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Reasons for American Independence

In: Historical Events

Submitted By rrmullner
Words 1745
Pages 7
Ryan Mullner
Professor Smith
American Revolution Midterm, question A
20 February 2014
What Brought Americans to Declare Independence? 1607 marked the settlement of Jamestown, the first permanent English colony in North America. It struggled in the beginning, just as previous colonies like the one at Roanoke did. However, it endured the first few years and eventually became a successful colony. By 1732 twelve other British colonies existed in North America. Each had been founded for its own reason: Massachusetts as a refuge for puritans; Georgia as a destination for debtors. Despite these differences they had several important uniting features. The king of England granted and gave legitimacy to each colony’s charter. Each had a royal governor. Each created their political and social institutions based on British principles. In general North American colonists admired the British constitution and were proud to call themselves Englishmen. Several English wars resulted in bloodshed in America: Queen Anne’s War, King George’s War, and the French and Indian War. Rebellions also occurred occasionally, e.g. Bacon’s Rebellion. Taking into account all of this, the American colonies prospered under British rule and existed in relative peace and harmony with their mother country. Beginning after the end of the French and Indian War, the status quo began to change. In the thirteen years from 1763 to 1776 Americans went from content British citizens to rebels fighting for independence. Because Americans were able to evolve their own ideas about the natural rights of men, adopt their own philosophy on government, establish their own political institutions, and build a robust economy while Britain had a hands off approach to governing them, great tensions arose when Britain tried to assert more centralized control - tensions that eventually led to the war for independence.

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