The Plan For Self Rule

One of the last of the colonial plans of union to be considered before the outbreak of the American Revolution was the Albany Plan of Union. Proposed by Benjamin Franklin, the plan called for a single executive to be appointed by the King, who would be responsible for Indian relations, military preparedness, and execution of laws regulating various trade and financial activities. It called for a Grand Council to be

Starting as early as 1697 with William Penn, a strong historical figure who founded Pennsylvania based on the need for freedom for the Quakers, and his Plan of Union. His Plan of Union called for, “The several colonies before mentioned do meet . . . at least once intwo [sic] years in times of peace . . . two persons . . . be appointed by each province as their representatives or deputies, which in the whole make the congress,” (Doc 4). Even before Penn’s plan was published, the need for representation took root in 1619 at the House of Burgesses. The importance of representation and a congress was nothing new to colonial America and has existed as a desire of almost every colonist. Its importance continued into 1754 with the Albany Plan of Union, yet another important written document that described government’s state and importance vital period. This plan adopted some of the most important parts of the constitution that would be written twenty years after Albany, including, “a President-General, to be appointed and supported by the crown” (Doc 5) and “That for these purposes they have power to make laws, and lay and levy such general duties, imposts, or taxes, as to them shall appear most equal and just,” (Doc 5). The Albany Plan of Union dictated some of the most important parts of the constitution, including a presidential representative along with other representatives under a

     The passing of the Stamp Act by Parliament in 1765 caused a rush of angry protests by the colonists in British America that perhaps "aroused and unified Americans as no previous political event ever had." It levied a tax on legal documents, almanacs, newspapers, and nearly every other form of paper used in the colonies. Adding to this hardship was the need for the tax to be paid in British sterling, not in colonial paper money. Although this duty had been in effect in England for over half a century and was already in effect in several colonies in the 1750?s, it called into question the authority of Parliament over the overseas colonies that had no representation therein.

When the year 1776 began, few colonists could have predicted what lay ahead.Most colonists still hoped for a peaceful end to the quarrel with Britain.Both patriots and loyalists were in a minority at the start of 1776. Many colonists were in the middle,with no strong feelings about the dispute with britain. Even within the continental congress,support for independence was limited to about one third of the delegates.Patriots such as John Adams found it hard to win others to the cause of independence.Adams complained that loyalists used the prospect of independence as a way to frighten people into giving up the struggle.In January 1776,a 50 page pamphlet titled common sense was published in pliladelphia.The pamphlet simulated broad support for independence.The author, Thomas Paine, called king george a “royal brute.”Paine ridiculed the very idea of rule by kings.Americans,he said , would be far better off if they

The Proclamation of 1763 was completely and wholly unfair to the colonists, and can be considered one of the first events to incite the idea of an American revolution. The colonists were forbidden from settling west of the Appalachian Mountains after the Seven-Years War when British gained control of land in the west that the French had owned. The colonists were eager to continue exploring America and settling west of the colonies, but they were suddenly forbidden from settling in what used to be French territory. The Proclamation of 1763 angered a lot of colonists who saw it as unfair for the British to take land away from the colonies.

They created the Olive Branch Petition, which proposed that the 13 colonies continue to remain with England but not pay the unjust taxes to the parliament. The congress sent this as confirmation of allegiance to the King but not the parliament. This was immediately rejected, letting us know that even after a confirmation of allegiance, if they didn’t follow his rules then he was unwilling to accept it. It was a true characteristic of a tyrant, and his behavior was uniformly unpopular throughout the colonies.

As a result they banned trade with Britain, advised colonies to form a militia, and asked King George III to accept the "Declaration of Rights”.

At the point when the Britain changed their arrangements to a more strict control over the colonies, tensions began rising and the relationship between Great Britain and the colonists because the salutary neglect helped them get away with smuggling. Consequently, the Proclamation Act of 1763 was passed, which banned settlement past the Appalachian Mountains and obliged colonists to surrender any officially settled settlements. The British set up military posts along the proclamation line to implement the fringe, ensure Native American land possessions and advance British fur trade interests. The British told the Colonists that the purpose of the posts was to protect the from the Native Americans and would be maintained at the expense of the colonies. The Colonists felt the British government was meddling with their entitlement to unreservedly extend, compelling them to pay for military security they had not asked. This demonstrates their relationship exacerbate because the colonists dealt with political inequality and from the British because the changes the British made does not benefit the colonists in any

After the decree was issued, many colonists were outraged; they wanted their freedom of traveling wherever they pleased and disliked the idea of the government controlling their actions. Colonials who had occupied the western section of the Appalachian mountains were forced to leave their settlements and those who had hoped to explore or inhibit the lands were now prohibited to do so. Therefore, many colonists chose to disobey and continued venturing into the territory, interfering with the Native Americans. As a result, the English sent men to patrol the mountain-borders and increased tax on the colonists to compensate for the troops. This enraged the colonists even more, and the proclamation sparked a common hatred among them, driving them forwards towards

rioting. The Stamp Act Congress met in New York in 1765 as an act of defiance. The Congress

Meanwhile the rumors of more taxes to follow the Sugar Act put the colonists in a state of un-ease. They began to question the power of the Parliament to which they elected no representatives and grew weary of taxes which they did not consent to. Meanwhile, colonists sent delegates to attend the Stamp Act Congress, to devise a rebuttal against what they deemed unfair taxation without representation. This led to the creation of the Declaration of Rights and Grievances, which included their worry about taxation. Consequently, the British reacted negatively and viewed it as an abhorrent document. How dare the colonists question the power of Parliament’s authority? They refused the Colonists’ Declaration and preemptively refused any further declarations that they may or may not have planned to make. However, peace was somehow struck, as if like fool’s gold, the colonists saw that their voices were heard in the fact that the British were repealing the Stamp Act. They were being beguiled by this repeal as the British worked to maintain their power and seem strong in the English’s eyes, and further affirming that Parliament had the right to legislate for the colonies through the Declaratory Act, but this seemed to be largely ignored along with the Revenue Act because of the joy caused by the repeal of the Stamp Act. This relative peace continued until about March

Part of the reason for this was trying to limit any more wars in the colonies since the Seven Years War had been so costly to the crown and very little of the cost was covered by the colonies. The colonists almost universally were upset by this as many made a lot of their money through land speculation. This act ended up being entirely unenforceable and the colonists continued to move west regardless. The next acts passed were the Sugar Act and Currency act of 1764. The sugar act was enacted to follow the mercantilism ideals, by working to stop the illegal sugar trade with the spanish and french colonies in the west indies.

Looking through the history of politics, it can be seen that a majority of cultural, social, and economic issues are birthed from the hands of authors. The French Revolution had Maximilien Robespierre, the Age of Enlightenment had John Locke, and, lastly, the American Revolution had Thomas Paine. Of these revolutions and changes in society, the American Revolution was fundamental in creating the American identity and the residuals can still be felt today. Although there were numerous figures that aided the beginning of the American Revolution, Paine was one of the most influential due to his 48-page pamphlet Common Sense. Published anonymously so as to keep himself safe from the British, Common Sense truly brought the idea of independence from Great Britain front and center to the colonists. In doing so, the masses slowly began to turn on Great Britain and soon realized that independence was coming soon. Paine, with his politically capacity, implemented methods throughout Common that would draw people towards the idea of independence. The first method was to make the claim for independence a global need and reunite the colonies.

The structure of the declaration of independence and common sense only listed one of the differences between the two texts. Paine chose a detailed outline for arguing over independence while Jefferson decided on individually listing the grievances. Despite the different approaches both men convinced colonist to lean towards independence. Through Common Sense one can depict the tone used to convince the audience to cause independence. Throughout the text it allows one to question what would happen to the future generation if independence wouldn’t have occurred.

Did you know, the Declaration of Independence, written by Thomas Jefferson, and Common Sense, written by Thomas Paine, were both written in the year of 1776? “Thomas Jefferson, in drafting the Declaration of independence, had, as he later said, ‘turned to neither book nor pamphlet in writing it’; he attempted simply to ‘place before mankind the Common Sense of the subject’.” (citation) “Thomas Paine wrote several books and pamphlets, including Common Sense that greatly contributed to ‘delegitimizing’ the claims to authority of the British state.” (citation) There are many similarities and differences between these two well-known writings. Both documents, in their own way, discussed independence from Britain, promoted colonists to think for