Was there a way that Great Britain could have kept the colonies as part of their empire without revolution? Was there a middle ground, or was this merely an exercise between political radicalism on one side and monarchical stubbornness on the other? Your text begins with sympathy for King George III. Towards the end of his life, he would go insane. He begins his reign in even worse situations (if possible) by witnessing his country in a really sad state of affairs. Here’s another really important question though: was King George or Parliament the real enemy of the colonies? If you read the Declaration of Independence, it is King George. If you listen to cries of ‘No taxation without representation!’, it is Parliament. Who is the real opponent to liberty?
SUGAR, CURRENCY and STAMPS (165) So here you see the first of three acts that put harsh conditions on the colonies by Parliament: the Sugar Act, the Currency Act and the Stamp Act. There are a couple of issues here between the lines. First, does Parliament have the authority to pass these laws on the colonies? Then, are these taxes fair and just? Finally, what should be done about them? Do you fight the system from inside it, or do you break the system to pieces and build your own.
STAMP ACT RIOTS (166) When asked what would happen if British soldiers tried to enforce the Stamp Act, Benjamin Franklin stated that “They would not find a revolution in the colonies; they would make one”. Well, tell that to the people of Boston. Riots there were against British authority as well as against the ruling aristocracy of elites who were colonists themselves. Were the riots justified? Government existed to protect property, didn’t it? What about the colonial assemblies? Looking at the information from the text, it seems the anger was pretty real. Then there’s the lesson: Parliament repeals the tax. What does that tell the colonies? Who thought the Declaratory Act meant anything? Were colonists really supposed to take it seriously? The Sons of Liberty were serious. Check out what the Stamp Act Congress said: http://www.let.rug.nl/usa/D/1751-1775/stampact/sa.htm.
GATHERING STORM CLOUDS (168) Then come the Townshend Acts. More protests in Boston and more escalation. Who controlled the riots? What were their agendas? Was opposition to British taxes based on ideology or economics? Then the colonists begin fighting themselves. Remember that opposition to Great Britain was not universal. There were hundreds of thousands of people still loyal to the crown. Non-importation (boycotts) brought this out in full force. Who’s side were you on? Then comes the Boston Massacre – happening on the same day that Parliament repeals all taxes except those on tea. Propaganda spread the message of the killing of five men. John Adams got the soldiers acquitted, but his cousin, Sam Adams had more influence over the crowds.
THE GROWING RIFT (170) OK, so now some of the colonists are angry – but that in itself doesn’t make a revolution. Committees of Correspondence formed around the colonies, uniting them by spreading information, stories and speeches. Consider if the blogosphere of the 1770′s. Then you had the Gaspee Incident, the Tea Act, the Tea Party and the Coercive (Intolerable) Acts. It seems like a this-for-that approach, but there was more to this story. Trade and the depression had actually improved in the colonies in the early 1770′s. Radicals needed issues to keep people focused against Great Britain. The Tea Party and its response did that. A Continental Congress met in 1774 to send a unified message to the King – although it was not a unified body. Many favored a peaceful approach. If you’ve seen the HBO series, John Adams, you know this. But some in the congress wanted to hit Britain where it hurt: in the wallet. Banning trade would cripple the mother country… similar to how modern nations impose economic sanctions on troublesome nations. Ultimately, all but three colonies had appointed their own illegal assemblies in defiance of royal governors in the meantime. Lines were being drawn in the sand.
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