, in Document G, writes to John Hughs encouraging him to play both sides; appease to the colonists but also stay loyal to the King until they can repeal the Stamp Act. This is just the beginning and the bottom line is that Britain feels like the colonists owe them after the war. The colonists aren’t happy with this as they were promised land that the Proclamation of

In 1775 there was much friction between the American colonist and the British Crown. Britain was becoming increasingly jealous of the American prosperity and feared the growth of the colonies. Britain began to increase taxes and regulations on the colonists, which they resented. This lead to several confrontations including the Boston Massacre and the Tea Party. The British believed that they needed to take decisive action to put a stop to these confrontations and assert the Crown’s authority. One line of thought was to remove the

During the war, the colonists who were fighting, began to realize just how much they were deprived. The colonists observed how much more the British possessed and wanted the same since they were still Englishmen (Doc D). The English officials that came to lead in the colonies were not the most pleasant to work with and also were not superior listeners. The officers ignored what the colonists said, even if it was a colonial military leader. The colonial soldiers were seen as weak and inferior and were not respected by the officers. After the war, the taxes the colonists had to pay, also created new opinions in their minds (Doc G). Colonists began considering more about becoming separate from England and governing their own government. Revolutionaries propagated their ideas of disbanding as well. These theories created unity in the colonies but weakened the link between England and various colonists.

There were several reasons colonists wanted to break away from the English. A large reason the colonists wanted to break away from English rule was the amount of high taxes that they had to pay for almost everything, because they essentially had to foot the bill for a war. The colonists also had no say on the laws that were passed by a government that was across an ocean, thus the phrase “No Taxation without Representation.” Paying high taxes and having no say in what laws were passed obviously made the colonists angry with the British government, but another factor was the British would not let the colonists trade with anyone else besides them. This means that all trades going in or out could only be done with Britain. Forcing the colonists to pay whatever the British merchants wanted to set their price at because there was no major competition. All of these things as well as not letting the colonists expand past the Mississippi River, would calumniate into a revolution in which the colonists would form their own government and finally fulfill their wish of breaking away from British rule.

The renowned enlightenment philosopher, John Locke believes in the same principles that the Americans faced when making their difficult decision in 1765. The American Revolution wasn’t just out of pure disagreement from the British, it was based upon Enlightenment principles. Locke, an Enlightenment philosopher, believed that people could improve themselves. The counterargument of the American Revolution not occurring discredits the Americans new way of governing and becoming independent. Enlightenment is entirely based upon questioning the higher power, the British monarchy did not settle to the Americans in the 1700s who believed that the British power was going overboard, in which they decided to revolt.

In the late eighteenth century, North American British Colonies worked to free themselves and create their own governing body. Some ideas stated by revolutionaries helped to unite the colonies in a single governing body and revolt against the existing government. The primary driving forces of the revolutionaries included the belief that humans had the right to freedom and to govern themselves, and that they had certain natural rights that the ruling government of Britain was not allowing them, as well as a general hatred for the ruling power of the European monarchy. These ideas that were so prevalent in the colonies were stated by many different revolutionaries, but many of them held the same idea, freedom was a right that was shared by all

Before the Revolutionary War, the tensions between the colonists and King George of Great Britain were “very high”. The colonists were unhappy over the unfair treatment they were receiving from Britain. They were angry with the taxes and laws that King George had imposed upon them. Despite the taxes being for the French and Indian War, which Britain had fought to keep the colonists safe, they still were angered that they had to pay them. The colonists were unfairly taxed without representation and had a legitimate reason to be angry with King George and Great Britain. The only solution that seemed possible was war, so the colonists decided to declare war. The American colonists were justified for breaking away from the British because they were unfairly taxed and were treated unfairly by the British.

These arrangements from the Crown evoked in American political pundits and the American people into calling for separation, made the colonies aggravated and invigorated into revolting against the Crown. One example of the British ruler harsh engagements was from King George the Third who fired artillery at the one of the colonies which was Boston and its people because of the many political activist groups who refuse to abide into paying direct taxes for British tea, and some members of the Son of Liberty invoking threats towards British officials input in the colonies for tax collecting. Overall, there are many advantages for the colonies to fight for individuality, in many aspects colonies who separate from the Britain have many upcoming reimbursements and advantage by leaving British control.

After the French and Indian War had ended in 1763, the British parliament passed various laws to collect more taxes in American colonies in ways to pay for their war debt. As a result, colonists outraged as they had been taxed unjustly without having any representation in the British parliament, which eventually led to an uprising known as the American Revolution. In the process of making a revolution, Thomas Jefferson, a revolutionist, and father of our modern constitution, effectively masters an appeal to ethos, pathos, logos, and strong dictions to inform King George III on reasonings behind American colonies’ justifications for becoming independent from the Great Britain.

The period between 1763 and 1776 was a time where many areas of disagreement developed between the colonists and the British policy makers. The major areas of disagreement were caused by the British rules imposed on the colonies that prevented expansion, imposed taxation and limited colonial liberty. The first dispute was right after the Seven Years War (1756-1763) with the Proclamation of 1763. According to ushistory.org, the colonists, after the war, felt entitled and excited to begin settling westward, but the Proclamation prohibited such expansion. The war also put a large debt burden on Britain and in attempts to alleviate the debt they imposed many different taxes upon the colonists. The colonists did not believe they should be required

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

Anglicization of the Britain’s American colonies was a big event for the course of not only American or British history, but world history. The colonists adopting many British ways and becoming very patriotic towards the “mother country” had a large effect on the events that unfolded in the late 18th century. While it is true that the American colonists were incredibly British during the beginning to the mid-18th century, the colonies had been around long enough to develop their own culture and way of doing things. The series of events and acts that were imposed on the colonists post French and Indian War got the ball rolling on what came to be known as the American Revolution. The colonists were so fed up with the way in which the British were tightening their hold on the colonies to the point where they were driven to rebellion. The combination of British and underlying American ideals in the pre-revolution era were a necessarily pre-requisite and important component of what would become the American Revolution.

The American Revolution was not only a battle between the British and the colonists; it was a historical movement that brought about new ways of thinking. The ideas of liberty and equality began to be seen as essential to the growth of the new nation. The separation of the American colonies from the British Empire occurred for a number of reasons. These reasons are illustrated in the Declaration of Independence. Although Thomas Jefferson wrote the document, it expressed the desire of the heart of each colonist to be free of British rule. British rule over the colonies became unbearable in the early months of 1776, making it clear to the colonists that it was time to either give in

While the definition of historiography has been slightly amended over time, ‘the study of the way history has been and is written’ appears to be the approved meaning.1 Essentially, from my understanding, historiography is the evaluation of interpretations by historians over time. For example, Geoffrey de Villehardouin’s Memoirs of the Fourth Crusades stands out as a prominent historical foundation, as very few written accounts of the Crusades describe the political, economic, religious and military events preceding up to, and subsequently succeeding, from a [the] first person standpoint.2 Memoirs of the Fourth Crusade is thus reviewed as a uniquely distinguishable, primary source that affords historians with an incomparable written record