independence – American History to 1877

February 19, 2014

The Paradox of the Revolutionary War

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Both in chapter 7 of Inhuman Bondage by Davidson Brion Davis and chapter 1 of The Rise of American Democracy by Sean Wilentz, the authors outlined the struggle and strife in the colonies during the Revolutionary War. Calling out for freedom, British colonists fought for freedom under the oppressive British rule and started forming democratic ideas for the future. As Wilentz describes in his chapter, it was not an easy transition from a split social system to equal democracy for all.

During the Revolutionary War when colonists cried for liberty from England, and while yeomen, artisans, and elites were struggling to find a balance in democracy, slaves were watching and observing these political movements. Learning from the people who were subjugating them to slavery, African Americans learned to fight for their own freedom and liberty. The paradoxical nature of this time period puts into motion the ideas that would lead to the Civil War. Many of the freed colonists realized contradiction of keeping slaves, especially after they too had just fought for their own freedom. Davis’ story about the slave named Prince was the perfect example of this paradox. Having served under George Washington during the Revolutionary War, Prince told his master that it was unfair that the colonists could go to war for their liberty but Prince and other slaves did not have any liberties.

Like Mike talks about in his blog post titled, “Democracy and Slavery,” Davis points out that the United States were too weak to be able to abolish slavery without the destruction of the Union. The South was economically dependent on the use of slaves in fields, and slavery was such a big issue that if the United States were to abolish it at this point in history, the Union might not have formed. Although slavery would last for a few more decades, the Revolutionary War and its aftermath acted as a catalyst for the war by showing the inconsistency in the ideas of the American people.

February 17, 2014

A Shift in the Colonies

In this chapter, Taylor describes the conflicts and wars that take over North America during the early 1700s, and how these wars shaped the colonies into pre-Revolutionary War America. Taylor does not focus much on the actual battles of the Seven Years War, but instead focuses on the social, political, and economic consequences and outcomes started by the war.

Due to these conflicts between the British and the French, relations with Native Americans shift in North America. British colonies were rapidly growing, as Taylor points out in 1754 there were over one million British colonists compared to the seventy thousand French colonists (426). This shift in size caused the French to value its relationship with Native Americans, as they were a vital contributor to victory in war. Although Indians wanted to play both the British and the French to maximize utility and to seek the lowest prices, the French were much more cordial and appreciative than the growing British. While British and Native American relations have never been stable, this war exacerbated the situation by making French and Indian relations stronger. The only redeeming factor the British had, Taylor points out, were their plentiful goods at lower prices (428). Despite the Natives favoring the appreciative French over the British, we can see that the British are becoming a powerhouse in North America.

The most interesting outcome the Seven Years War was the changes in the relationship between the colonies and Britain. As the colonies grew and expanded both on the land and by numbers, the British monarchy decided to reign in the leaders of the colonies and place more restrictions and taxes on the colonists. Taylor points out that the victory in the Seven Years War led the British to rethink its empire and change it to the country’s benefit, but also gave the colonists a sense of entitlement and power because they were the ones to fight in and win the war. The conflicting attitudes led to colonist’s revolting and the Revolutionary War.

In his blog post titled “Colonial Origins of the American Dream,” Max discusses this change in colonist’s mind-set towards their homeland led to the beginning of the American Dream. The American Dream, known to many as an American’s ability to work hard to achieve goals, is often thought of being an American idea after the Revolutionary War when Americans were independent from the British. The resistant attitude and their willingness to fight the homeland to achieve the end goal of freedom show that the colonists were already starting to work towards this American Dream.

This time in pre-Revolutionary War America proved to be a defining period in American history. British colonies changed as they fought against the French in the Seven Years War, started to alienate Native Americans, and developed a defiant attitude towards Britain. Taylor portrays these changing events and feelings well through this chapter on imperial wars.

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

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

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.