Sara Theobald Reading thoughts: I predicted at the beginning of this chapter that it would be about the leading up to the American Revolution and how the New World started out. The beginning title "Origins" told me that it would be about where American people came from and how they got here. It would tell the story of how and why there was an American Revolution. I was right as I read on. It actually explained much more about their culture and other details that I had not thought would be in there.
Some connections I made were related to what is going on in the United States today. It explained in the book that many people from other areas in the world came to the "New World" for a better life: Irish, Germans, etc. Well, this is happening today as well. The United States citizen count is going up everyday, mostly because of people from other countries coming here. Different people of all cultures are coming here today for a better life.
Reading Like a Historian: People during the American Revolution probably viewed their world as always changing but suppressed. They felt the power from Great Britain oppressing them and they probably felt exasperated by it. Which started the American Revolution; they hoped to get away from Great Britain's control.
Many things have changed since the American Revolution. We view the world much more differently now especially. Now we are hours away from anywhere in the world. It took many years for people during the American Revolution to get anywhere of great distance. They had very strict discipline as well in the homes which has changed now. We are a much more liberal society rather than conservative.
kaosheng Thao When i read the title of chapter one, i knew that the chapter was going to start out with telling the reader where everything started. The chapter title is origins and as i read on, i was right, it was talking about the origin of the Revolution. i also didn't know what the word gentry meant, so i looked it up and now i know.
On March 5, 1770 when the 8 British soldiers fired on a crowd and ended up killing 5 civilians, that was an accident. The soldiers were there because of the threatening crowd over the Boston Massacre that was intentional but the shooting was an accident. Just like the stamp act, we use tax today as well too, there's tax on clothes, electronics etc...
kaosheng Thao i agree with Sarah, people during the Revolution time did seem to try to get away from Great Britain's control. With Great Britain's control over them they couldn't do anything how they wanted which lead to a revolution.
Wasana Pinsonneault Evaluation: On page 23, the Sugar Act of 1764 is mentioned and it corresponded what I already knew about the Sugar Act and how it, “imposed on foreign cloth, sugar, indigo, coffee, and wine imported into the colonies.” (p.23). This historical event impacted our history because it was assumed that a, “lower duty on foreign molasses would stop smuggling and lead legal importation of foreign molasses and earn more money for the crown.” (p.23) Importance: A key point in history that was brought up in this reading was on page 34, the Boston Massacre. On March 5,1770, “a party of eight harassed British soldiers fired on a threatening crowd and killed 5 civilians.” (p.34) The British were in Massachusetts because it was thought that British laws were not being enforced, therefore the purpose of the British soldiers being in the colonies were to enforce laws of the British. The title of the “Boston Massacre” may be an exaggerated title. Cause and Effect: The cause of past events, more specifically: the Boston Massacre (p.34) may have been a misunderstanding that caused the loss of a few lives. A group of people were harassing soldiers who took the harassment, a bit too far (some people may say) and decided to shoot. The effects of this misunderstanding were that lives were lost and a title that is overexaggerated was put on this event. Paul Revere had made the Boston Massacre more exaggerated than it really was. The effects were dependent on opinion if it was intentional or non intentional. Turning Points: The decision to initiate the Stamp Act created American sensitivity to all taxation (p.32). This decision narrowed/eliminated choices for people because they could not trade, buy or sell as they used to in the past. With taxes, the price of goods and services increased which made the cost of living increase (something that was not brought to the human mind at that moment). Which made things tough especially for poor but created havoc for the rich because they were being taxed and their money spent for government purposes.
I also agree with Kaosheng about how the Boston Massacre was an accident and not intended to become a "Massacre" it was pure accident...and those happen.
Alyssa Campbell Preview: As i started reading Section One titeld Origins, i knew the chapter would be about the origins in which the Revolution took place. The section started off by telling that the origins are in America's past and took a century and a half to develop. I predicted just from the first paragraph that this section would be about the long stretch of time it took to create a revolution. Connections: A connection I made while reading this chapter was the same is Sara's. During the revolution people were coming to the "new world" for a better life. The same as today. People move to America in search of jobs, freedom and an overall better life.
Preview/Predict: The title of section one is Origins so I predicted that it would be about everything that lead up to the revolution. Just by reading the table of contents it showed that it would talk about how the populations grew and moved, how the economy changed and expanded, and the reform of the British Empire. Section two is entitled American Resistance which centered more on the Stamp Act and taxation and how everyone reacted to it.
Questions: Questions I asked while reading this section included the different sides of the story presented with the Boston Massacre. Were the shots that were fired into the crowd inflicted onto the people who caused direct harm to the soldiers? I used prior knowledge of the situation to know that at least some of the civilians were armed. It is quite possible that not everyone in the crowd was violent with their protest, though, so shots, in general, seem unnecessary. Woods described the situation as "harassed British soldiers firing on a threatening crowd and killing five civilians" (p. 34), I have to disagree with the way they handled it even if the soldiers felt harassed. Also, The book didn't go into too much detail about the Boston Massacre so it brought about some questions in my mind because the book mostly focused on the aftermath and how the "massacre" directly effected the authority of the British Government.
Reading Like a Historian: Change and Continuity: In March of 1765, parliament passed the stamp act which induced a "tax on legal documents, almanacs, newspapers, and nearly every form of paper used in the country." (p. 28) Parliament decided that they were not bringing in enough revenue and needed a more effective way to get the wealth of the Americans. This could have benefited them if the American people had not opposed it so much, but they really took a stand against it.
Differing Perspectives: The Stamp Act can be used here as well as an example for when the people had different perspectives on what was good for the country. The civilians thought that the taxation was unfair and that they shouldn't have to pay these taxes if they weren't represented in parliament. While the government was only thinking about what was right for them and how they would get money. In my opinion, the civilians had every right to be upset with the government.
I disagree with Kaosheng and Wasana's statement that the Boston Massacre was an accident. I don't think the soldiers would have shot into the crowd if their intentions weren't to cause harm to them. There could have been a better way to handle the situation instead of open-firing into a crowd of civilians. I feel that it was a misunderstanding or miscommunication, but definitely not an accident.
Importance: There are many general ideas to gather from the first part in this book. From this section I learned that the reasons for the starting dispute between Britain and America were that the British Empire kept changing, America's population was growing, and because of the growth, the colonists were moving farther apart into the country. Also, I learned that due to different direct & indirect taxing and law making on the colonies, American colonists were getting increasingly tired of the British government to the final point of deciding to get complete independence from the mother country.
Questions: While reading this section I had a few questions. What was in the actual constitution between the colonies and Britain's government? If people came over to America from other countries, were they considered under Britain's rule as well? Why did Britain decide to handle the colonies is such a harsh way in the first place?
-Reading Like a Historian
Change and Continuity: From this time era there are many changes and things that have continued on. Things that have changed is how much stronger our country's government as a whole has gotten, and how much Britain has gone from a big, strong force to just a small country it is today. Things that have continued is certain English traditions, and Americans drive for independence, pride, and government that includes all its citizens.
Turning Points: Most of the turning points that lead to America's independence was from Britain's decisions. The turning points were laws like the Quartering Act, and taxes such as the Tea Act, Stamp Act, and Townshend Acts. Each decision they made pushed the colonists to fear Britain's government more and more. And with each new tax, some colonists gained wealth and popularity while other lost it, dividing the colonists into ones who wanted independence from those who wanted to stay with the mother country.
Previous Person's Post: On Becca's Differing Perspectives section, I completely agree. I think the government should've tried seeing from the colonists perspective and then maybe none of the resistance would have taken place at all.
Peyton Stefan: I agree with the previous comments on the predictions of the section entitled Origins. The American Revolution is commonly known as the fight for independence; but, do most know why the Americans were eager to gain freedom from Britain? After reading this appellation, I subsequently inferred readers would be educated on the differing beliefs between arising Americans and the British government which therefore lead to the composition of plans for freedom. Following the reading of sections one and two I evaluated the impact this movement to America from Britain had on future generations. This transition allowed for a new system of trade to be created. Throughout this process, stronger and more complicated relations were formed between countries; the quality and variety of cargo being traded grew vastly as well. Barriers were being broken that showed the human race was adventurous, daring, and could not be contained. Curiosity began to be contrived in individuals and lead them to explore not only uninhabited parts of the world, but the true meaning of life. Within 15 years, the future had been impacted more than any settler could have imagined. Doorways were opened that could never be shut again and The American Revolution was just beginning. Even though these decisions affected life as we know it, I don’t believe the colonists truly knew what they were getting themselves into. When looking through their eyes, I feel as though the settlers wanted to break away from Britain peacefully and that is what they felt they were doing. Americans were not looking for war with Britain; they simply wanted to start their lives over in a way that favored their beliefs and values. After realizing that Britain would not allow them to be free from their government’s reign, the Americans were perplexed as to what needed to be done in order to fulfill their dreams. When looking through the eyes of a colonist, I see confusion because of ill planning and the arising of unexpected situations. I feel as though if they would have known the outcome, the planning that took place would have been altered. After looking through the eyes of a settler and understanding that the path to freedom was a ruthless journey, we can use the past and apply it to our life today. We can learn from these experiences that when times are tough, you push through them and continue working towards your goal just like the early Americans did. Not everything in life will go the way it is planned; we always need to expect the unexpected and persevere through trying situations. A horrifying time for the Americans was when British Parliament was passing new laws such as the Stamp Act. I agree with Becca Wittek that the colonists had every right to be upset with the British. As their own society and possessing their own economy, a government across seas should not be responsible for taxing them. I believe those living in the early American society should have been controlling their own financial situation because they understood what was needed for a healthy economy and for the people to be happy.
As I sat down to read the book, I opened to the table of contents and found that the first chapter was titled Origins. I predicted this opening chapter would be about the people who lived in the conlonies and how they were interacting with themselves, the British, and the natives in America.
As I began reading into the first two chapters, things started to click in my head and I made many connections back to eigth grade. I started to recall many of the acts like the Sugar and Stamp Acts, and events that took place like the Boston Masacre and the Boston Tea Party. I also recalled how the whole pre-revolution period between the colonies and the British was like a boxing match. The bigger, stronger British threw the first punches at the colonies with the Sugar and Stamp Acts, but the colonies punched right back by not obeying and declaring the acts unconstitutional. From there, it was like a snowball rolling downhill. The English started it and nobody knew who would end it.
I agree with Hannah when she says the turning points that lead to the colonies pushing for independance was the Quartering Act, Tea Act, Stamp Act, and Townshend Acts. These acts narrowed their choices down to folding to the Parliament or standing up for themselves and rebelling.
Preview/Predict: Upon reading that the first chapter of the book was entitled "Origins" my primary guess on what the chapter was going to fortell was of course the preconditions of revolution itself. To elaborate, I predicted that the author was going to tell about the political enviroment or situation at the time and how it would effect the American society. After reading the chapter i was partially correct on my assumptions. Though i was correct on the conditions of the British empire influencing decisions yet to come (like their debts which cause taxes and such) i didn't however guess that it would go into detail about the rise of the colonies economic or population expansion that made them important in the British eyes.
Connections: One connection that occured during the first two chapters of the book was knowledge of a previous class. In the class i recall that there was a distinct difference between the French and British empire when it came to colonies. That difference was the fact that the French actually kept in touch culturally and politically with their colonies significantly more than the British did. So during these chapters i noticed that claim about the British empire because their interaction with the American colonies seemed very limited in a sense until the colonies started expanding and gaining more value. Sadly enough though, the British didnt have a clue on how the Americans would react to these taxes and the effect on their lives since the British didnt have any real attachments or solid knowledge on their lifestyle.
Cause and Effect: Describing American resistance could easily be explained through cause and effect. To begin with the Sugar Act, Colonies didn't have a chance to explain or argue with the fact that the British were harming their economy as well with foreign trade. This effect was small at the time but with necessary force it could explode into more extreme resistance. Then after the Stamp Act the colonies realized that petition or representation to the pariliment was futile. So in effect it became more violent with words and actions that resisted these taxes and eventually with more negligence to the colonist feelings more Acts came and in effect more violent protest would follow until it lead to war.
Turning Point: The most important point in the American Revolution before war is most likely the Coercive Act which allowed the parliament to have absoulute control and pay for huge expenses. This caused the colonies to decide, like Nick commented, to give in or finally rebel all the way. Acts before did cause this to revolution to occure but the major decision was the coercive act which made them forfeit all their rights.
Comment: As said before I agree with the fact of the acts forcing the colonies to decide on revolution or Parilament control, but i have to agree that the British abused their power and in a sense instigated the revolution with their actions.
As I opened the book, I began to scan through the pages and prepare myself for the beginning chapters. As I scanned through the table of contents, I predicted that Chapters 1 would look into where and how the The American Revolution rooted from. It expressed the fact that there was movement, substantial growth and reform pushing our country towards the war. Next was Chapter 2. I predicted that this was when the war was more likely to occur, taking note of the British Reaction, what stemmed from this, and the conflict that began to arise. The “Pattern of Settlements in the Colonies” map proved me to believe that my predictions were true.
2)QUESTIONS As I was reading Chapter 1 “Growth and Movement” I was wondering, “How did the migrating population moving westward after the French and Indian War affect the native people?” As I read on, the book went into more detail of what occurred. First of all, the British Government took control of all Indian Affairs. The native population quickly dropped through the spread of disease, as they had never been exposed to European/eastern hemisphere diseases. Despite the spread of disease and war against the colonists and the natives, nearly 150,000 natives remained east of the Mississippi river. Natives were “anxious to resist further white encroachment on their lands. It is necessary to note that the Rapid growth and migration of the colonies did not only affect Native Americans.
Thinking Like a Historian-
1)CAUSE & EFFECT Going back to Chapter 1, “Origins” I would like to point out the large cause and effect ripple that was the push towards the American Revolution. In the 1760’s, Britain “thrust” its power onto us wanting us to have a better economy, and pushing us to reform. This caused a rebellion by the American people. Soon, as the war began a large sense of nationalism grew and pride in our country was becoming evident. Therefore, the war soon became justification and the idealization of our society. John Adams later said, as this was noted in the book, It was a change “in the minds and hearts of the people”. In addition, one must remember that the American Revolution was not just an intellectual change, it was a fight for our freedom. This is also expressed in the beginning of the “Asylum for Liberty” section in Chapter 2.
2)TURNING POINT The battle of Lexington and Concord in 1775 was the first instance of open warfare and was triggered by the many events occurring before the armed conflict. The Coercive Acts, along with the Tea Act, Townshed Acts, Stamp Acts, Quartering Act, Currency Act, and the Sugar Act had provoked American Colonists to the point of breakage. The battle occurred as British officials were forced to assume that Boston was the center for disturbances. This was when shots were exchanged among British Troops and Colonial Militia for the first time. This was most defiantly a turning point in the novel.
-Both Darian and I had the same prediction upon opening the book and reading the first couple pages, and feel that we both assumed the same things.
whoops! hope i did not confuse anyone-The battle of Lexington and Concord that occurs in 1775, is in the book at the beginning of Chapter 3, I apologize for meshing them together in Section 1 blog.
Preview/Predict: The growing population in Europe increased the value of Colonial imports from Britain. "For the first time in the eighteenth century, Britain's own production of foodstuffs could not meet the needs of its suddenly rising population. Britain was importing more grain than it exported. This increase in foodstuffs meant soaring prices for American exports." (p. 13) At this point I predicted that the Colonies would produce more food and expand their land, thus having to invade the Indian's land and start a big conflict between them. The Colonies would also become more important to the British because of the large increase in income for the Americans.
Evaluation: When parliament passed a new Currency Act that prohibited the colonies from issuing paper money as legal tender they created the first of many disagreements between England and the colonies that would strike the beginning of the their independence from England. If the parliament had never passed such acts as the Tea Act and the Stamp Act we may have never declared independence from England and could still be a part of their Government today.
Cause and Effect: The British Empire was reformed because George III didn't want to run Britain like his great-grandfather and his grandfather had. There were many causes of the reform some of them include the reorganization of the land acquired from France and Spain, the Indian trade had to be regulated, land claims needed to be sorted out, and something had to be done to keep the white settlers from having a war with the Native Americans. Another big problem in the government that needed to be fixed was the military debt that would continue to increase in order to keep France from attacking the Indians. The changes in the British Empire lead to many people being unhappy with the Empire running against the English constitution, but later realized it was for the better. Another cause of the reform was that citizens were growing tired of Britain's failure to extend the right to vote and representation to large numbers of British subjects.
Differing Perspectives: When parliament passed the Stamp Act because it would help pay for troops stationed in North America after the British victory in the Seven Years’ War. After all they thought that the colonies were the primary beneficiaries of this military service and should pay at least a portion of the expense. On the other hand, the colonies felt that the British were taxing them without their consent considering that they didn’t vote for any of their representatives. British merchants and manufacturers were also against the act because their exports to the colonies were threatened by taxes.
Preview/Predict: In the first few pages of this book I could already predict that the author was going to explain the events leading up to The American Revolution in the first part "Orgins". In this section of the book it mainly talked about how the American colonies lead up to their revolution. But as this chapter went on the author went into much greater detail explaining things about their culture and development, which I didn't expect. The second part entitled "American Restistance" went into more details on the laws that were created and how the colonist reacted to them. Such as the Stamp Act and other taxation laws.
Question: Some questions I had while I was reading were "Why didn't the people start moving west-ward sooner to avoid the problem of crowding?" , as I continued to read, I sort of answered it on my own. The colonist didn't have a reason to move west-ward, so they just stayed where they were.
READING LIKE A HISTORIAN:
Cause & Effect: One big event in this time leading up to the revolution was The Boston Massacre (p. 34). The cause of this event was a misunderstanding of orders from a British army Colonel, which lead to losses of lives of innocent civilians. The effect of this event is over exaggeration of the events that occurred and a title to match it.
Differing Perspectives: Any of the taxation laws can be used as examples for this. But for one, The Stamp Act. TO the colonist they believed this law was unfair because for one parliament passed the law with out fair representation of the colonies. Even though they had representatives, the colonists did not vote for them. On the opposite end of the spectrum, this taxation law was easy money for Parliament. This law helped fund for they military troops stationed in North America. The colonist had every right to be upset.
Natalie Schael READING THOUGHTS Connections: As I first started reading The American Revolution one connection between the book and present day came forth. “But in the middle decades of the eighteenth century, the pressures of increasing population density began to be felt… older towns now seemed overcrowded… throughout the colonies more and more people were on the move… the percentage of poor was eight times greater than it had been twenty years earlier… enormous explosion of people in search of land” (p.6-9). Back in the eighteenth century, the people were going through a hard time. This connects to now because we are going through a similar time. In the present day we have an increasing population which is forcing us to expand and cut down forests/woods in order for housing development; however all the housing we build never seems to last long before we are looking for more space to develop. Another way this connects is not exactly for the search of land but for the search of jobs; today with all the unemployment, people are searching and moving to different places in order to find a job.
Visualize: Getting further into the book I came across “The colonists encourage the wearing of homespun cloth, and in New England villages ‘Daughters of Liberty’ held spinning bees” (p.33). As I read this it was a very easy and funny thing to picture. In my head I imagined all these different ladies coming from different villages into a meeting place; here they were surrounded by fellow villagers who enthusiastically cheered them on as they spun cloth as fast as they could until one stood up victoriously holding her cloth.
THINKING LIKE A HISTORIAN Using the Past: In order to be where we are now, we have learned from the past. On page 14 it states that “…the rising levels of taste and consumption drew more colonists into manufacturing… transportation and communications rapidly improved as roads were built and schedules were established…the colonial deputy postmaster general, instituted weekly mails between Philadelphia and Boston and cut delivery time in half…” This helps us explain the present because as our massive population consumes more and gets pickier we turn to machines to make us exactly what we want and in large quantities. Furthermore, we learn from the past to keep improving on what we create; in the eighteenth century their fast mail was three weeks of waiting. Now, it’s about three seconds with our advanced technology of emails, text messaging, and social networking, etc.
Through Their Eyes: Throughout this section of the book, the colonists viewed their world with anger. As all the laws and taxes, etc. were put on them they become more and more outraged; they hated the Parliament and their actions. And with their worldview, the angered colonists in America came together and rebelled. A famous act of their outrage was December 16, 1776 otherwise known as the Boston Tea Party; in response to the Tea Act, a group of patriots dressed up as Indians went to the Boston Harbor and dumped a massive amount of tea into the water. Another example is a case of mob violence; on August 14, 1765 in regard to the Stamp act of mob of people tore apart the office and attacked the home of the stamp distributor for Massachusetts, Andrew Oliver
--I agree with Mackenzie, an event leading up to the revolution was the Boston Massacre. Which was as it was tragic, was exaggerated too far in respect to what exactly happened. In another thought, I also wasn’t expecting the author to get so detailed in the “Origin” part. However, I thought it was interesting that he did so.
Connection: I found it interesting how young America had population problems. There towns were overcrowded, much like today's big cities, and also had much unemployment. The poverty rate in America (present) is high, so these to cases of past and present intertwine. Young men also could'nt always count on land being open for them to farm on. I can connect this to today's dilema with unemployment, where many people are struggling to find jobs, and (past) when many people couldn't make a living due to land usage.
Cause and Effect (Destroying of the Stamp Act): The Stamp Act was placed upon colonists because Britain needed revenue. An effect of this was the formation of the Sons of Liberty, who forced stamp agents to resign and compelled citizens to continue their lives without stamps. Americans hated the Stamp Act, while Britain cherished it and the revenue it brought to them. An intentional act brought on by Amercia was the violence, and eventual repeal of the Stamp Act.
Through Their Eyes: Colonists in the past viewed their world as a corrupted justice. Colonists believed that Britain had to much power which it was abusing. They were taxing unfairly and imposing harsh acts, such as the Stamp Act. They wanted to govern, not to be goverened. This worldview influenced their actions of rage and increasing violence, eventually erupting in war.
Question: One question that i had when reading this section was: did Britain think that it could control the increasing colonists population under such heavy stress? I wonder this because if the colonists were openly telling Britain of their growing hate, and Britain not making changes to please the colonists, did they know that they couldn't satisfy America? To me it seemed that the vendiagram of British wants and American wants never overlapped, and that Britain never made the effort to hear the Colonists cries and act accordingly.
Response (Natalie Schael, Connection on overpopulation): Exactly! When i was reading this passage i was thinking the same thing. That we both have population issues, and both are struggling to find answers. However, i never thought of the fact that when we make towns (after cutting foilage) that it fills up very quickly. Its very odd to think of what will happen when our space runs out.
Connections: This book has so far clearly exemplified how much the violation of human rights can affect society in such a forceful and, as is often the case, extreme way. After the British so ineffectively enforced many taxes and acts revolving around means to collect revenue, the colonists responded by unconventional and not always peaceful means of protest. Today, countries such as Egypt and Libya have citizens who decided that their government was unfair or unjust in some way -- so, just like the Colonists, they began to violently protest their higher power. In Egypt, the uprising in Cairo never boiled over into full-scale war, but in Libya, however, the rebels continue to rage against forces loyal to Libya's "leader", Muammar Gadhafi.
Visualize: I vividly pictured the stamp worker quitting as the icy eyes of the colonists burned a hole in his face. I can also easily recall images in my head from when Wood described the Indians attacking British outposts and then being slaughtered themselves soon after. Their wild faces and barbaric actions clashing with the organized and explicit actions of the British once again internalized themselves in my memory when the colonists enacted what became known as "The Boston Tea Party".
Turning Points: In these first two sections, there were indeed many turning points which continued to point in the direction of a full-blown revolution. Every act that the British would try to enforce would subsequently result in actions taken by the colonists to protest those acts. The British and the colonists grew apart, almost to the point of being enemies, as the ominous cloud of war grew darker and more prominent. These turning points eliminated the choices that the colonists had to cooperate with the British, for they would certainly be punished for their previous disobedience.
Differing Perspectives: Obviously, there are two main and easily discussable perspective on the British/Colonist relationship -- the British and the Colonists! The British are the ones supporting and regulating an excessively large army necessary to keep the colonists safe from Indians, gangs, thieves, and other unfortunate but deliberate events. They feel as if the colonists owe them something besides monstrous revenue in the trading of their natural resources, so the propose heavy taxes to try to continue to profit from the American colonies. In their mind, their actions were reasonable, justifiable, and politically correct. In the colonists' minds, however, these taxes were an unfair way for the crown to make even more money which was not deserved. They felt separate from the crown, and paying so much extra money to it felt useless and purely wrong. The colonists may have felt that their money was not necessary, as they probably didn't realize the extent of British expenses in America. They also might've felt that they were finally starting to prosper, but then the British just had to ruin it by taking their wealth away. In addition, these decisions were being made by the British parliament with no colonial say in the matter -- A.K.A, taxation without representation.
Commenting on Hayden Witucki's post about Through Their eyes: I completely agree. The colonists wanted a justified and libertarian government of their own in lieu of a ruling Monarch who lived thousands of miles away and no idea what the American experience was or how to appropriately regulate it. Those harsh acts made the colonists realize how powerless and oppressed they were by a selfish and rather dumb king.
While looking through the table of contents, I noticed that The American Revolution would begin in the first section telling about the origins. I predicted that it would tell of how and why people started moving and settling in the colonies and how this would affect Britain and the colonies in the future.
Connections
I instantly made a connection in the first chapter when I came to the section titled Economic Expansion. This told of the British imports, exports, and production of goods and of the economic expansion Britain took advantage of because of the great resources and amount of land in the colonies. This is when I remembered how the events leading to the revolution came to be. I made connections to previous years of learning and remembered the Stamp and Sugar Acts were being used to pay British debts and I remembered how the Boston Massacre and Boston Tea Party were possible acts of retaliation against opposing sides.
Differing Perspectives
When British Parliament passed the Stamp Act, Sugar Act, and Townshend Acts there are two perspectives that can be identified. The first is the people in the colonies. They saw these acts as unfair and they had no say in the passing of them. The British Parliament saw them as something that needed to be done to pay debts. The money from these taxes also helped pay for British soldiers that were in the colonies whose jobs were to help protect the colonies from Native Americans and any other possible danger. One could make a strong argument for either side of this conflict based on their perspective.
Change and Continuity
A lot has changed since the taxes put on the people of the colonies and taxes put on us today. The people have more of a say on things involving taxes today because we can elect people who share our common interest on issues like taxes, while in the time before the revolution British Parliament members were not elected and the citizens opinions did not count. We still are far away from complete control of the taxes and taxes are used for mostly the same things.
Responding to Zachary Bluestein’s comments on differing perspectives, I completely agree. I believe that looking back on the American Revolution with a neutral mind that one could justify the actions from either side and I believe both sides were acting as what they thought was fair.
Questions: Some questions I had were concerning the first paragraph under the section Origins. It claimed that America in the eighteenth century was uncivilized and "primitive", but then in the next sentence it states that "the colonists repeatedly felt pressed to apologize for the crudity of their society." I was wondering why the colonists felt that they had to apologize?
Predict: The book says that "People from different places in Europe had been allowed to settle in the colonies, and land had been given out freely." As I was reading this, I had made the prediction in my head that this would be a major problem later on down the road, and would cost the British lots of money, and possibly the cause for taxation later on.
Cause and Effect: An example of cause and effect would be when the colonists started settling more towards the west, and they started to take up the native's land, causing them to move their settlements as well. This also caused a huge war between the Indians and the white settlers.
Differing Perspectives: I agree with the colonists perspectives on their king in England. Since the king, after all, was in charge of the settlements in America, they felt as if the king was responsible for all the wrong that was going on.
Responding to Spencer Ahles's post: I also had the same predictions as you. I did like the fact that they started out with the origins to get a background into the causes of the revolution. I also remember learnging about the different taxations the british put onto the colonists, and the days that were spent talking about the retalliations against these taxes.
Preview: Well just from the titles of the sections, I could tell that it would be about the beginnings of the Revolution, and why the colonists felt bullied, I guess you could say. It would also discuss the initial American resistance efforts and what the British did in return to that.
Differing Perspectives: The two perspectives that are probably the most obvious are the Colonist's and the British's when it came to the taxes that the British imposed on the Colonists. The British felt it a necessity to tax the colonists to pay off their debts from the French and Indian War, which was fought on American soil. While the colonists felt that the British should find somewhere else to get their money, because it was Great Britain's war, not the Americans.
Through Their Eyes: The colonists basically felt like the British were being extremely controlling, and that they were taking advantage of the power that they had. They were taking advantage of the colonists and using them only to better themselves and their own country.
Questions: One question I had was that, if the French and Indian War was fought to gain more land in North America for Britain, which in turn the colonists could use, and the British were taxing the Colonists to pay off for this war that they fought to gain land for them, wasn't it a little selfish of the Colonists to freak out about some of these taxes? I mean, the British fought the war to gain land for themselves, but that land would also benefit the colonists greatly. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but that's a little of what I got out of it.
In response to Alexis' comment on the differing perspectives, I totally agree and I think that's how the colonists felt about it also.
Predict: through out the first few pages of the book you could tell that america would eventually become a problem for Britain. with the high rate of growth in the population and the money that the new world produced Britain would not be able to contain it.
Cause and Effect: Many people cause the revolution but there were a few that really got the ball going probobly the person high up there would be ben franklin with John Dickonsin and his pamphlet Letters From a Farmer in Pennsylvania.
Questions: One of my main questions was why did France give their only land in the new world over, yes i know that that was all the had to give in the new world but couldn't they have given something else in exchange for peace. My second question is wouldn't it have been smarter for the British to just take the taxes away. the only reason that money was there was for revenue, it wasn't benefiting the people.
In response to Jeff's comment on differing perspectives, i agree with you it doesn't really make sense to pay for a war the wasn't yours.
Connections: In the section titled Economic Expansion, Wood explained about how emigrants from all over Europe were settling in the colonies, causing the population to increase and therefore growing the economy in America. He also went into detail about how transportation and communication greatly improved. Mail routes were being scheduled, better roads were being made, and stagecoach and packet boat routes were also being established. As I read this I immediately thought of how transportation and communication have greatly improved in our day. We now have planes and cars that let us travel nearly anywhere we wish to go. The Internet and TV also greatly help in spreading news to different corners of the world.
Importance: Colonists were very angered when Parliament passed the Stamp Act because they had no say in it. The British argued that the Americans were to follow the acts made by Parliament through “virtual” representation. Hearing this claim, colonists exclaimed that they wanted to directly vote for their legislatures and they also wanted to be represented proportionate to the size of their population. This is important because it is the base idea of a republican government, which is what the colonists were fighting for in the end.
Cause & Effect: The British loss of the Seven Years’ War caused them to fall into great debt. In effect, they heavily taxed the colonies, passing acts (ex. the Stamp Act) that placed levies on certain items they bought.
Through Their Eyes: As the economy in America was exploding, the colonists were also doing well. They had more money to spend and therefore could afford more expensive and high-end products that never could before. If I were in their shoes, I would’ve been very excited and proud of the fact that I was doing so well economically.
Responding to Ian's prediction, I agree with you. The British didn't know what they were getting themselves into with the colonies. If anything, they should've helped the colonists start a new life in America and then leave them to be independent instead of causing so much problems with taxation and eventually all out war.
preview: From skimming over the chapter titles it was obvious that the start of the book would be more focused on setting a general picture of the conditions at the time before the revolution actually began.
Questions: I question as to how increasing population in the america's changed britains perspective of america. only a changed perspective of the americas would be a valid reason to change their policies on how they deal with them.
cause/effect:the large areas of land that were available to people made them wish to expand their families as to provide more help on their farms and in their workshops. this change mentality, partly out of want and necessity, caused the population to skyrocket during the time leading up to the revolution. this great increase in population drove the british to see the americas as a more profitable place for them, which cause them to change their policies on taxation.
through their eyes: people in the past had a different view on their world. People in the America's saw all the open space and saw it ripe for the taking. Everyone believed that they had a chance to make a good life for themselves just through hard work. This inspired them to have a more freedom oriented view on the world than the people in Britain, and the rest of the world, had at that time.
In response to caroline's comment on his prediction, i believe that it was not quite evident that america would be a problem, if Britain had taken a more accepting approach of America's interest, i believe that a revolution would not have been quite necessary.
Katrina Raskie Previews/ Predicitions: When I first started to get ready to read the book i wanted to get a good idea of what the author was first going to go over. I noticed the first section was titled "Origins" so i automatically assumed that it would be about the start of the revolution and the roots of conflict that lead up to the war. Then i looked at Chapter 2. I guessed that this was the time period that war was more prone to happen because more conflicts began to reach the surface. I looked at the “Pattern of Settlements in the Colonies” right in the beginning and it seems as though my prediction is correct. Another reason i thought this was because of the British Reaction due to the early conflicts of growth and reform. Questions: The main question I had while reading was why didnt people think and plan ahead sooner? Why didn't more people move away quicker to avoid the problems of expansion and over population? I realized as I continued reading that they didnt feel like they had a need to move or adjust their lifestyle so they just stayed how they were. Cause and effect: The biggest cause and effect I noticed was the American resistance. The Sugar Act was huge, because Colonies/ colonists didnt even get the opportunity to explain that the British were harming their economy with foreign trade as well. The effect seemed small in the moment, but it helped force further resistance. Then came the Stamp Act. After this, the colonists realized that trying to petition against the parliament was pointless. The effect of this was that everyone became much more violent and took greater actions to resist. Then more and more acts were made and there was more and more resistance until war was the only option. Turning points: Sticking with the Stamp Act, it cause a major turning point.By enforcing the Stamp Act, it took away choices for colonists because they could not trade or sell as they once could. Taxes increased dramatically which affected colonists everyday lives. This cause tension amongst the rich and poor alike. In response to Jasons "through their eyes", I strongly agree that the idea that everyone has a fair chance at a good life truly did inspire them to strive for freedom.
Preview/Predict: To preview the American Revolution novel I flipped and scanned through the pages, I also glanced at the tabel of contents and looked at what the chapters were titled. I predicted the first few chapters were about where the American Revolution rooted from and when the war was going to most likley occur.
Questions: While flipping through the book and starting to read the novel there was a word the frequently popped up. Its a word that we should all hear about but I took the effort to look it up and find what the word truly means. The word Revolution. The dictionary definition of revolution is a forciable overthrow of a government or social order for a new system.
Thinking like a Historian: CAUSE AND EFFECT: In the 1760's the British were forcing power onto the 13 colonies wanting us to have a better economy. They did things like regulate our trade, and force us to trade with them for certain things. The more controlling the British got, the more the American colonies started to desire independence. The effect of the british enforcing acts on the colonies caused the colonies to come together for a common goal, independence. the colonies then had a reason for rebellion, and something they could use as a reason for the conflict.
Turning Point:
the turning point to cause the revolutionary war can be debated by many. To some, it could have started back to the stamp acts, where the colonists were forced to pay taxes on papers such as newspapers and doccuments. I believe the turning point happened when blood was first shed at lexington and concord. This was a battle that started because british troops were forced into Boston and were asked to gather weapons that the colonists had. This was in 1775.
I agree with wasanna that the Boston Massacre was an accident. Although it caused a lot of chaos, it was an accident and would have not been a big deal if the painting of the boston massacre wasn't in the paper. It was just used as propaganda to make tensions worst between the colonies and Britain.
Predicting: When seeing the word origins, most people would think that Woods would start out with how the the problems between Britain and The Colonies started and I also predict that it would have some information about the French and Indian War because most of the problems that they had started after the Seven Year War was brought to an end. For the second part titled American resistance, I would predict that Woods would tell how Britain started putting all these kinds of Taxes and Acts on the Colonies and show the reaction of the Colonies to every one of them.
Different Perspective: The two most common sides that people can see is through the eyes of the British and the Colonists. British's perspective is that they have allowed many people to move to the New World and have a fresh new start, and that they have been helping and protecting the Colonists from danger such as the Indians and Gangs by sending their own troops over there and they believe that the Colonists should give them a little something back such as by helping pay some of the expenses that they have accumulated over the years such as from the Seven Year War. From this war also they were able to obtain more land for the Colonists to expand too. From the Colonist's view, Britain is just becoming like a tyrant, they are just passing acts and taxes without their consent. They are becoming more controlled by Parliament and they start to having other thoughts like freedom, independence.
Turning Point: The turning point is different for many people. It could have started from the Stamp Act, Sugar Act, because the British were putting more pressure on the Colonists with each Act that is passed and pushing them to eventually want their own independence or maybe even the Boston Massacre because that was where the very first blood was spilled from British soldiers "accidentally" shot and killed some of the Colonists. This is where people started to believe more and think more about the issues for independence.
Miranda Resch Reading thoughts: As I started reading I had a base of what that section would be about from it’s title “origin’s”. I knew that it would explain to the readers the key points in which sparked the American Revolution; however what I wasn’t prepared for were just home many different events caused the spark to emerge into a war between the colonies and their mother country. I agree with the things that Peyton had to say about how life changed in many ways for the people who moved to the colonies. They got a sense of freedom and were put into a whole new style of living and they took full advantage of it. These people began to explore a world that was completely new to them and with being so disconnected from the England people began to work with this freedom eventually leading to the revolution.
Reading like a historian: When the French and Indian war ended the British put many hardships upon those living in the colonies like unfair tax and having to house British troops. This had gone on for 12 years until the people revoked and the American Revolution began. I believe that if England wasn’t so forceful with the people in the colonies right after the French and Indian war then the relationship between those in England and the Colonies wouldn’t have got so badly so quickly.
Sara Theobald
ReplyDeleteReading thoughts:
I predicted at the beginning of this chapter that it would be about the leading up to the American Revolution and how the New World started out. The beginning title "Origins" told me that it would be about where American people came from and how they got here. It would tell the story of how and why there was an American Revolution. I was right as I read on. It actually explained much more about their culture and other details that I had not thought would be in there.
Some connections I made were related to what is going on in the United States today. It explained in the book that many people from other areas in the world came to the "New World" for a better life: Irish, Germans, etc. Well, this is happening today as well. The United States citizen count is going up everyday, mostly because of people from other countries coming here. Different people of all cultures are coming here today for a better life.
Reading Like a Historian:
People during the American Revolution probably viewed their world as always changing but suppressed. They felt the power from Great Britain oppressing them and they probably felt exasperated by it. Which started the American Revolution; they hoped to get away from Great Britain's control.
Many things have changed since the American Revolution. We view the world much more differently now especially. Now we are hours away from anywhere in the world. It took many years for people during the American Revolution to get anywhere of great distance. They had very strict discipline as well in the homes which has changed now. We are a much more liberal society rather than conservative.
kaosheng Thao
ReplyDeleteWhen i read the title of chapter one, i knew that the chapter was going to start out with telling the reader where everything started. The chapter title is origins and as i read on, i was right, it was talking about the origin of the Revolution. i also didn't know what the word gentry meant, so i looked it up and now i know.
On March 5, 1770 when the 8 British soldiers fired on a crowd and ended up killing 5 civilians, that was an accident. The soldiers were there because of the threatening crowd over the Boston Massacre that was intentional but the shooting was an accident. Just like the stamp act, we use tax today as well too, there's tax on clothes, electronics etc...
kaosheng Thao
ReplyDeletei agree with Sarah, people during the Revolution time did seem to try to get away from Great Britain's control. With Great Britain's control over them they couldn't do anything how they wanted which lead to a revolution.
Wasana Pinsonneault
ReplyDeleteEvaluation: On page 23, the Sugar Act of 1764 is mentioned and it corresponded what I already knew about the Sugar Act and how it, “imposed on foreign cloth, sugar, indigo, coffee, and wine imported into the colonies.” (p.23). This historical event impacted our history because it was assumed that a, “lower duty on foreign molasses would stop smuggling and lead legal importation of foreign molasses and earn more money for the crown.” (p.23)
Importance: A key point in history that was brought up in this reading was on page 34, the Boston Massacre. On March 5,1770, “a party of eight harassed British soldiers fired on a threatening crowd and killed 5 civilians.” (p.34) The British were in Massachusetts because it was thought that British laws were not being enforced, therefore the purpose of the British soldiers being in the colonies were to enforce laws of the British. The title of the “Boston Massacre” may be an exaggerated title.
Cause and Effect:
The cause of past events, more specifically: the Boston Massacre (p.34) may have been a misunderstanding that caused the loss of a few lives. A group of people were harassing soldiers who took the harassment, a bit too far (some people may say) and decided to shoot.
The effects of this misunderstanding were that lives were lost and a title that is overexaggerated was put on this event.
Paul Revere had made the Boston Massacre more exaggerated than it really was.
The effects were dependent on opinion if it was intentional or non intentional.
Turning Points:
The decision to initiate the Stamp Act created American sensitivity to all taxation (p.32).
This decision narrowed/eliminated choices for people because they could not trade, buy or sell as they used to in the past. With taxes, the price of goods and services increased which made the cost of living increase (something that was not brought to the human mind at that moment). Which made things tough especially for poor but created havoc for the rich because they were being taxed and their money spent for government purposes.
Wasana Pinsonneault
ReplyDeleteI also agree with Kaosheng about how the Boston Massacre was an accident and not intended to become a "Massacre" it was pure accident...and those happen.
Alyssa Campbell
ReplyDeletePreview: As i started reading Section One titeld Origins, i knew the chapter would be about the origins in which the Revolution took place. The section started off by telling that the origins are in America's past and took a century and a half to develop. I predicted just from the first paragraph that this section would be about the long stretch of time it took to create a revolution.
Connections: A connection I made while reading this chapter was the same is Sara's. During the revolution people were coming to the "new world" for a better life. The same as today. People move to America in search of jobs, freedom and an overall better life.
Becca Wittek
ReplyDeletePreview/Predict:
The title of section one is Origins so I predicted that it would be about everything that lead up to the revolution. Just by reading the table of contents it showed that it would talk about how the populations grew and moved, how the economy changed and expanded, and the reform of the British Empire. Section two is entitled American Resistance which centered more on the Stamp Act and taxation and how everyone reacted to it.
Questions: Questions I asked while reading this section included the different sides of the story presented with the Boston Massacre. Were the shots that were fired into the crowd inflicted onto the people who caused direct harm to the soldiers? I used prior knowledge of the situation to know that at least some of the civilians were armed. It is quite possible that not everyone in the crowd was violent with their protest, though, so shots, in general, seem unnecessary. Woods described the situation as "harassed British soldiers firing on a threatening crowd and killing five civilians" (p. 34), I have to disagree with the way they handled it even if the soldiers felt harassed. Also, The book didn't go into too much detail about the Boston Massacre so it brought about some questions in my mind because the book mostly focused on the aftermath and how the "massacre" directly effected the authority of the British Government.
Reading Like a Historian:
Change and Continuity:
In March of 1765, parliament passed the stamp act which induced a "tax on legal documents, almanacs, newspapers, and nearly every form of paper used in the country." (p. 28) Parliament decided that they were not bringing in enough revenue and needed a more effective way to get the wealth of the Americans. This could have benefited them if the American people had not opposed it so much, but they really took a stand against it.
Differing Perspectives:
The Stamp Act can be used here as well as an example for when the people had different perspectives on what was good for the country. The civilians thought that the taxation was unfair and that they shouldn't have to pay these taxes if they weren't represented in parliament. While the government was only thinking about what was right for them and how they would get money. In my opinion, the civilians had every right to be upset with the government.
Becca Wittek
ReplyDeleteI disagree with Kaosheng and Wasana's statement that the Boston Massacre was an accident. I don't think the soldiers would have shot into the crowd if their intentions weren't to cause harm to them. There could have been a better way to handle the situation instead of open-firing into a crowd of civilians. I feel that it was a misunderstanding or miscommunication, but definitely not an accident.
Hannah Mezei
ReplyDelete-Reading Thoughts
Importance:
There are many general ideas to gather from the first part in this book. From this section I learned that the reasons for the starting dispute between Britain and America were that the British Empire kept changing, America's population was growing, and because of the growth, the colonists were moving farther apart into the country. Also, I learned that due to different direct & indirect taxing and law making on the colonies, American colonists were getting increasingly tired of the British government to the final point of deciding to get complete independence from the mother country.
Questions:
While reading this section I had a few questions. What was in the actual constitution between the colonies and Britain's government? If people came over to America from other countries, were they considered under Britain's rule as well? Why did Britain decide to handle the colonies is such a harsh way in the first place?
-Reading Like a Historian
Change and Continuity:
From this time era there are many changes and things that have continued on. Things that have changed is how much stronger our country's government as a whole has gotten, and how much Britain has gone from a big, strong force to just a small country it is today. Things that have continued is certain English traditions, and Americans drive for independence, pride, and government that includes all its citizens.
Turning Points:
Most of the turning points that lead to America's independence was from Britain's decisions. The turning points were laws like the Quartering Act, and taxes such as the Tea Act, Stamp Act, and Townshend Acts. Each decision they made pushed the colonists to fear Britain's government more and more. And with each new tax, some colonists gained wealth and popularity while other lost it, dividing the colonists into ones who wanted independence from those who wanted to stay with the mother country.
Previous Person's Post:
On Becca's Differing Perspectives section, I completely agree. I think the government should've tried seeing from the colonists perspective and then maybe none of the resistance would have taken place at all.
Peyton Stefan:
ReplyDeleteI agree with the previous comments on the predictions of the section entitled Origins. The American Revolution is commonly known as the fight for independence; but, do most know why the Americans were eager to gain freedom from Britain? After reading this appellation, I subsequently inferred readers would be educated on the differing beliefs between arising Americans and the British government which therefore lead to the composition of plans for freedom. Following the reading of sections one and two I evaluated the impact this movement to America from Britain had on future generations. This transition allowed for a new system of trade to be created. Throughout this process, stronger and more complicated relations were formed between countries; the quality and variety of cargo being traded grew vastly as well. Barriers were being broken that showed the human race was adventurous, daring, and could not be contained. Curiosity began to be contrived in individuals and lead them to explore not only uninhabited parts of the world, but the true meaning of life. Within 15 years, the future had been impacted more than any settler could have imagined. Doorways were opened that could never be shut again and The American Revolution was just beginning. Even though these decisions affected life as we know it, I don’t believe the colonists truly knew what they were getting themselves into. When looking through their eyes, I feel as though the settlers wanted to break away from Britain peacefully and that is what they felt they were doing. Americans were not looking for war with Britain; they simply wanted to start their lives over in a way that favored their beliefs and values. After realizing that Britain would not allow them to be free from their government’s reign, the Americans were perplexed as to what needed to be done in order to fulfill their dreams. When looking through the eyes of a colonist, I see confusion because of ill planning and the arising of unexpected situations. I feel as though if they would have known the outcome, the planning that took place would have been altered. After looking through the eyes of a settler and understanding that the path to freedom was a ruthless journey, we can use the past and apply it to our life today. We can learn from these experiences that when times are tough, you push through them and continue working towards your goal just like the early Americans did. Not everything in life will go the way it is planned; we always need to expect the unexpected and persevere through trying situations. A horrifying time for the Americans was when British Parliament was passing new laws such as the Stamp Act. I agree with Becca Wittek that the colonists had every right to be upset with the British. As their own society and possessing their own economy, a government across seas should not be responsible for taxing them. I believe those living in the early American society should have been controlling their own financial situation because they understood what was needed for a healthy economy and for the people to be happy.
Nick Sierakowski
ReplyDeleteAs I sat down to read the book, I opened to the table of contents and found that the first chapter was titled Origins. I predicted this opening chapter would be about the people who lived in the conlonies and how they were interacting with themselves, the British, and the natives in America.
As I began reading into the first two chapters, things started to click in my head and I made many connections back to eigth grade. I started to recall many of the acts like the Sugar and Stamp Acts, and events that took place like the Boston Masacre and the Boston Tea Party. I also recalled how the whole pre-revolution period between the colonies and the British was like a boxing match. The bigger, stronger British threw the first punches at the colonies with the Sugar and Stamp Acts, but the colonies punched right back by not obeying and declaring the acts unconstitutional. From there, it was like a snowball rolling downhill. The English started it and nobody knew who would end it.
I agree with Hannah when she says the turning points that lead to the colonies pushing for independance was the Quartering Act, Tea Act, Stamp Act, and Townshend Acts. These acts narrowed their choices down to folding to the Parliament or standing up for themselves and rebelling.
Darian Woller
ReplyDeletePreview/Predict:
Upon reading that the first chapter of the book was entitled "Origins" my primary guess on what the chapter was going to fortell was of course the preconditions of revolution itself. To elaborate, I predicted that the author was going to tell about the political enviroment or situation at the time and how it would effect the American society. After reading the chapter i was partially correct on my assumptions. Though i was correct on the conditions of the British empire influencing decisions yet to come (like their debts which cause taxes and such) i didn't however guess that it would go into detail about the rise of the colonies economic or population expansion that made them important in the British eyes.
Connections:
One connection that occured during the first two chapters of the book was knowledge of a previous class. In the class i recall that there was a distinct difference between the French and British empire when it came to colonies. That difference was the fact that the French actually kept in touch culturally and politically with their colonies significantly more than the British did. So during these chapters i noticed that claim about the British empire because their interaction with the American colonies seemed very limited in a sense until the colonies started expanding and gaining more value. Sadly enough though, the British didnt have a clue on how the Americans would react to these taxes and the effect on their lives since the British didnt have any real attachments or solid knowledge on their lifestyle.
Cause and Effect:
Describing American resistance could easily be explained through cause and effect. To begin with the Sugar Act, Colonies didn't have a chance to explain or argue with the fact that the British were harming their economy as well with foreign trade. This effect was small at the time but with necessary force it could explode into more extreme resistance. Then after the Stamp Act the colonies realized that petition or representation to the pariliment was futile. So in effect it became more violent with words and actions that resisted these taxes and eventually with more negligence to the colonist feelings more Acts came and in effect more violent protest would follow until it lead to war.
Turning Point:
The most important point in the American Revolution before war is most likely the Coercive Act which allowed the parliament to have absoulute control and pay for huge expenses. This caused the colonies to decide, like Nick commented, to give in or finally rebel all the way. Acts before did cause this to revolution to occure but the major decision was the coercive act which made them forfeit all their rights.
Comment: As said before I agree with the fact of the acts forcing the colonies to decide on revolution or Parilament control, but i have to agree that the British abused their power and in a sense instigated the revolution with their actions.
Alexandra Folino
ReplyDeleteReading Thoughts-
1)PREVIEW/PREDICT
As I opened the book, I began to scan through the pages and prepare myself for the beginning chapters. As I scanned through the table of contents, I predicted that Chapters 1 would look into where and how the The American Revolution rooted from. It expressed the fact that there was movement, substantial growth and reform pushing our country towards the war. Next was Chapter 2. I predicted that this was when the war was more likely to occur, taking note of the British Reaction, what stemmed from this, and the conflict that began to arise. The “Pattern of Settlements in the Colonies” map proved me to believe that my predictions were true.
2)QUESTIONS
As I was reading Chapter 1 “Growth and Movement” I was wondering, “How did the migrating population moving westward after the French and Indian War affect the native people?” As I read on, the book went into more detail of what occurred. First of all, the British Government took control of all Indian Affairs. The native population quickly dropped through the spread of disease, as they had never been exposed to European/eastern hemisphere diseases. Despite the spread of disease and war against the colonists and the natives, nearly 150,000 natives remained east of the Mississippi river. Natives were “anxious to resist further white encroachment on their lands. It is necessary to note that the Rapid growth and migration of the colonies did not only affect Native Americans.
Thinking Like a Historian-
1)CAUSE & EFFECT
Going back to Chapter 1, “Origins” I would like to point out the large cause and effect ripple that was the push towards the American Revolution. In the 1760’s, Britain “thrust” its power onto us wanting us to have a better economy, and pushing us to reform. This caused a rebellion by the American people. Soon, as the war began a large sense of nationalism grew and pride in our country was becoming evident. Therefore, the war soon became justification and the idealization of our society. John Adams later said, as this was noted in the book, It was a change “in the minds and hearts of the people”. In addition, one must remember that the American Revolution was not just an intellectual change, it was a fight for our freedom. This is also expressed in the beginning of the “Asylum for Liberty” section in Chapter 2.
2)TURNING POINT
The battle of Lexington and Concord in 1775 was the first instance of open warfare and was triggered by the many events occurring before the armed conflict. The Coercive Acts, along with the Tea Act, Townshed Acts, Stamp Acts, Quartering Act, Currency Act, and the Sugar Act had provoked American Colonists to the point of breakage. The battle occurred as British officials were forced to assume that Boston was the center for disturbances. This was when shots were exchanged among British Troops and Colonial Militia for the first time. This was most defiantly a turning point in the novel.
-Both Darian and I had the same prediction upon opening the book and reading the first couple pages, and feel that we both assumed the same things.
Alexandra Folino
ReplyDeletewhoops! hope i did not confuse anyone-The battle of Lexington and Concord that occurs in 1775, is in the book at the beginning of Chapter 3, I apologize for meshing them together in Section 1 blog.
Emilee Mytinger
ReplyDeletePreview/Predict:
The growing population in Europe increased the value of Colonial imports from Britain. "For the first time in the eighteenth century, Britain's own production of foodstuffs could not meet the needs of its suddenly rising population. Britain was importing more grain than it exported. This increase in foodstuffs meant soaring prices for American exports." (p. 13) At this point I predicted that the Colonies would produce more food and expand their land, thus having to invade the Indian's land and start a big conflict between them. The Colonies would also become more important to the British because of the large increase in income for the Americans.
Evaluation:
When parliament passed a new Currency Act that prohibited the colonies from issuing paper money as legal tender they created the first of many disagreements between England and the colonies that would strike the beginning of the their independence from England. If the parliament had never passed such acts as the Tea Act and the Stamp Act we may have never declared independence from England and could still be a part of their Government today.
Cause and Effect:
The British Empire was reformed because George III didn't want to run Britain like his great-grandfather and his grandfather had. There were many causes of the reform some of them include the reorganization of the land acquired from France and Spain, the Indian trade had to be regulated, land claims needed to be sorted out, and something had to be done to keep the white settlers from having a war with the Native Americans. Another big problem in the government that needed to be fixed was the military debt that would continue to increase in order to keep France from attacking the Indians. The changes in the British Empire lead to many people being unhappy with the Empire running against the English constitution, but later realized it was for the better. Another cause of the reform was that citizens were growing tired of Britain's failure to extend the right to vote and representation to large numbers of British subjects.
Differing Perspectives:
When parliament passed the Stamp Act because it would help pay for troops stationed in North America after the British victory in the Seven Years’ War. After all they thought that the colonies were the primary beneficiaries of this military service and should pay at least a portion of the expense. On the other hand, the colonies felt that the British were taxing them without their consent considering that they didn’t vote for any of their representatives. British merchants and manufacturers were also against the act because their exports to the colonies were threatened by taxes.
Mackenzie Biundo
ReplyDeleteREADING THOUGHTS:
Preview/Predict: In the first few pages of this book I could already predict that the author was going to explain the events leading up to The American Revolution in the first part "Orgins". In this section of the book it mainly talked about how the American colonies lead up to their revolution. But as this chapter went on the author went into much greater detail explaining things about their culture and development, which I didn't expect. The second part entitled "American Restistance" went into more details on the laws that were created and how the colonist reacted to them. Such as the Stamp Act and other taxation laws.
Question: Some questions I had while I was reading were "Why didn't the people start moving west-ward sooner to avoid the problem of crowding?" , as I continued to read, I sort of answered it on my own. The colonist didn't have a reason to move west-ward, so they just stayed where they were.
READING LIKE A HISTORIAN:
Cause & Effect: One big event in this time leading up to the revolution was The Boston Massacre (p. 34). The cause of this event was a misunderstanding of orders from a British army Colonel, which lead to losses of lives of innocent civilians. The effect of this event is over exaggeration of the events that occurred and a title to match it.
Differing Perspectives: Any of the taxation laws can be used as examples for this. But for one, The Stamp Act. TO the colonist they believed this law was unfair because for one parliament passed the law with out fair representation of the colonies. Even though they had representatives, the colonists did not vote for them. On the opposite end of the spectrum, this taxation law was easy money for Parliament. This law helped fund for they military troops stationed in North America. The colonist had every right to be upset.
Natalie Schael
ReplyDeleteREADING THOUGHTS
Connections: As I first started reading The American Revolution one connection between the book and present day came forth. “But in the middle decades of the eighteenth century, the pressures of increasing population density began to be felt… older towns now seemed overcrowded… throughout the colonies more and more people were on the move… the percentage of poor was eight times greater than it had been twenty years earlier… enormous explosion of people in search of land” (p.6-9). Back in the eighteenth century, the people were going through a hard time. This connects to now because we are going through a similar time. In the present day we have an increasing population which is forcing us to expand and cut down forests/woods in order for housing development; however all the housing we build never seems to last long before we are looking for more space to develop. Another way this connects is not exactly for the search of land but for the search of jobs; today with all the unemployment, people are searching and moving to different places in order to find a job.
Visualize: Getting further into the book I came across “The colonists encourage the wearing of homespun cloth, and in New England villages ‘Daughters of Liberty’ held spinning bees” (p.33). As I read this it was a very easy and funny thing to picture. In my head I imagined all these different ladies coming from different villages into a meeting place; here they were surrounded by fellow villagers who enthusiastically cheered them on as they spun cloth as fast as they could until one stood up victoriously holding her cloth.
THINKING LIKE A HISTORIAN
Using the Past: In order to be where we are now, we have learned from the past. On page 14 it states that “…the rising levels of taste and consumption drew more colonists into manufacturing… transportation and communications rapidly improved as roads were built and schedules were established…the colonial deputy postmaster general, instituted weekly mails between Philadelphia and Boston and cut delivery time in half…” This helps us explain the present because as our massive population consumes more and gets pickier we turn to machines to make us exactly what we want and in large quantities. Furthermore, we learn from the past to keep improving on what we create; in the eighteenth century their fast mail was three weeks of waiting. Now, it’s about three seconds with our advanced technology of emails, text messaging, and social networking, etc.
Through Their Eyes: Throughout this section of the book, the colonists viewed their world with anger. As all the laws and taxes, etc. were put on them they become more and more outraged; they hated the Parliament and their actions. And with their worldview, the angered colonists in America came together and rebelled. A famous act of their outrage was December 16, 1776 otherwise known as the Boston Tea Party; in response to the Tea Act, a group of patriots dressed up as Indians went to the Boston Harbor and dumped a massive amount of tea into the water. Another example is a case of mob violence; on August 14, 1765 in regard to the Stamp act of mob of people tore apart the office and attacked the home of the stamp distributor for Massachusetts, Andrew Oliver
--I agree with Mackenzie, an event leading up to the revolution was the Boston Massacre. Which was as it was tragic, was exaggerated too far in respect to what exactly happened. In another thought, I also wasn’t expecting the author to get so detailed in the “Origin” part. However, I thought it was interesting that he did so.
Hayden Witucki
ReplyDeleteConnection:
I found it interesting how young America had population problems. There towns were overcrowded, much like today's big cities, and also had much unemployment. The poverty rate in America (present) is high, so these to cases of past and present intertwine. Young men also could'nt always count on land being open for them to farm on. I can connect this to today's dilema with unemployment, where many people are struggling to find jobs, and (past) when many people couldn't make a living due to land usage.
Cause and Effect (Destroying of the Stamp Act):
The Stamp Act was placed upon colonists because Britain needed revenue. An effect of this was the formation of the Sons of Liberty, who forced stamp agents to resign and compelled citizens to continue their lives without stamps. Americans hated the Stamp Act, while Britain cherished it and the revenue it brought to them. An intentional act brought on by Amercia was the violence, and eventual repeal of the Stamp Act.
Through Their Eyes:
Colonists in the past viewed their world as a corrupted justice. Colonists believed that Britain had to much power which it was abusing. They were taxing unfairly and imposing harsh acts, such as the Stamp Act. They wanted to govern, not to be goverened. This worldview influenced their actions of rage and increasing violence, eventually erupting in war.
Question:
One question that i had when reading this section was: did Britain think that it could control the increasing colonists population under such heavy stress?
I wonder this because if the colonists were openly telling Britain of their growing hate, and Britain not making changes to please the colonists, did they know that they couldn't satisfy America? To me it seemed that the vendiagram of British wants and American wants never overlapped, and that Britain never made the effort to hear the Colonists cries and act accordingly.
Response (Natalie Schael, Connection on overpopulation): Exactly! When i was reading this passage i was thinking the same thing. That we both have population issues, and both are struggling to find answers. However, i never thought of the fact that when we make towns (after cutting foilage) that it fills up very quickly. Its very odd to think of what will happen when our space runs out.
Zachary Bluestein
ReplyDeleteConnections: This book has so far clearly exemplified how much the violation of human rights can affect society in such a forceful and, as is often the case, extreme way. After the British so ineffectively enforced many taxes and acts revolving around means to collect revenue, the colonists responded by unconventional and not always peaceful means of protest. Today, countries such as Egypt and Libya have citizens who decided that their government was unfair or unjust in some way -- so, just like the Colonists, they began to violently protest their higher power. In Egypt, the uprising in Cairo never boiled over into full-scale war, but in Libya, however, the rebels continue to rage against forces loyal to Libya's "leader", Muammar Gadhafi.
Visualize: I vividly pictured the stamp worker quitting as the icy eyes of the colonists burned a hole in his face. I can also easily recall images in my head from when Wood described the Indians attacking British outposts and then being slaughtered themselves soon after. Their wild faces and barbaric actions clashing with the organized and explicit actions of the British once again internalized themselves in my memory when the colonists enacted what became known as "The Boston Tea Party".
Turning Points: In these first two sections, there were indeed many turning points which continued to point in the direction of a full-blown revolution. Every act that the British would try to enforce would subsequently result in actions taken by the colonists to protest those acts. The British and the colonists grew apart, almost to the point of being enemies, as the ominous cloud of war grew darker and more prominent. These turning points eliminated the choices that the colonists had to cooperate with the British, for they would certainly be punished for their previous disobedience.
Differing Perspectives: Obviously, there are two main and easily discussable perspective on the British/Colonist relationship -- the British and the Colonists! The British are the ones supporting and regulating an excessively large army necessary to keep the colonists safe from Indians, gangs, thieves, and other unfortunate but deliberate events. They feel as if the colonists owe them something besides monstrous revenue in the trading of their natural resources, so the propose heavy taxes to try to continue to profit from the American colonies. In their mind, their actions were reasonable, justifiable, and politically correct. In the colonists' minds, however, these taxes were an unfair way for the crown to make even more money which was not deserved. They felt separate from the crown, and paying so much extra money to it felt useless and purely wrong. The colonists may have felt that their money was not necessary, as they probably didn't realize the extent of British expenses in America. They also might've felt that they were finally starting to prosper, but then the British just had to ruin it by taking their wealth away. In addition, these decisions were being made by the British parliament with no colonial say in the matter -- A.K.A, taxation without representation.
Commenting on Hayden Witucki's post about Through Their eyes: I completely agree. The colonists wanted a justified and libertarian government of their own in lieu of a ruling Monarch who lived thousands of miles away and no idea what the American experience was or how to appropriately regulate it. Those harsh acts made the colonists realize how powerless and oppressed they were by a selfish and rather dumb king.
Spencer Ahles
ReplyDeletePredict
While looking through the table of contents, I noticed that The American Revolution would begin in the first section telling about the origins. I predicted that it would tell of how and why people started moving and settling in the colonies and how this would affect Britain and the colonies in the future.
Connections
I instantly made a connection in the first chapter when I came to the section titled Economic Expansion. This told of the British imports, exports, and production of goods and of the economic expansion Britain took advantage of because of the great resources and amount of land in the colonies. This is when I remembered how the events leading to the revolution came to be. I made connections to previous years of learning and remembered the Stamp and Sugar Acts were being used to pay British debts and I remembered how the Boston Massacre and Boston Tea Party were possible acts of retaliation against opposing sides.
Differing Perspectives
When British Parliament passed the Stamp Act, Sugar Act, and Townshend Acts there are two perspectives that can be identified. The first is the people in the colonies. They saw these acts as unfair and they had no say in the passing of them. The British Parliament saw them as something that needed to be done to pay debts. The money from these taxes also helped pay for British soldiers that were in the colonies whose jobs were to help protect the colonies from Native Americans and any other possible danger. One could make a strong argument for either side of this conflict based on their perspective.
Change and Continuity
A lot has changed since the taxes put on the people of the colonies and taxes put on us today. The people have more of a say on things involving taxes today because we can elect people who share our common interest on issues like taxes, while in the time before the revolution British Parliament members were not elected and the citizens opinions did not count. We still are far away from complete control of the taxes and taxes are used for mostly the same things.
Responding to Zachary Bluestein’s comments on differing perspectives, I completely agree. I believe that looking back on the American Revolution with a neutral mind that one could justify the actions from either side and I believe both sides were acting as what they thought was fair.
Alexis Phaneuf
ReplyDeleteQuestions: Some questions I had were concerning the first paragraph under the section Origins. It claimed that America in the eighteenth century was uncivilized and "primitive", but then in the next sentence it states that "the colonists repeatedly felt pressed to apologize for the crudity of their society." I was wondering why the colonists felt that they had to apologize?
Predict: The book says that "People from different places in Europe had been allowed to settle in the colonies, and land had been given out freely." As I was reading this, I had made the prediction in my head that this would be a major problem later on down the road, and would cost the British lots of money, and possibly the cause for taxation later on.
Cause and Effect: An example of cause and effect would be when the colonists started settling more towards the west, and they started to take up the native's land, causing them to move their settlements as well. This also caused a huge war between the Indians and the white settlers.
Differing Perspectives: I agree with the colonists perspectives on their king in England. Since the king, after all, was in charge of the settlements in America, they felt as if the king was responsible for all the wrong that was going on.
Responding to Spencer Ahles's post: I also had the same predictions as you. I did like the fact that they started out with the origins to get a background into the causes of the revolution. I also remember learnging about the different taxations the british put onto the colonists, and the days that were spent talking about the retalliations against these taxes.
Jeff Schlichte
ReplyDeletePreview: Well just from the titles of the sections, I could tell that it would be about the beginnings of the Revolution, and why the colonists felt bullied, I guess you could say. It would also discuss the initial American resistance efforts and what the British did in return to that.
Differing Perspectives: The two perspectives that are probably the most obvious are the Colonist's and the British's when it came to the taxes that the British imposed on the Colonists. The British felt it a necessity to tax the colonists to pay off their debts from the French and Indian War, which was fought on American soil. While the colonists felt that the British should find somewhere else to get their money, because it was Great Britain's war, not the Americans.
Through Their Eyes: The colonists basically felt like the British were being extremely controlling, and that they were taking advantage of the power that they had. They were taking advantage of the colonists and using them only to better themselves and their own country.
Questions: One question I had was that, if the French and Indian War was fought to gain more land in North America for Britain, which in turn the colonists could use, and the British were taxing the Colonists to pay off for this war that they fought to gain land for them, wasn't it a little selfish of the Colonists to freak out about some of these taxes? I mean, the British fought the war to gain land for themselves, but that land would also benefit the colonists greatly. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but that's a little of what I got out of it.
In response to Alexis' comment on the differing perspectives, I totally agree and I think that's how the colonists felt about it also.
Ian Theiss
ReplyDeletePredict: through out the first few pages of the book you could tell that america would eventually become a problem for Britain. with the high rate of growth in the population and the money that the new world produced Britain would not be able to contain it.
Cause and Effect: Many people cause the revolution but there were a few that really got the ball going probobly the person high up there would be ben franklin with John Dickonsin and his pamphlet Letters From a Farmer in Pennsylvania.
Questions: One of my main questions was why did France give their only land in the new world over, yes i know that that was all the had to give in the new world but couldn't they have given something else in exchange for peace. My second question is wouldn't it have been smarter for the British to just take the taxes away. the only reason that money was there was for revenue, it wasn't benefiting the people.
In response to Jeff's comment on differing perspectives, i agree with you it doesn't really make sense to pay for a war the wasn't yours.
Caroline Gasao
ReplyDeleteConnections: In the section titled Economic Expansion, Wood explained about how emigrants from all over Europe were settling in the colonies, causing the population to increase and therefore growing the economy in America. He also went into detail about how transportation and communication greatly improved. Mail routes were being scheduled, better roads were being made, and stagecoach and packet boat routes were also being established. As I read this I immediately thought of how transportation and communication have greatly improved in our day. We now have planes and cars that let us travel nearly anywhere we wish to go. The Internet and TV also greatly help in spreading news to different corners of the world.
Importance: Colonists were very angered when Parliament passed the Stamp Act because they had no say in it. The British argued that the Americans were to follow the acts made by Parliament through “virtual” representation. Hearing this claim, colonists exclaimed that they wanted to directly vote for their legislatures and they also wanted to be represented proportionate to the size of their population. This is important because it is the base idea of a republican government, which is what the colonists were fighting for in the end.
Cause & Effect: The British loss of the Seven Years’ War caused them to fall into great debt. In effect, they heavily taxed the colonies, passing acts (ex. the Stamp Act) that placed levies on certain items they bought.
Through Their Eyes: As the economy in America was exploding, the colonists were also doing well. They had more money to spend and therefore could afford more expensive and high-end products that never could before. If I were in their shoes, I would’ve been very excited and proud of the fact that I was doing so well economically.
Responding to Ian's prediction, I agree with you. The British didn't know what they were getting themselves into with the colonies. If anything, they should've helped the colonists start a new life in America and then leave them to be independent instead of causing so much problems with taxation and eventually all out war.
Jason Parde
ReplyDeletepreview: From skimming over the chapter titles it was obvious that the start of the book would be more focused on setting a general picture of the conditions at the time before the revolution actually began.
Questions: I question as to how increasing population in the america's changed britains perspective of america. only a changed perspective of the americas would be a valid reason to change their policies on how they deal with them.
cause/effect:the large areas of land that were available to people made them wish to expand their families as to provide more help on their farms and in their workshops. this change mentality, partly out of want and necessity, caused the population to skyrocket during the time leading up to the revolution. this great increase in population drove the british to see the americas as a more profitable place for them, which cause them to change their policies on taxation.
through their eyes: people in the past had a different view on their world. People in the America's saw all the open space and saw it ripe for the taking. Everyone believed that they had a chance to make a good life for themselves just through hard work. This inspired them to have a more freedom oriented view on the world than the people in Britain, and the rest of the world, had at that time.
In response to caroline's comment on his prediction, i believe that it was not quite evident that america would be a problem, if Britain had taken a more accepting approach of America's interest, i believe that a revolution would not have been quite necessary.
Katrina Raskie
ReplyDeletePreviews/ Predicitions:
When I first started to get ready to read the book i wanted to get a good idea of what the author was first going to go over. I noticed the first section was titled "Origins" so i automatically assumed that it would be about the start of the revolution and the roots of conflict that lead up to the war. Then i looked at Chapter 2. I guessed that this was the time period that war was more prone to happen because more conflicts began to reach the surface. I looked at the “Pattern of Settlements in the Colonies” right in the beginning and it seems as though my prediction is correct. Another reason i thought this was because of the British Reaction due to the early conflicts of growth and reform.
Questions:
The main question I had while reading was why didnt people think and plan ahead sooner? Why didn't more people move away quicker to avoid the problems of expansion and over population? I realized as I continued reading that they didnt feel like they had a need to move or adjust their lifestyle so they just stayed how they were.
Cause and effect:
The biggest cause and effect I noticed was the American resistance. The Sugar Act was huge, because Colonies/ colonists didnt even get the opportunity to explain that the British were harming their economy with foreign trade as well. The effect seemed small in the moment, but it helped force further resistance. Then came the Stamp Act. After this, the colonists realized that trying to petition against the parliament was pointless. The effect of this was that everyone became much more violent and took greater actions to resist. Then more and more acts were made and there was more and more resistance until war was the only option.
Turning points:
Sticking with the Stamp Act, it cause a major turning point.By enforcing the Stamp Act, it took away choices for colonists because they could not trade or sell as they once could. Taxes increased dramatically which affected colonists everyday lives. This cause tension amongst the rich and poor alike.
In response to Jasons "through their eyes", I strongly agree that the idea that everyone has a fair chance at a good life truly did inspire them to strive for freedom.
Alexandria Lee Fehlandt
ReplyDeletePreview/Predict:
To preview the American Revolution novel I flipped and scanned through the pages, I also glanced at the tabel of contents and looked at what the chapters were titled. I predicted the first few chapters were about where the American Revolution rooted from and when the war was going to most likley occur.
Questions:
While flipping through the book and starting to read the novel there was a word the frequently popped up. Its a word that we should all hear about but I took the effort to look it up and find what the word truly means. The word Revolution. The dictionary definition of revolution is a forciable overthrow of a government or social order for a new system.
Thinking like a Historian:
CAUSE AND EFFECT:
In the 1760's the British were forcing power onto the 13 colonies wanting us to have a better economy. They did things like regulate our trade, and force us to trade with them for certain things. The more controlling the British got, the more the American colonies started to desire independence. The effect of the british enforcing acts on the colonies caused the colonies to come together for a common goal, independence. the colonies then had a reason for rebellion, and something they could use as a reason for the conflict.
Turning Point:
the turning point to cause the revolutionary war can be debated by many. To some, it could have started back to the stamp acts, where the colonists were forced to pay taxes on papers such as newspapers and doccuments. I believe the turning point happened when blood was first shed at lexington and concord. This was a battle that started because british troops were forced into Boston and were asked to gather weapons that the colonists had. This was in 1775.
I agree with wasanna that the Boston Massacre was an accident. Although it caused a lot of chaos, it was an accident and would have not been a big deal if the painting of the boston massacre wasn't in the paper. It was just used as propaganda to make tensions worst between the colonies and Britain.
Nao Shoua Thor
ReplyDeletePredicting: When seeing the word origins, most people would think that Woods would start out with how the the problems between Britain and The Colonies started and I also predict that it would have some information about the French and Indian War because most of the problems that they had started after the Seven Year War was brought to an end.
For the second part titled American resistance, I would predict that Woods would tell how Britain started putting all these kinds of Taxes and Acts on the Colonies and show the reaction of the Colonies to every one of them.
Different Perspective: The two most common sides that people can see is through the eyes of the British and the Colonists. British's perspective is that they have allowed many people to move to the New World and have a fresh new start, and that they have been helping and protecting the Colonists from danger such as the Indians and Gangs by sending their own troops over there and they believe that the Colonists should give them a little something back such as by helping pay some of the expenses that they have accumulated over the years such as from the Seven Year War. From this war also they were able to obtain more land for the Colonists to expand too. From the Colonist's view, Britain is just becoming like a tyrant, they are just passing acts and taxes without their consent. They are becoming more controlled by Parliament and they start to having other thoughts like freedom, independence.
Turning Point: The turning point is different for many people. It could have started from the Stamp Act, Sugar Act, because the British were putting more pressure on the Colonists with each Act that is passed and pushing them to eventually want their own independence or maybe even the Boston Massacre because that was where the very first blood was spilled from British soldiers "accidentally" shot and killed some of the Colonists. This is where people started to believe more and think more about the issues for independence.
Miranda Resch
ReplyDeleteReading thoughts:
As I started reading I had a base of what that section would be about from it’s title “origin’s”. I knew that it would explain to the readers the key points in which sparked the American Revolution; however what I wasn’t prepared for were just home many different events caused the spark to emerge into a war between the colonies and their mother country.
I agree with the things that Peyton had to say about how life changed in many ways for the people who moved to the colonies. They got a sense of freedom and were put into a whole new style of living and they took full advantage of it. These people began to explore a world that was completely new to them and with being so disconnected from the England people began to work with this freedom eventually leading to the revolution.
Reading like a historian:
When the French and Indian war ended the British put many hardships upon those living in the colonies like unfair tax and having to house British troops. This had gone on for 12 years until the people revoked and the American Revolution began. I believe that if England wasn’t so forceful with the people in the colonies right after the French and Indian war then the relationship between those in England and the Colonies wouldn’t have got so badly so quickly.
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