goblet of Goblet Of Application
Related Topics:
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
goblet of
harry potter
of
photos
goblet of fire
Harry
Goblet
potter
harry potter 4
Fire
harrypotter
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire movi
harry potter book 5
cast
hermione granger
Trailers
DVDs
reviews
gobletoffire
ron weasley
fire goblet
draco malfoy
harry potter book five
harry potter gof
harry potter pictures
and
harrypotter5
hp
hp5
xbox hp game
movie
the
pics
cheats
previews
Showtimes
Credits
film
films
Synopsis
Message Boards
jk rowling
harry potter movie 4
Hogwarts
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Revi
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire trai
User Ratings
rupert grint
harry potter book 7
Ron
Robbie Coltrane
lesson plan
harry potter information
J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Pict
Emma
emma watson
Sorcerer
harry potter fans
famous quotes
harry potter auditions
harry potter fan site
harry potter cast
J. K. Rowling
movie 5
pc games
harry potter set reports
harry potter videos
order of the phoenix movie
harry potter filming
pictures
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire free
Harry Potter Wiki
Radcliffe
harry potter movie 5
news
harry potter 4 filming
movie showtimes
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire trai
|
Goblet Of Application goblet of
.
Goblet Of Application goblet of Information
What was the main cause of the American Revolution?
The American
Revolution was caused by the unique nature of the American Colonists and their
society in contrast to their relationship with the English Government and
peoples. Life in America was not a life of leisure. American colonists had
worked hard to cultivate their lands and develop their towns and cities. Rural
life in the American colonies consisted not only of farmers but tradesmen also
prospered. (Handlin. 24) By 1763, the American Colonies were spreading west. The
expelling of the French and the Spaniards in 1763 opened lands of opportunity
for the colonists. American colonists who settled in the new lands and the New
World were a, "fresh breed of humans, self-reliant, rationalistic, disdainful of
established ideas and authorities, vain, provincial, sometimes violent, often
reckless". (Handlin 130)
Tensions began to build in the Colonies right after
the 7 years war, or the French and Indian War. At this time the American
Colonies were prospering. The colonists in America had no oppressing chains to
throw off. "In fact, the colonists knew they were freer, more equal, more
prosperous and less burdened with cumbersome feudal and monarchical restraints
than any other part of mankind in the 18th Century". (Wood 4) They had achieved
an economic and political maturity that resented outside interference. (Jensen
34) They did not discover new ideas after 1763, but held up ideas of the rights
of Englishmen which had begun back with the Magna Carta. The route to the
American Revolution was based on this unique American character and the lack of
understanding, which the British Government had for it.
After the 7 years
war, England was heavily in debt. This was the most that they'd ever been in
debt in their history. Two years before the end of the war King George II died,
and his grandson George III became king. King George III held the theory that to
rule an empire you had to have a tight grip. "The colonies had always been the
domain of the crown, administered by royally appointed officials. Parliament had
seldom interfered—except to pass the Acts of Trade and Navigation, laws relating
to finance, and laws prohibiting or limiting certain colonial manufactures. The
attempt by parliament to raise money in the colonies by acts of Parliament,
coupled with other restrictive legislation and administrative decisions, forced
Americans, for the first time, to attempt a serious definition of their concepts
of the power of Parliament over the colonies" (Jensen p.5).
Custom laws,
which the crown had passed, had never really been enforced. Some of these acts
included the 1704 act which required that the colonies limit their export of
rice and molasses as well as tar, turpentine, hemp, and other naval stores to
England alone, the 1721 act that prohibited importation of any tea, pepper,
spices, drugs, silks, and cotton fabrics except through England and the East
India Company, and in 1722 the White Pines Act which restricted New Englanders
from felling trees beyond a certain circumference. In 1733 The Molasses Act put
a tax on molasses which was a key ingredient in making rum (Cook p. 53). The non
enforcement of these acts put no strain on the relationship between the
colonists and England. The colonists traded with other nations and basically
bribed their way out of the restrictions of the acts.
With the French and
Indian War over, England was heavily in debt. They were over 133 million pounds
in debt. King George III appointed ministers to develop plans to alleviate the
debt. Ministers in England encouraged tighter enforcement of the custom laws and
control of the colonies. "For political tacticians of considerable skill, these
ministers made some surprising mistakes: making decisions in ignorance of
American views was one of the worst; and refusing to compromise when these views
were expressed was hardly less serious". (Middlekauff 49)
The King appointed
Lord Grenville to be Prime Minister. Among his first acts was the Proclamation
of 1763, which declared that no Americans would be allowed to locate west of the
Allegheny Mountains. This was an attempt to confine the Americans to the East
Coast where they could be watched and more easily governed. They also decided to
keep troops in the Colonies to help defend against the Indians. This was not a
popular item since the colonists believed they could defend themselves and they
wondered what the real reason for the troops were. (Fleming 49)
Grenville
also decided to revise the Molasses Act. He did this by doing away with the act
and passing the Sugar Act. It cut the tax on from 6 cents to 3 cents a gallon
but it was now on all molasses, not just that used for rum.(Cook p.59-61). He
also announced his determination to collect this new tax. This new law was a
financial shock to the New England merchants involved in the Rum Trade.
Massachusetts sent a protest to London which said that, " there could be no
liberty, no happiness, no security if Parliament had the right to raise money
this way". (Fleming 50)
The Currency Act of 1764 applied to all the colonies
outside New England, where the Currency Act of 1751 still remained in force.
This act forbade the issuance of paper money, which would be legal tender in
payment of any bargains, contracts, debts, dues, or demands whatsoever (Jensen
54). The men in the colonies with well-managed currencies were outraged and
colonists everywhere were convinced that the act was a major source of the hard
times that followed the French and Indian War. (Jensen p.54)
Next came the
Stamp Act of 1765. It put a tax on all legal documents that required a stamp
such as wills, mortgages, licenses, college diplomas and even playing cards.
Debates in Parliament over this tax showed that some in Parliament understood
the American society. Townshend the Duke of Newcastle, showed how little he knew
of the American nature when he stated that the colonists should be happy to pay
these taxes since they were children who had been cared for and protected by the
British Crown. Colonel Isaac Barre who had fought at Quebec stood up for the
colonists and denounced Townshends remarks stating that the colonists fled to
America to be rid of oppression and had endured hardships and grew even though
neglected. (Fleming 51). Grenville paid no attention to Barre and pushed through
the Stamp Act.
Eventually the Colonists began an embargo on stamps. When
stamps were brought to the colonies, merchants who had ordered them had to keep
them in a safe place otherwise the colonists would steal them and burn them up.
By the end of 1765 the governments in 9 of the colonies had passed resolutions
which denounced the Stamp Act. Even more importantly they denied Parliament's
right to tax the colonies for revenue. (Middlekauff 83) In October of that year
nine of the colonies banded together to form the Stamp Act Congress . Not even
one year after the Stamp Act was put into effect; it was repealed, although the
damage in the colonies had already been done (Cook p.62-68). Debates in
parliament over the repeal of the Stamp Act discussed the issues of taxation
without representation. William Pitt, who was one of the colonists greatest
supporters debated with Grenville over the colonists rights. Pitt said that if
America was crushed it would, "fall like a strong man. She would embrace the
pillars of the state, and pull down the constitution along with her".
(Middlekauff, 113)
Anger at the colonies allowed Townshend to introduce his
bill to Parliament. In this bill he proposed that the troops be moved from the
frontier to the troublesome Atlantic coast. He also proposed that taxes be
placed on tea, glass, lead, paint and paper. Judges would be allowed to issue
"writs of assistance" which permitted customs officials to search private homes,
shops and warehouses without warning to search for contraband. (Cook 121) The
reaction to the taxes was cautious and slow to form. Samuel Adams one of the
leaders of the Sons of Liberty in Boston found out when the customs
commissioners would arrive in Boston. He proposed that they be marched to the
Liberty Tree where they could choose between resignation or the mob. This idea
was abandoned due to lack of support by the other colonies. (Canfield 43) On
March 5, 1770, all the taxes were repealed, except for a small duty remained on
tea. On that same date, in the colonies, the Boston Massacre took place (Cook
122 ,149). On that date violence occurred between Royal soldiers and colonists
in Boston when an apprentice shouted an insult at a British Officer. A sentry in
front of the customs house hit the young man from behind. Soldiers came,
civilians arrived and bloodshed followed.
Even the small duty on tea, caused
the colonists to lower their consumption of the product. Tea imports dropped
from 320,000 pounds in 1769 to 530 in 1772. The Tea Act of 1773 basically gave a
monopoly on importing of tea to the East India Company to help this company out
of debt. The company tried to sell cut rate tea in America. Three such ships
arrived in Boston Harbor in December of 1763. The ships sat in the harbor and
none was unloaded. They were also unable to return to England without unloading
the tea. On Thursday December 16 the Boston Tea Party took place. This act of
aggression took place when the Sons of Liberty dressed up as Native Americans
and went onboard three English vessels and threw all their tea overboard (Jensen
p84).
In order to punish Boston for this act of resistance, the next act's
to take effect were the Coercive Acts. These acts were also known as the
Intolerable Acts. The first act closed down the port of Boston until the East
India Company was paid for the tea that had been dumped into the harbor and the
imperial revenue compensated for its loss on dutiable goods. The Coercive Acts
also dispatched four regiments to Boston and authorized Royal Army officers to
quarter troops in the homes of private citizens (Fleming p.85). Also at the same
time as the Intolerable Acts was the Quebec Act, which gave Canada's Catholics
civil equality and guaranteed religious tolerance. The colonists saw this act as
giving areas of the midwest to the Catholic Canadians and creating more danger
from the French and Indians. (Cook 190-191)
On September 5, 1774, in
Philadelphia began the remarkable first gathering of the Continental Congress.
The Colonies met for the first time as a unified group and all agreed to ban
imports from England, beginning December 1, 1774 and continuing until the siege
of Boston ended. The ban was delayed until September of 1775 (Middlekauff 243 ).
The Congress contained 56 men and included 12 of the 13 colonies. It produced a
Declaration of Rights. This Declaration listed the bills that infringed on their
rights and declared that if England wanted reconcile with the colonies they had
to agree that all the bills had to be repealed (Cook 192-198).
More troops
were sent to the colonies to put down any idea or rebellion, but this further
angered the colonists. Fighting began at Lexington and Concord and the
revolution began in earnest. The character of the American colonists had been
tested and they had shown that they were a new, different breed of colonists
that England was unprepared for. Possibly the distance between the two nations
led for the lack of communication and understanding between the peoples and
government. With the great amount of time that it took for communication between
the two nations it was very difficult for the British Ministers or King to fully
appreciate the maturation and development of the Colonists. "The Revolution did
not just eliminate monarchy and create republics; it actually reconstituted what
Americans meant by public or state power and brought about an entirely new kind
of popular politics and a new kind of democratic officeholder" (Wood 8).
Works Cited
Canfield, Cass. Sam Adams's Revolution (1765-1776). New
York: Harper and
Row, 1976.
Cook, Don. The Long Fuse; How England Lost
The American Colonies, 1760- 1785. New York: The Atlantic Monthly Press, 1995 .
Fleming, Thomas. Liberty! The American Revolution. New York: Penguin Group,
1997.
Handlin, Oscar and Lilian. A Restless People; Americans in Rebellion
1770-
1787. New York: Anchor Press, 1982.
Jensen Merrill. The Founding
of a Nation; A History of the American Revolution
1763-1776. New York:
Oxford University Press, 1968.
Middlekauff, Robert. The Glorious Cause; The
American Revolution, 1763-1789.
New York: Oxford University Press, 1982.
Wood, Gordon S. The Radicalism of the American Revolution. New York: Alfred
A. Knopf, 1992.
|
