Was The Scot-Irish A Cause Of The American Revolution?

     Between the settlement at Jamestown in 1607 and the Treaty of Paris in 1763, the most important change that occurred in the colonies was the emergence of a society quite different from that in England. Changes in religion, economics, politics and social structure illustrate this Americanization of the transplanted Europeans.

Several of the aspects that gave rise to the revolution were its discontent between monarchy and the authoritarian rule of the Roman Catholic Church in conjunction with the philosophical explosion in human reason and human capacities. Things were now becoming more centered on the abilities of men and reason and less focused on the authority and teachings of God. As Noll quoted, “At last, it seemed, society was being directed toward the good of the whole community instead of toward the private benefit of a tiny elite of kings, nobles and bishops.”[2] While this was the view of the some of the people in the West, seeing this as a moment when the control of Church would finally wane into

Over the previous 150 years the colonies had attracted an ever-increasing number of immigrants and grown steadily in themselves so that they now contained significant urban centers such as Philadelphia and Boston, a large population free and slave of 1,593,625 in 1770, an abundance of land with the prospect of more to the west -now free bar the Indians rapidly being more fully used by the growing population it attracted, and a growing number of manufacturing industries. These were significant because the traditional model of colonies had been to serve as exporters of raw materials and staple goods to Britain and purchasers of manufactured goods, all along the protected trading lines of the Navigation Act. But the mainland American colonies

In the book “Decision in Philadelphia the Constitutional Convention of 1787” by Christopher Collier and James Collier present an exclusive glance at the creating of the Constitution and the events that made the Constitution the way people know it today. Christopher and James Collier begin with historical events that led up to Constitutional creation and a brief summation of the events that were taking place in the country during that time frame. The background that they give provides a good base for the information and allows the reader to see things through the eyes of someone living in the time. During that period, there were many challenges facing America at the time that would have collision on the constitutional convention and the outcomes that would shape the country. One of them being that there was very poor transportation routes and that adversely affected communications. For example the authors quote “The few interstate roads that existed were frequently nothing more than mile upon mile of mud wallow, cut by hundreds of streams, creeks, and rivers, most of which were unbridged, so they had to be forded, or crossed by ferry” (Collier, 1986, p.14). As a result, due to a lack of this foundation it was very challenging and time consuming for the citizens with travel and communication and diversity was usually unfamiliar to people. At the time people also faced challenges such as the country was divided by religion, ethics, language differences, and majorly economic

Specially on the north, the sparkle of the protests was lit by the previous impact of the enlightenment, an intellectual movement that basically put reason on top of superstition, and by this time, indirectly empowered the response to the Thomas Paine’s pamphlet Common Sense, in which he states his inconformity with the British government by questioning things like How a little island could rule a big country like America. Also, Paine’s work was popular between the colonies because of his powerful political critics and simple choice of words, for example referring to King George III as a “crowned ruffian” was something that most of the Americans could easily

In the time period of 1750-1776 tensions had risen between the colonists and England. Circumstances had gotten worse than before. Colonists got very mad because the English Parliament passed many acts that raised taxes. In reply to the taxes the colonists revolted and took a stand. Document A shows that in 1754 the Pennsylvania Gazette printed a cartoon of a snake that represented the colonies which were divided in eight pieces, Georgia and Rhode Island were not included in the snake.

Free trade was very important to every individual’s livelihood. Without seemingly no interruption from Britain, colonist traded with many different European powers. Not only did this boost the colonial economy, but paved way for an angry bunch of colonists when London does double down on its policy enforcement. But prior to this, traders and merchants operated with ease. The sudden stop of these operations is what had poured oil over the fire of the evolution towards revolt. Prosperous trade with a variety of countries consisting of slaves and cash crops, chiefly in the south, had made many slave owners

This act was the first attempt by the British government to handle the debt caused by the French and Indian War within the colonies. The act attempted to stop the illegal smuggling of non-British imports, like foreign wine and raw materials. It also included the right for the English government to put a smuggler on trial without a jury, because an American jury would have sympathy for the person on trial. This can be compared to the Molasses Act of 1733, which was widely unsuccessful because colonist resistance and evasion of the act’s enforcement. It was made largely by the insistence of wealthy plantation owners in the British West Indies. This was significant for the colonies because molasses was used in New England for making rum, and the molasses trade had been growing out of the British market. Colonists traded within New England and the Middle colonies,

The sugar act of 1764 was a modified version of the sugar and molasses act (1733). In the molasses act merchants were required to pay a tax of sixpence per gallon on the importation of foreign molasses. The sugar act put taxes on sugar, molasses, wine, and Indigo to pay off the seven years of war. Molasses was a key ingredient for the New England colonies to produce rum to sell to the French, Dutch, and Spanish. Just like the Sugar and molasses act of 1733, the sugar act hurt the British West Indies market in sugar and molasses and the market for rum.

The American Revolution caused an uprising within its people. This lead to many disagreements right from the start of the revolution. There was a creation of the Loyalist or Tories which were greatly disliked by the Patriots. The Loyalists were target to many attacks because the people didn’t want anyone who supported the tyranny of the

After England’s war with France, the so called “The Great War for Empire”, and the subsequent money loss, Britain had to find a source of funds, and quickly. There was no better place for England’s lost funds to be recovered than from the pockets of their small, defenseless colonies. As such, the English Parliament enacted the Molasses Act.

Illegal smuggling became a foundation of triangular trade routed between North American colonies, the Caribbean, Africa and Europe. The illegal smuggling violated the Navigation Acts which made New England merchants very wealthy. Once again, there is no official enforcement enforcing the laws. The Mother Country’s lack of enforcement, allowed Colonial America to set its own course of independence.

Once again, the British were meddling in colonial affairs, and the colonists felt that the British were out of touch with the Americans. The sugar act reduced the tax on foreign importation of molasses and other goods, but it was more strictly enforced. It had a negative effect on colonial economies, especially the rum trade, and caused boycotts. Americans were becoming more and more angry with British meddling, especially this law which was seen as Britain only trying to help itself even if the colonies got harmed economically in the

Jamestown had become the English first permanent settlement in America; however, the English would not stay confined to the limited land. Throughout the years, Jamestown would turn into the 13 colonies since many found that wealth and freedom was found in America. In the early 1700s, the population had stretched to 250,000; by 1750, it grown to over a million. With the growth of the population came issues over land as the colonist kept pushing their borders. As stated in the textbook, “Moreover, as the northernmost group of British colonies, New England had contested frontiers where powerful Native Americans, especially the Iroquois and Mahicans, jealously guarded their territory” (Roark 108). This shows how the growing population would causes conflict with surrounding territories. Although, this

Amid the last quarter of the century quite a bit of Europe and America was shaken by revolution. In 1780, the discontent of the poor was communicated in the Gordon Riots, when London was in the hands of a rowdy swarm for a few days before request could