Essay/Term paper: Pre revolutionary mentality

Essay, term paper, research paper:  Humanities

US History I Test



The people represented in the picture, are pulling off King George III symbolizes how Americans felt right before the start of the revolutionary war. I believe this picture is in the beginning or middle part of 1775. The people of America were mad, were so, fed up with the British government that they will start a war in order to break away from them. These feelings didn"t just come about all of a sudden though, England set themselves up for this the moment they set up colonies that were three thousand miles away.

When James the II was kicked out beneath his crown in 1688 his daughter Mary and her husband William of Orange became joint sovereigns. This led several of the colonies into small revolts of their own. Not battles where people were killed, but battles of overcoming oppression. this gave the colonies hope, even though the "imperial grip" around the colonies would be getting tighter.

In the years between 1730 and 1740, there was a period of a religious "awakening" this brought about new ideas and new faith in God. The old Puritan ways didn"t fade out but new beliefs came about with new religious options. This gave people a chance to start over with their religious faith. People listened to great preachers like Charles Wesley, who founded Methodism, George Whitfield, and a Congregationalist named Jonathan Edwards.

The Great Awaking was an awaking of religious beliefs and spirits, another movement, later labeled the "enlightenment" was an awakening of learning. Great improvements in science and technologies were coming out of Europe. Great thinkers were writing and challenging the norm. They brought up ideas of leaving England and questioned the Authority of the crown.

Soon after things get rolling in America, Britain leaves the colonies alone. This period known as salutary neglect leaves the American people thinking about possible independence



away from England. Before 1763 the only laws that were in place were the navigation acts, which made sure the colonies only traded with England, and were loosely enforced.

In 1763 the proclamation of 1763 drew a line on the Appalachian Mountains that forbid settlers from traveling west of the mountains. The Indians were excited about this, it would stop the invasion of their lands and the battles they fought to protect it. It eventually failed as settlers moved into the Ohio valley anyways.

This was a changing point for the colonies, it was the first time they had really been restricted, but it would not be the last. It is just the beginning of what would be several acts to restrict them. In 1764 the "sugar act" was brought upon by England. It was to do a few things, one being to discontinue the illegal trade of sugar between the colonies and the French and the West Indies. It raised the duty on sugar and lowered it on furs and other materials for trade. It also set up courts that would hear trials of smugglers, this eliminated the sympathetic jury.

The Stamp Act put a tax on all paper and printed goods. This is something everyone would be affected by and would raise money. Protests were common all over America mobs threatened the workers who collected the stamp tax, and in Massachusetts an angry group destroyed a Lieutenant Governors" house.

The poorly paid British soldiers worked many jobs in the colonies, including some with American workers. On March 5th 1770 some Boston workers were giving some British soldiers a hard time. A fight broke out and the soldiers opened fire and killed five men. News of this broke out and people, including Paul Revere used this opportunity to spread some bad news about the soldiers and about Britain. The Boston Massacre it was called and pictures of several soldiers shooting into a mob were printed and shipped out everywhere, this caused quite a reaction, and was one more thing that the colonists had against the British.

In 1773 the Tea Act was passed so the East India Tea Company could stay in business,

It allowed the company to not pay all the taxes that others had to pay, and overcharged the colonists. This got everyone mad, but it really threatened the jobs and welfare of people in tea business. In Boston, a group of one hundred angry citizens dressed up as Indians and raided the ships, throwing the Tea into the harbor. When news of this broke out the whole country went into a boycott. In major cities like New York and Philadelphia they would no allow the ships to even land in their ports.

In September of 1774 the first Continental Congress meeting was held this rejected plans by England an they resolved tense situations in Massachusetts. It finally gave the colonies a spokes person and a leader.

All of these acts, and happenings had to do with the "revolutionary mentality".

These events led up to the declaration of independence and eventually to creating a more perfect union.