Essay #1
History

The War of Independence was precipitated by various economic, political and social trends. The political trends emerged during the first half of the eighteenth century. The economic trends became readily apparent a decade before the American colonies rebelled against Britain. The social trends were best exemplified by implementation of the Quebec Act in 1774. A combination of all of these trends led to increasingly widespread resistance among the American colonies, which gave rise to rebellion followed ultimately by revolution. During the first half of the eighteenth century the political trends emerged. The Americans’ experience with government by actual representation caused extreme scepticism of British Parliamentary government claims to virtual representation. However, the most direct political confrontations during this period of time focused on the role of the governors. The governors were appointed by the king or the proprietor, and therefore the governors’ interests were directed towards their British patrons and not the American colonies which they represented. Governors exercised great power over the colonial assemblies. These contradictory political ties with the British empire did not prevent rapid expansion of British settlement by the middle of the eighteenth century. At the end of the French and Indian War in 1763, which culminated in British victory, a great patriotic devotion to the British empire spread among the colonies. However, the war left Britain with a significant debt and a vastly increased new territory to administer. In order to deal with these issues British officials attempted to change the way they governed the colonies. These changes resulted in a colonial trend away from patriotism and toward resentment and outrage. In order to deal with new territories a substantial body of