Pre-American RevolutionUnit 2

Brian Youn, Victoria Rey, Alberto Lopez, Alyssa Secreto P3

Prompt

To what extent had the colonists developed a sense of there identity and unity as Americans by the eve of the revolution?

Document A

The Picture of the divided snake represents the colonies, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and New England. This was created to show the colonies that they must unite together in order to survive against the British, if not they would perish. The Albany plan connects with this as it sought form a union with the colonies under one government.

Possible Categorization -Social Injustice

-The Rise in Different Political outlook.

Document B

This document by Edmund Burke states that the English who don’t represent Americans are also governing America like their own when they do not know of the situations in America and the vast differences between them..

It was very difficult for the British to have control over the American colonies because they were across the Atlantic Ocean as Edmund Burke, a member of the House of Commons, had put it, "The eternal Barriers of Nature forbid that the colonies should be blended or coalesce into the Mass... of this Kingdom."

Possible Categorization -The Rise in Different Political

Outlook

Document C

Document C states that all the Americans in N. America are ultimately united in order to obstruct

those who attempt to take away their liberties, regardless of who it is. It shows how N.Americans

united to fight against the Corruption of the “Junto” to defend their liberties from anyone who

poses a threat to it.

Possible Categorization -Social Injustice

Document D

Document D shows the opinion of a British Loyalist (Tory) who lives in America and expresses his opinion of rather having the British in rule than the American Colonists, due to the British being three thousand miles away and the “three thousand Tyrants” being in the country which could cause potential chaos within the country, excluding the issues that are already present due to the “one tyrant three thousand miles away.”

NonsenseNonsense

Loyalist to the Loyalist to the British British

Possible Categorization -Social Injustice

Document E

Document E shows the representatives from All colonies, except Georgia, that came together to

declare the taking up of Arms, to help preserve the liberties of the Colonists. This shows how the

colonists united as “Americans” to protect their natural rights and to get the treatment they deserve

from the British.

Possible Categorization -Social Injustice

-The Rise in Different Political

Outlook

Document F

The document shows the social outrage that the colonists had towards the British. The British were in a time of prosperity, and had abused their prosperity, causing anger from the colonists. The colonists started a rebellion. It shows the resentment that the colonists had towards the oppression of the British, and how they would fight against it.

Possible Categorization -Social Injustice

Document G Document G states the list of items each Colony donated to Boston, to send relief due to the Port Bill, which closed the Port of Boston until the dumped tea was payed back. Since Boston was a major Mercantile city, most of the city’s imports came through the port, which affected the colonists living in Boston. The effects of the Port Bill are , and not limited to, the violation of natural rights of many American colonists and the upbringing union of all the colonies to help Boston reserve supplies for the closing of the port. This helped show how the colonists united together to aid fellow Americans from the oppression of the British and brought them together as one nation.

RELATABLE EVIDENCE✤PORT BILL ✤BOSTON TEA PARTY✤SON’S OF LIBERTY ✤COERCIVE ACTS✤SOCIAL INJUSTICE AND RISE IN T & A✤FIRST CONTINENTAL CONGRESS

Document H

This document shows the mix of cultures that happened in America, and how these cultures blended together. It created an American culture that was unique from the cultures of these people. It shows how they “abandoned” the old hatred and prejudices of their original countries. It emphasized the separation of old culture, and the formation of a new one.

Possible Categorization -Social Injustice

Thesis By the eve of the revolution, the Americans had developed their sense of identity and unity to the extent in which they had created their own perception of freedom from the British and had identified themselves as loyal Americans through the social injustice from the British, the rise in taxes and acts put on the Americans, and the rise in different political outlook.

Social InjusticeEvidence

Boston Massacre-was an event in which British soldiers fired upon unarmed colonists, which opened the eyes of the colonists to see the British oppression. (1770)

Common Sense -Common sense changed the social outlook on the war, influencing more people to support it, and further enraging those who already did. It also attacked not only the measures taken by parliament, but the institution of monarchy, further pushing the people towards a revolution. (1775)

Quartering Act -A Law passed by British Parliament in 1765 that required American Colonists to allow British troops to Quarter in their homes.(1774).

Son’s of Liberty-A group of artisans and shopkeepers in Boston, Massachusetts during the summer of 1765 that were called The Loyal Nine began an agitation against the Stamp Act but they became to be called the Sons of Liberty later.

Social injustice (cont.)Salutary Neglect -an Act in which the British would not interfere with American trade as long as it brought in profits.

The Gaspee Incident -The Gaspee incident attacked the British by burning one of their ships. Colonial anger was inflamed when the British did not allow the colonists to have their trial in colonial courts, but sent them to England for trial.(1772)

First Continental Congress-Brought together representatives from all colonies,except Georgia, to discuss the response the the enactment of the Intolerable Acts ( Impartial Administration of Justice Act, Massachusetts Bay Regulating Act, Boston Port Act,Quartering Act, Quebec Act) (1774).

Boston Tea Party-A violent demonstration in 1773 by American colonists before the American Revolution. Colonists boarded vessels in Boston harbor and threw the cargoes of tea into the water in protest at the imposition of a tax on tea by the British Parliament, in which the colonists had no representation

Stamp Act Congress- in reaction to the Stamp act, this group of 9 colonies petitioned together against the King. This helped show the unity of the colonies to protect the rights of the colonists. (1765)

The Rise in Different Political outlook Direct and Indirect Representation- Direct Representation means that representatives in a legislature were chosen by the people to represent them and enact their will and Indirect Representation means that people's wills are interpreted by the elected officials and they vote on it based on what they think the people wish.

The Quebec Act - an act passed by the British Parliament in order to replace the temporary government created by the Proclamation of 1763, this act gave religious freedom, the use of French civil laws, was one of the Intolerable Acts.(1774)

Loyalists and American Revolutionaries-The poor treatment of Loyalists by the American patriots was a political move separating the colonists from any allegiance to Britain. It was a direct attack on their American allies, and therefore them.

The Rise in Different Polit. outlook (cont.)

Monarchy and Democracy- With the monarchy of Britain ruling over the colonies in America, much of the colonies strived for a Democracy in which they could separate from England and set a system of government in which the people had power.

Albany Plan-was a "plan of union" that was adopted by the delegates of  the northern colonies ((South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and New England) and the representatives from the Six Iroquois Nations when they met at Albany, New York to to unite the American colonies for management of Indian relations and defense against France but it was later used for colonial unity against British.(1754)

Treaty of Paris- Signed by England, France, and Spain, it ended the Seven Years War in America and allowed for England to gain all of N. America east of the Mississippi.

Proclamation Line of 1763-The Proclamation Line of 1763 prevented the Colonists from expanding westward, and gave more trade and political power to Britain. The Colonists believed it was a political choice by Britain, to weaken America.

The Rise in Taxes and Acts Port Bill- AKA Boston Port Act- Closed the port of Boston until the price of the dumped tea was recovered, moved the capital of Massachusetts to Salem, and made Marblehead the official port of entry for the Massachusetts Colony(1774)

Stamp Act-Was an act passed by the British Parliament with the sole purpose of gaining revenue, which taxed anything paper (Ex: Newspaper) which angered colonists as they taxed everyday things.(1765)

Tea Act-The Tea Act exempt the East India company from paying taxes, giving Britain a great advantage in the tea trade. This enraged Americans because it weakened their own trade. (1773)

Navigation Acts-Were a series of laws that restricted the use of foreign shipping for trade between England and it colonies, which started in 1651, but was not enforced until after the1750s, when the Sugar Act of 1764 became a source of resentment from the Merchants of American Colonies.

The Rise in Taxes and Acts (cont.)

Internal v. External taxes- Internal taxes were taxes imposed that were not related to export or import,like a poll tax (a per-person amount), a sales tax (a percentage of the value sold), and an excise tax (an amount based on an event, such as issuance of a license or permit, or the sale of an item independent of the value of the item). External Taxes A fee paid to the government placed on items of import or export and was generally used to discourage its use, as a regulation of trade (and not to raise revenue).

Impartial Administration of Justice Act- As a result of the Boston Tea Party, it allowed the royal governor of a colony to move trials to other colonies or even to England if he feared that juries in those colonies wouldn’t judge fairly(1774)

Massachusetts Bay Regulating Act- As a result of the Boston Tea Party, Made all law officers subject to appointment by the royal governor and banned all town meetings that didn’t have approval of the royal governor(1774)

SignificanceSocial Injustice: It helped the Colonists realize the injustice being brought on by the British , established how the British viewed them as Americans, and through this they sought to coalesce as colonies with one common purpose to gain Freedom.

The Rise in Different Political Stances: This allowed for the Colonists to see the many forms of government and the flaws within both the new rising government and British Parliament, to help them establish their own independence.

The Rise in Acts and Taxes: All the new acts and taxes being imposed on the Colonists lead them away from England , which allowed them to create there own system of commerce and forced the colonists to take control of their economy.

Idiot Paragraph Although many colonists had identified themselves as Americans by the evening of the America Revolution, there was still some who were loyal to the British.

People within the Colonies who identified themselves as being loyal to the crown were known as Tories.

Document  D helps show the view of a Tory and how he preferred to be ruled by the Monarchy, instead the American Democracy, but still shows how he would rather live in N.America then in England.