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Compare And Contrast The Tension Between The Colonists And The British

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Colonists vs. British: Rising Tensions The great American Revolutionary War may not have ever occurred if it had not been for the dense tension between the American colonists and the British. The colonists and the British had numerous negative encounters with one another, and these encounters helped pave the way to the American Revolutionary War. “Thinking that the colonies should help pay for past war debts and for the future cost of keeping English soldiers for the defense, Parliament passed a series of acts to raise money from the colonies”(Benson 182). Parliament passed two acts on the colonists including: the Sugar Act, an act in which placed taxes on wine and molasses, and the Stamp Act, an act in which required stamps to be placed on …show more content…

The colonists had decided that they had enough of Britain and the King being unfair. All of the colonies were unhappy with the fact that they were being taxed without representation in parliament. “Disregarding American protests that the colonies could not be taxed because they were not represented in Parliament, in March 1765 the British government enacted a stamp tax to take effect in the American colonies on November 1, 1765”(Alexander 174). Many of the colonists were not happy with the Tea Act that was passed to help the East India Company that was struggling. The Boston Tea Party created tension due to the fact that colonists disrespected British cargo. The Boston Tea Party took place on December 16, 1773. The colonists dressed up as American Indians, and they proceeded to sneak onto the British ships. The colonists dumped 342 chests of tea into the Boston Harbor. This was once again an act of rebellion by the colonists who were tired of the British …show more content…

It riled up those who were not already fed up with the unfair British laws and taxes. Thomas Paine published Common Sense in 1776. This published document was the first document to truly give any type of hope for the colonies’ independence from Great Britain. Common Sense was split into four sections. The pamphlet covered different topics including: the English constitution not being worthy of worship, the monarchy of Great Britain not caring about the colonies, how successful the colonies were, and the colonies could win a war against the British. Paine’s words were attacking to the king. “And as a man who is attached to a prostitute is unfitted to choose or judge of a wife, so any prepossession in favour of a rotten constitution of government will disable us from discerning a good one”(Paine ***). The document went for sale on January 10, 1776, and it sold out 150,000 copies within a time span of two weeks. Many of the Patriots agreed with the pamphlet, but the Loyalist, on the other hand, were not so happy with the document. “It is an outrageous insult on the common sense of Americans, an insidious attempt to poison their minds and seduce them from their loyalty and truest interest”(***). Arguments between Patriots and Loyalist arose once

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Colonists despised the Stamp Act of 1765 for this reason, as it hindered the liberties they could exercise because of the unjustified financial burden it posed. The colonists peaceful call for reform of English legislation through the means of the Stamp Act Congress and Ben Franklin’s testimony indicated the initial stages of a revolution. Although, at this point, the colonists did not desire the consequence of war with England, the hatred for their mother country was building, and it eventually forced the Parliament to repeal the Stamp Act. Franklin had warned the House of Commons of the colonists displeasure with the Stamp Act by saying “A total loss of the respect and affection the people of America bear to [England],” and furthermore, a loss “of all the commerce that depends on that respect and affection” would occur if England remained stagnant. Colonists largely believed the taxes imposed on them were not only overpriced, but also violated the basic “natural rights’.

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In dire need of paying off war debt, the British Parliament decided to tax the colonists due to the debt being their fault. Along with taxing the colonists, the East India Company boosted the income for the Parliament and benefited the George III by hurting the colonists economically by enacting the tea act. Blending “lethal politics, personalities, and economics”3 the American Revolution was bound to happen between the colonists and British, having little supporters of the idea of war. With the tension build up between the colonists and British Parliament, the Boston Tea Party occurred with the colonists rebelling against the Parliament’s political decision towards the colonists, symbolizing the starting point for a revolution and a step

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Mobilization of colonies in support of nonimportation gave ordinary Americans an opportunity to participate in colonial protests. The colonists were not happy with the importation law and caused further disagreement with the policymakers. After a heated debate, Parliament repealed the Stamp Act. The Townshend Tea Tax and Boston massacre saw the colonies in fear of being enchained again with taxes that had no representation.

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Before the pamphlet was published, nobody was brave enough to denounce loyalism and publicly announce that colonists should be engaged in revolutionary battles. Not even John Adams spoke a word that proclaimed independence until “Common Sense” was published. The “Declaration of Independence” that’s written by Thomas Jefferson was highly influenced by “Common Sense” that Thomas Paine wrote. The second continental congress voted and agreed on signing the declaration of independence on July 2, 1776, and was officially recognized on July 4, 1776. If Thomas Paine didn’t propose “Common Sense”, most likely the declaration of independence wouldn’t be signed, which may lead to America not having their own freedom.

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Patriot and Loyalists are two very different sides of points of view. Patriots support America and becoming an independent nation, while the loyalists  support the king and staying one big country. The Patriot s and the Loyalists both thought the othe rwas in the wrong.       The Loyalists think that the Patriots are in the wrong because they are overlooking there own rights and intrests. " ... that they have overlooked the rights of Great Britain and our own interest. "

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Due to his many experiences while living in Great Britain, he grew a desire to fight for the oppressed and often questioned the authority the British Monarchy had over the American colony. Thomas Paine wrote an influential Pamphlet “Common Sense” a scathing attack on the monarchial tyranny over the American colony and the significance of American independence. Thomas Paine’s ideas in this pamphlet were not original, however were more accessible to the masses due to the clear and direct way he wrote. His pamphlet helped to inspire The Declaration of Independence written by Thomas Jefferson. The Declaration of Independence contains a list of grievances against King George III and justifications for the assertion of the right for independence.

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Thomas Paine wrote the pamphlet Common Sense in 1776, the year in which the American revolution took place. Paine wrote this as a call to the American people, to get them to join in the movement to separate from Great Britain. In 1776, the American colonies were ruled by English monarch King George III, who many viewed as an unfair tyrant who completely disregarded the needs of the colonists, and whose reign was a “...long and violent abuse of power…” Paine agreed, as he believed that the colonists were “...grievously oppressed…” and were not granted adequate representation, nor seen as the British citizens which the colonists believed that they were. Motivated by distaste for the English monarchy, over the treatment of the American colonies,

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Common sense struck a resounding chord within the American conscience, as it was hugely influential and convinced many american colonists that the time had finally come to break away from british rule. In fact, the timing couldn’t have been better, only a few days before its release, King george delivered his opening speech to parliament calling for suppression of the american rebellion. If the American revolution were to succeed , the common people( farmers, merchants, soldiers,etc,) had to understand its causes, and common sense provided a comprehensible defence of the revolution. Paine began by criticizing ruler who violated, rather than that protected, the rights of their citizens, which led to the first principal theme, the evils of king george III, who Paine denounced as the royal brute of britain, he charged that the British Monarch was directly responsible for many injustices inflicted on the colonies , an argument Thomas jefferson would further develop in the declaration of independence. He hoped the accusations would provide an ideological justification against King George III that would gain support from colonists over anger issues such as the imposition of taxes without consent and suspension of trial by jury or the hiring of mercenaries.

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In this pamphlet Thomas Paine wanted the colonist around him to see what was happening. He said that they must open their eyes and see that they must rise up against the king if they are

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In the 1760s and 70s, tensions were rising between England and its colonies in America. Many colonists were upset with the way they were being treated, as Parliament in England kept on implementing new taxes such as the Sugar Act and the Stamp Act, and added unfair policies that would negatively affect the colonists’ lives such as the Quartering Act. This was seen as extremely unfair by the colonists, since they had no form of representation in Parliament, so the colonists had no say in what sort of laws were voted on. Because of this, many colonists started to rise up and try to start a revolution. However, they needed far more people in the colonies to agree with them in order for their cause to have a significant impact.

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Another reason it was so influential is because it was sold very cheaply so as many people could read it as possible. It also used “common” language and was not seen as aristocratic like the writings of Jefferson. Thomas Paine also swayed many colonists into revolution because of his anger. In Common Sense Thomas Paine seems very angry and emotionally distraught which to many people made the cause seem more apparent. Here is an example of his anger “But where, says some, is the King of America?

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Thomas Paine once said,” Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one (pg 3)”. Paine, amongst many influential authors, was born in Norfolk, England. He was a political activist, philosopher and revolutionary, and known as one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. He believes in the America breaking away from their ties with England and promoted the independence of the United States. Paine published two influential pamphlets at the start of the Revolutionary War, one being “Common Sense”.

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On January 10, 1776 (during the American Revolution) Thomas Paine published a pamphlet titled “Common Sense”. In this he sets his arguments in favor of American independence, the pamphlet was written in clear and persuasive prose. It inspired people in the Thirteen colonies to declare and fight for egalitarian government from Great Britain and because of this the pamphlet was an immediate sensation. The pamphlet was originally published anonymously and was one of the most influential pamphlets in America.

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Paine wrote the pamphlet in order to convince the American people that the time had come for independence from Great Britain. In turn, it did in fact encourage the American opinion toward independence (Ms. Susan’s Powerpoint in Dual Enrollment). What were some of the main points of Paine’s pamphlet though? Many main ideas are developed throughout Thomas Paine’s Common Sense, but what was one that stood out to me? “I have

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Arguably, these taxes were only placed by Britain to “milk” the colonies for profit. Ben Franklin responded to the Stamp Act, writing a letter to John Hughs to discuss efforts to get it repealed (Document G). . In a way, the series of taxes applied by Parliament would spark a fire within the colonists and begin the American Revolution, where Americans finally say enough is enough. The time had come for political and ideological change, where the colonies would break from their motherland, Great Britain. In conclusion, the French Indian War would kick off a series of political, economic, and ideological events that changed the relationship between Britain and its colonies forever.

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