February 2014 – Page 3 – American History to 1877

February 17, 2014

The Military Growth and the Possibility of Independence

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Chapter 18 of Taylor details the events that led to the expansion of the British Empire and the events that precluded Colonial thoughts of independence. England’s imperial power began to threaten both other European powers and Native peoples as colonists moved west, the crown claimed land to the south, and trade conflicts occurred in the North. This provoked conflicts between the French and Native traders as well as Spain. English victories bolstered confidence and extended an already vast colonial claim. However, the colonists and their trained soldiers from England were not always successful. As Emma discusses in her post “War War War,” the arrogant attitude that Braddock employed toward Native battle tactics was detrimental in early confrontations. The Europeans were most often victorious when employing the help of Native aides because they knew the land and their strategies were largely effective. These guides were experienced in guerrilla-style warfare that could decimate the more formal arrangement of European troops. Thus, even when the English had greater numbers and more effective weaponry, they struggled without Native help. The United States today still struggles with the battle between “traditional” or more structured war strategies and the hit-and-run tactics that smaller groups use. In the developing world, this style of fighting is more common because weapons and training are harder to come by, and it is also extremely effective against large and structured armies. Even small or relatively decentralized groups can cause immense damage with these tactics. Looking at the successes that military leaders had in these earlier Native wars may lend some advice when creating tactics to fight other such groups today. I also think it is extremely important to discuss the initial failures that the colonists faced. These factors lead to the development of an effective and experienced colonial military. Also, after English negotiations, the successes and failures in wartime helped develop a new mentality considering the frontier and Europe.

These victories did not bode well for Native peoples or for the country of England. The colonies progressively began to perceive their own value and, as trade expanded and population grew, the possibility to survive independently. The colonies had survived relatively autonomously from England, providing little in the way of taxes and lacking representation in the law-making body. However, when the financial situation in England sparked the need for real crown taxation in the colonies, the colonists, especially leaders like John Adams, felt the “taxation without representation” was an attack. Taylor’s analysis of discussions between some colonial leaders and those in Parliament reveal a deep discomfort with the taxation system and the presence of expensive and oppressive English military in the colonies (440-442). In previous chapters, Taylor discussed the colonists’ attachment to their independence, and nowhere is it more clearly shown than here. The interesting thing is that their initial independence had given the colonists the means to recognize and retaliate against the situation. They had become fairly well-educated and, in comparison, fairly well-off. They also had enough property and property rights to want to protect them. As their own markets broadened with new space and trade, the colonies were also able to realize the potential for true economic independence that would not have to depend upon exports to England. An increasing population provided constant demand and stimulated immense growth in comparison to the economically strangled England.

February 16, 2014

War in the Colonies

In chapter 18, Taylor explores the different relationships and conflicts that occurred in the colonies throughout the early to mid 1700’s. He makes a clear outline of the different groups and coalitions that existed in the new world, including the French, Spanish, English and Indians. In his outline, he expresses the various wants and needs that the different groups seek, and how the race for control led to overall conflict. However, the most intriguing argument that Taylor makes his how the conflicts during the colonial period influenced the future quest for colonial independence.

Taylor briefly describes the events and impacts of the Seven Years War between the English and the French and numerous Indian tribes. He explains how the war erupted when Robert Dinwiddie “tried to oust the French from the forks of the Ohio”(428). He further explains how Washington originally suffered an embarrassing defeat outside of Fort Duquesne, and then how he returns to fame after leading a retreat once General Braddock’s unit was ambushed. He closes out his description of the War upon speaking of the Battle for Quebec in open field. Even though he does describe these major events, this war played an extremely vital role int he shaping of the colonial landscape. I thought that Taylor focussed too little on the context of these different situations. For example, when Taylor spoke of William Pitt, he gave almost no background information on his prior experience or role in society. Even though he spoke clearly about his style of leadership, I still do not a firm grasp of where this man came from or what happened to him post war. As Taylor moved through the Seven YEars War quickly while touching on main events, I believe that he left out many important details and I still do not feel as if I have a firm grasp on the specifics of the War.

Taylor does int he end describe the impact that the war had on the colonist. Like my classmate pointed out in “Imperial Wars and Crisis”, the Seven Years War ignited the fire of independence from the colonies. Taylor accurately points out how the colonists saw first hand that they can make a significant difference, and have the power to achieve goals through military force. I do however wish that Taylor would haven spoken about how Britain essentially trained the army that eventually would fight against them in Revolution. But besides from that, Taylor did a very good job of explaining how the different taxes and tariff’s on the colonists in effort to pay off the war debt lead to a revolutionary atmosphere in America.

Although I would have liked Taylor to be more specific about the details of the Seven Years War, he does adequately discuss the different groups involved and their role throughout the conflict. He also does a good job in his description of the post war colonies. Overall this chapter makes good context of the implications these events had on the shaping of America.

February 16, 2014

Preparing for Revolution

In his post from today, Willie talks about Taylor’s efforts to develop a “general feeling of tension” in order to clarify and justify the eventual revolution. I’d like to continue exploring this theme while focusing specifically on the tensions between colonial powers and the tensions between the colonists and natives.

The first major conflict that Taylor describes is the War of Jenkins’s Ear, which later became the War of the Austrian Succession. This war originated from British efforts to undermine their French rivals by weakening Spain—their ally. Considering the Spanish empire a has-been, the English hoped to grow their colonial power through easy captures of Spanish imperial possessions; however, Spanish resistance thwarted these efforts. Soon, France entered on the side of the Spanish as European issues turned the imperial powers’ focus toward the old continent. A prime example of this is Britain’s decision to return Louisboug to the French during the peace talks to gain possessions elsewhere. Here, Taylor points out that such a “Europe-first” policy reflected the fact that the North American colonies were not yet important enough to either the French or the British to warrant a massive investment of capital and manpower.

Two decades later, in the Seven Years’ War, which is also known as the French-Indian War, imperial actions underline a massive shift in thinking, especially on the part of the British. Whereas, in the War of Austrian Succession, the British abandoned their North American imperial pursuits in favor of European and Indian spoils, in the French-Indian War, the British made North America their top priority. As Taylor points out, the British ended up paying 4 million pounds to conquer Canada, which was “more than 10 times” of what the “French spent to defend it” (432). Naturally, Britain’s large investment in North America meant that they began to pay closer attention to the colonies, especially through taxation and military presence—things that caused tensions to escalate from 1963 onwards.

Meanwhile, as the British colonies became slowly central to world affairs, tensions between Native Americans and colonists continued to escalate. During the Seven Years’ War, Britain pushed France out of colonial America, meaning that the leverage Indians previously enjoyed during negotiations and trade was gone. In essence, natives’ role in determining the balance of power disappeared, leaving them even more vulnerable to exploitation. Through Pontiac’s Rebellion of 1763, Indians tried to reestablish some sort of level ground for negotiation, but succeeded only in enflaming tensions between them and the colonists. These manifested themselves through several bloody clashes, most notably those carried out by the Paxton Boys, who ruthlessly slaughtered and burned a peaceful Indian village.

February 16, 2014

Imperial Wars and Crisis

In Chapter 18, Taylor shows how the colonies went from being completely a part of the British Empire that was used to further expand it and conquer new land to becoming their own people who would make decisions according to their own interests rather than for the crown. Taylor describes the cause of the colonies’ wanting separation from the crown to be the colonial elite finding a new confidence and ability to challenge the crown. They found this new confidence after the seven years war when the British nearly suffocated the colonists by constricting the trade laws and taxes which drastically negatively changed the colonists’ way of life. Finally, many of them felt it necessary to challenge the crown in order to resume life the way they wanted to, and not according to how the British wanted.

The British were forced to impose these new, harsher policies onto the colonials because it was the only way to keep up in the race against the French and Spanish in North America and to keep control over the indians. However, there is no avoiding the inevitable; the British imposed these new policies to have more control over the colonies, but all they did was bring the colonials together against tyranny and attempt to rebel in order to return to their favored way of life. Olivia makes a great point in her post about how Britain lacked a middle class, causing there to be no opportunity for improvement of way of living for the poor people in Britain, where as, in America, the people previously in indentured servitude, the new settlers, etc. were able to acquire land, some becoming very rich and others becoming middle class. This allowed the American Economy to be more stable with more opportunities for the American people to become more wealthy and improve their way of living. This discovery of a unique economy gave the colonists the confidence to step up against the crown.

Reading this chapter, I enjoyed seeing the different aspects of war, economic aspects, and social aspects that lead up to american colonists believing in their own independence. It is an idea of great importance to think about because had this not happened, things would not be the same for the American people. We may not have gained our independence or even just have been taken over by another empire such as the french. Thinking about all of these events that all had to come together to lead to American Independence is what makes this reading so interesting and much easier to read.

February 16, 2014

The Changing Role of the Indians

As Taylor says, both the French and English realized that the help of the Indians would be essential in the battles over colonial territory. The Indians could prove most useful and to lose their support would also hinder a side greatly. The French were out numbered and tried very hard to win the favor of the Indians. The English were less friendly, but non the less tried to gain favor as well. The support of the Indians gave to the Indians a bit of power, at least until their services were no longer needed.

The Indians were able to gain some power as their services were needed. Both the French and English saw that the Indians were essential and so they had to ask for help. This help came in a few forms, mostly better trade agreements for the Indians. Many tribes helped both sides. Taylor mentions that Indians had to ask themselves which trade would prove more favorable before choosing a side. The English had better goods for decent prices, but they were not as welcoming as the French, who were not as well off trading wise. So the Indians basically had to choose between better goods, or better relations.

The Indians thrived at gorilla warfare, a type of warfare that many were resistant to change to. The officers of the British armies much preferred the open field battles they were used to and often fell easily to the Indians attacking in the woods. For this reason the English worried about the use of Indian soldiers. The Indian advantage of the French could not, however, overcome the superior numbers of the English and their colonists.

As the war progressed and ended the Indians lost any of the power they may have gained by allying with either power. As Wang points out in the last post, the Colonists started to see all Indians as the enemy, even those who were in good relations with them. Colonists would openly attack or kill Indians of any tribe for any reason. Such men also would be free from persecution. This new attitude towards the Indians on the colonial front meant almost constant bloodshed and increasing costs to the British empire. The colonists’ desire for new land and their attitude towards the Indians, led them to take more and more land.

The Indians profited initially from the conflict between the French and English, but as time passed their power was diminished to an even lower margin than before the conflict began. This change of power showed the Indians the true intentions of the colonists and gave insight to the future relations with them. Parliament tried to stop the conflicts by restricting the growth of the colonies westward, but that was not enough to deter the desires of the colonists. The Seven Years War, and the following conflicts, set the fate of the Indians as one filled with conflicts with the English and, to a lesser extent, the French colonists.

February 16, 2014

Britain’s Rise To Power

In Chapter 18 of American Colonies, Taylor focuses on Britain’s conflicts and wars, particularly with the French and Spanish. He clearly outlines Britain’s ascent to power in the New World, paying particular attention to their dominance of the trade industry with the native peoples. As Taylor states, the British simply offered superior goods to the French and Spanish at extremely fair prices. While the French treated the native people with more respect, tribes were forced to barter with the British in order to procure their superior merchandise.

I feel as if the post “Colonial Origins of the American Dream,” does a good job on focusing in on Taylor’s main argument in this chapter. Throughout the narrative, Taylor clearly highlights the rise of British dominance in the New World. After the 7 years war with the French, the British clearly set themselves apart from the French and Spanish as the premiere colonial power. Ultimately, the British invested the most capital into establishing a firm base of colonies in North America, and inevitably they reaped the rewards. Their trade industry flourished and their capital increased, which allowed the British army and navy to reach a new level of dominance.

Taylor does a particularly good job of highlighting the role of Native Americans in Chapter 18. I found the change of their allegiances to the British and the French fascinating, as well as their eventual decline in power. Previously, I failed to realize how much the Native Americans played the British and the French off of each other in order to maintain relevance in North America. As Taylor shows, the Natives played a key role in advising the French and British military leaders. Moreover, although many Native Americans shifted their allegiance to the French, without the expertise of native guides the British never would have mastered warfare in North America. However, with the defeat of the French, Native Americans lost much of their power, as they now relied solely on the British for trade opportunities. Something the British ruthlessly exploited to their benefit.

Overall, I feel as Taylor does a fantastic job of describing Britain’s ascent to prowess in the New World. Although, as mentioned in other posts, he forsakes his previous style of a social narrative for more of a direct military history in Chapter 18, I find the change of pace refreshing. He clearly allows the reader to understand how economics, native relations, and social policy played a role in Britain’s domination of North America. Additionally, in this chapter he does a good job of foreshadowing colonial independence, paying particular attention to taxes and the free spirit of the 13 colonies.

February 16, 2014

Military History in the New World

This is the first time Taylor describes the New World’s conflicts in great details. Like Rebecca said in her previous posts, American Colonies reads more like a social history, but this chapter shifts gear and presents us with the standard military history. Moreover, this chapter sets the stage for the Independence War, like Max suggested in his post. For someone who is not really familiar with colonial American history while reading the first couple of pages, I was hoping that the Native American would rise up and take advantage of the chaotic situation to claim their land. Instead, the conflict prepared for more British colonization and eventual dominance in the region via the American Revolutionary War.

The huge disparity in number of soldiers between France and England made the natives play an important role in the balance of power within North America. They were skilled at guerrilla warfare so they dominated the forest passages between the rival empires. They also exploited the strategic position between the French and the British colonies by receiving favorable prices and presents from both sizes. The French were more diplomatic and generous with the Indians because they needed them as allies to counter the British colonial numbers. However, the British offered better trade goods in better qualities and prices, obligating more Indians to make peace with British officials to obtain more goods. Therefore, the French lost the war without enough combatants; it was 75,000 French men versus 1.2 million English soldiers.

After the English defeated the French, they treated all Indians as their enemies and believed it was a waste of money to sell low priced goods to them. In 1761, British colonial forces invaded the Cherokee country, one of the largest tribe with 40 villages in the southern Appalachian Mountains. As British colonizers enjoyed their victories, English Parliament had to institute more taxes to compensate for the massive debt it incurred. Consequently, it tightened its policies to the colonizers. As some of the colonists travelled back to their homeland, they realized how much liberty and freedom they had enjoyed over the years. The imperial war actually made the British colonizers realize their own power and ideal of establishing a free society. Again, from defeating the French and colonizing the natives, the British colonizers had gained tremendous confidence in their own ability to survive in the New World. Therefore, the war to fight for independence was inevitable.

February 16, 2014

The American Revolution: An Ironic Conception of “Independence”

In Chapter 18: “Imperial Wars and Crisis, 1739-75,” Taylor outlines the Seven Years War and discusses the ways in which the conflict led to the Revolutionary War. As my specific interest area in history does not pertain to war, I appreciated that the brevity with which Taylor discusses the actual war and its battles. The majority of the chapter provides an in-depth analysis of the global and territorial implications of the war, in addition to an explanation of the colonies’ political, social, and economic climate that incited the American Revolution. Contrary to my high-school history courses, Taylor offers a complex template of the Revolution’s causes. He asserts that the conflict was not simply a disagreement in governance and taxation, but derived from a fundamental difference between Britain and the colonies’ socio-economic structures. This, in turn, facilitated the creation of a collective American mentality that clashed with the British way of life.

Taylor attributes the colonists’ preoccupation with and perception of “independence” as the focal point of divergence in colonial and British ideology. America’s economic structure was unique to Britain, because most white men were able to own land and had the opportunity of social mobility. Even indentured servants eventually gained their freedom, and were provided with a small plot of land as compensation for their years of servitude. As indentured servitude was replaced with enslavement of Africans, white landowners formed a middle-class that was a buffer between wealthy elites and slaves. Conversely, Britain lacked a middle-class. Its social structure was stratified between the very rich and very poor, and left virtually no opportunity for upward mobility. Thus, the concept of independence became synonymous with American society, and colonists resented any infringement on their independence by the British crown and Parliament. In Taylor’s words, “the colonists clung to independence as a precious state in a world where dependence was the norm” (441).

Matt’s blog post, however, recognizes the troubling irony that existed within colonists’ emphasis on independence and their pursuit of sovereignty from Britain—American society depended upon African bondage for survival. While Matt acknowledges the value of the American Revolution in the creation of the United States of America, he makes the important distinction that “it should not be thought of as morally righteous in nature.” Although white colonists were accorded a level of independence that was not as achievable in Britain, their prosperity was reliant upon the oppression of slaves and Natives. Oftentimes history courses glorify the American Revolution as a courageous tale of Americans’ united conquest over an imperial oppressor. This narrative fails to recognize the hypocrisy with which our nation was founded. I do not mean to undermine the Revolutions’ import and do not take for granted the sacrifice of our country’s forefathers that are responsible for my independence and good fortune. Rather, both narratives must be told in efforts to ensure that slavery is not ignored as a minor blemish on American history. Taylor does just this, and consequently, provides an effective and fascinating tale of the precursor to the American Revolution.

Taylor, Alan. American Colonies. New York: Penguin Group, 2001.

February 16, 2014

War War War

This chapter focuses on the imperial policy of Britain. As I read, it seemed to me that a lot of tension was occurring in North America. Between the English, French, Spanish, and the Indians, some sort of war was almost always occurring. Taylor mentioned the Seven Years War, one of the first in America. This war began as a competition between France and Britain. They constantly tried to outdo each other by building bigger forts. Here we first hear about George Washington. It is cool to see how the presidents come to power, because I know very little about them. It is ironic that his first battle was a failure and that he barely made it out alive.

Leadership is extremely important in war. Taylor talked about Edward Braddock, a leader for the British. He was known to be arrogant, and said about the Indians, “These savages may, indeed, be a formidable enemy to your raw American militia, but upon the king’s regular and disciplined troops, sir, it is impossible to believe they should make any impression.” (429) This inexperienced attitude led to a defeat by the Indians and the French, setting the British back. William Pitt took over, and turned it around. Overall, Britain destroyed France, and obtained land in Canada, the Great Lakes, the Ohio Valley, and Florida. Taylor mentioned that in some ways, the loser of the war benefited more than the winner. This paradoxical statement is true because Louisiana, New France, and Florida made France and Spain spend excessive amounts of money, and now they could focus on the more valuable colonies in the Caribbean.

Because of the abundance of war, Britain was in debt. They needed to make money, and North America had been seen as “virtually untaxed beneficiaries of imperial trade and protection.” (442) Britain believed that the colonists had had it too easy, and they should be taxed the same amount as the British people were. This started an antagonistic idea in the minds of the colonists. As my classmate mentioned below, this is the start of the American Dream. People immigrated to the New World in hopes of a better life. They wanted to work hard, and have property of their own. They wanted to have freedom. Once Britain started to tax them, this freedom diminished. These thoughts are the fundamental ideas for the America Revolution. I love learning about the revolution because it is so exciting to hear about an underdog feeling so passionate and eventually beating the biggest, wealthiest nation in the world.

February 16, 2014

Freedom at a Cost

This chapter shows the progression of the colonists from a people marginally dependent on the English to a unified group fully embracing the idea of independence. The beginning of the chapter covers the expansionary efforts of the British government but then Taylor dives into explaining the underlying tensions between the colonists and the crown. Citing examples such as the Paxton Boys slaughtering of Indians at Conestoga, Taylor elicits a general feeling of tension from this time period. However, the tension between the groups led to a general feeling of unification within the groups. As Max mentions in his post from February 15, the colonists were experiencing attitudes of unity while under the recently overbearing rule of the British.

John Adams’ concerns about the precedent set by royal taxes, namely the Stamp Act, seems to have laid the groundwork for the American Dream that Max mentions in his post (442). The American Dream in its most basic form is the hope and belief that anyone can “make it” if they work hard enough. Although, this notion is constantly challenged in today’s society, the British attempts to assert authority ultimately formed the American attitude of independence and embrace of the potential for social mobility.

Starkly contrasting the British acceptance of inequality, the owning of lands by a large portion of the population (not including slaves) allowed the colonists to garner a newfound sense of independence. Furthermore, I found Taylor’s perception of slavery as “labor for a master without reaping the rewards” to be very interesting phrasing to describe the colonists and the British (442). To broaden this definition of slavery to include “independent” colonists as slaves if they did not own land seemed like a very novel idea. As we have discussed in previous posts, slavery was not necessarily along racial lines but developed into that based on economic motivations.

Without trying to oversimplify this idea, it seems necessary to mention that the colonists’ embrace of this independence and lack of reliance on the British allowed them to begin the process of breaking away from the crown. Many of the colonies to the north such as Nova Scotia and Quebec still relied on the British government to hold up their economies. However, the thirteen colonies to the south were on the brink of civil war with the British. Thomas Jefferson’s quote at the end of this chapter describing America as an “’empire of liberty,’ by and for the white citizenry” was a mindset that setup the colonies for success in gaining the initial freedom from Britain but also set the colonies up for a civil war nearly a hundred years later–a cost that we will soon see to be magnanimous.