America From 1763-75, Essay Example

In 1763, the peace of Paris was signed, which ended the Seven Years War (Middleton, 2011). At this particular point, Britain was considered to be at the height of their power as they had proved their dominance over France and Spain. This also marked the time period leading up the American Revolution, which would officially start in 1775. The Seven Years War doubled Britain’s national debt to £128,000,000, which required them to search for alternative sources of revenue (Middleton, 2011). The British felt the American Colonies needed to pay for protection provided specifically to New England, Pennsylvania and New York during the war. As Britain began to maintain a constant military presence in the colonies and impose unfair taxation policies in the American colonists, they felt more like slaves than partners in an empire and so actions of revolt, non-violent and some violent began to occur.

Some examples of non-violent revolt could be seen in the protests of 1765, at the Virginia House of Burgesses where Patrick Henry publicly argued that the actions of the British were not only unconstitutional but also against the rights of Englishmen (Middleton, 2011). An example of a violent act of opposition to the British policies can be seen in the act of Bostonians taking to the streets and rioting, by destroying properties, specifically the home of Lieutenant Governor, Thomas Hutchinson (Middleton, 2011). I personally think the most significant act was a non-violent act of protest carried out just following the Boston riot, which involved a joint protest of all the colonies who sent delegates to New York to announce publicly they would stand up for, “the undoubted right of Englishmen, that no taxes should be imposed on them, but with their own consent (Middleton, 2011),” by refusing to use stamps from England in 1765, which actually resulted in the British having to close the law courts and their ports. This by far was the most effective act of opposition by the Americans and it was a non-violent one as well.

Work Cited

Middleton, R.(2011) The war of american independence, 1775-1783. Harlow: Pearson. Print. <Retreived from>http://catalogue.pearsoned.co.uk/assets/hip/gb/hip_gb_pearsonhighered/samplechapter/0582229421.pdf