The English Government's Influence On American Colonists

     Building on English foundations of political liberty, the colonists extended the concepts of liberty and self-government far beyond those envisioned in the mother country. While Englishmen had some representation in their parliament, Americans took the system further. All colonies had some form of a two-house parliament system. Some, like New York, had governors appointed by the crown. Others, like Rhode Island, elected their own. Local government also varied between the colonies. The southern states had a strong County government, while the New England colonies relied on town-meeting government. In either case, voting was reserved to land-owning white men.

As generations grew up in America, nationalism within the colonies grew towards their new country. These settlers slowly lost their patriotic tie to Great Britain and it’s ruler, King George III. So when the French and Indian War ended in America, and the indebted England needed some compensation from American settlers in the form of taxes, the colonists questioned the authority of England and their ability to rule them. British imperial policies such as the Sugar Act of 1764 and the Townshend Tea Tax caused uproar within the colonies against British rule without

people. There was a desire by many colonists to form a government based off democratic

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.

There were a myriad of differences between Great Britain and her American colonies in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, but these differences can be divided into three basic categories: economic, social, and political. The original American settlers came to the colonies for varied reasons, but a common trait among these settlers was that they still considered themselves British subjects. However, as time passed, the colonists grew disenfranchised from England. Separated from the king by three thousand miles and living in a primitive environment where obtaining simple necessities was a struggle, pragmatism became the common thread throughout all daily life in the colonies. It was this pragmatism that led the colonists to create

From 1754 to 1763, the French and Indian War took place. This war altered the political, economic, and ideological relations between Britain and its American colonies. It was the last of four North American wars waged from 1689 to 1763 between the British and the French. In these struggles, each country fought for control of the continent with the assistance of Native American and colonial allies. The French and Indian War occurred to end the land dispute between the British and French. Whoever won, in reality, gained an empire. It was a determined and eventually successful attempt by the British to get a dominant position in North America, the West Indies, and the subcontinent of India. Although Britain had won all this land,

The freedoms and opportunities enjoyed by the colonists after the American Revolution were not simply established as much as they were fought tooth and nail for. The colonists between the 15th and 18th century faced much turmoil in which they had to overcome in order to become the success they sought after. Many of these freedoms and opportunities came at a cost to other people and cultures as the colonists paved their way to a new society. To gain full benefits of their freedoms, the colonists would also have to explore new ideals to shape the way they run their lives in order to be true successes. These successions can be tied back to the first Native American treaties.

A new era of revolution was emerging on the American colonies and its mother country Great Britain. The American colonists were suffering by many cruel acts enacted by the British Parliament. These British policies were encouraging the Americans to feel as if their rights were constantly being violated by Great Britain. Not to mention these policies enacted only benefitted Great Britain. The colonists started to feel enslaved by the imperial policies enacted on them. It can be argued that most colonists at the time thought that the “British colonists lived on an empire of goods.” This quote means that the American colonists desired to be treated equally as the English settlement. The harsh policies and unequal treatment started to affect the colonies’ economic, political, and geographic positions which escalated the colonists’ resistance to British rule which also led to a stronger desire for a republic empire. The colonists desired to have their own sense of government and economy. They wanted to enact their own laws and policies.

The American Revolution was far from being the first conflict to occur on the soil of the New World. There were multiple skirmishes, battles, and official wars fought in the territory that resulted in severe bloodshed before the idea of the American Revolution was even conceived. One of the most significant of these wars was the French and Indian War or as it was known in Europe, the Seven Years’ War. At its conclusion in 1763, the Treaty of Paris was signed. The English received a substantial amount of new land for the Empire (94). However, with the acquisition of new land and a significant amount of debt from the extensive war efforts, the British government had to reevaluate many of their policies (95-96). After the Treaty of Paris of 1763, the British were confident in their mastery of North America. However by attempting to tighten their control over their American colonies they initiated a series of poorly thought out programs and policies which resulted in a disastrous rebellion.

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.

As citizens of Britain, colonists had the right to have a seat in the British Parliament to decide on bills. Britain passed unconstitutional taxes on the colonists in order to get out of debt, but they did it without the consent of the colonists who didn’t have a voice in the British Parliament. The acts of rebellion on the behalf of colonists influenced on the development of the American Revolution. The Colonists boycotted and hurt the British Government which hurt them financially. Lastly, the the last component to the American Revolution was the enforcement by Britain which triggered massacres, threats, violation of right and fear to the Colonists which once considered themselves Englishmen. Unconstitutional decisions and behavior, acts of rebellion, and enforcement lead to the American Revolution leading to a future creation of the United States of America. 300 years later we still see third world countries everywhere evolving because of these three components which can revolutionize the

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

Not only were there many push factors that caused English colonists to migrate to North America, there were also a decent amount of pull factors. Despite the long journey ahead that would bring many changes to their way of life, these colonists still found ways to maintain their British identity as they grew into becoming Americans. However, as Britain increased control over the colonies, the people started to retaliate. Unexpectedly, this control resulted in actions from the colonists that soon gave way to war.

Changes in British policies toward the colonies between 1750 and 1776 played paramount in the evolution of relations between British North America and Mother England. Tension between England and the colonies mounted from the conclusion of the Seven Years’ War to the signing of the Declaration of Independence as a result of the several implemented changes imposed by Parliament for the purpose of increasing income and tightening the grip on America.

It was easy for the colonists to work around the law, but England did nothing to stop it because trade deals were still happening, and everyone was still making money. This caused Americans to think of their government as equally as powerful as the British bureaucracy. England lost major control over the colonies during the Tradition of Neglect, but they didn’t do anything to stop it. Even though the colonies still considered themselves a part of the British Empire, people understood that they could lead themselves.