Discuss The Relationship Between Great Britain And American Colonists Salutary Neglect

Before 1750, there was salutary neglect from Great Britain towards the colonies. Meaning Great Britain didn’t show any attention to the colonies, thus the colonies were self-governed and didn’t have to listen to Great Britain. Enlightened ideas that came to American colonies before the war gave the consists ideas of freedom and rights. In the time period 1740-1766, the relations between Great Britain and American colonies were altered drastically due to the French and Indian war because Britain started taking over the colonies, Britain was trying to get out of debt by using the American colonies, and lastly the American colonies thought they had freedom of the land they won in the war. The political relations between American colonies and

The king’s treasurers, a.k.a the tax collectors, blamed the colonists for Great Britain being in debt and said that it was the colonies fault mercantilism weren’t working (doc F). In attempt to get out of debt, Britain enforced many acts such as the navigational act, sugar act, and tea act. The navigational act was enforced to prohibit the colonies from trading with anyone other than each other and Great Britain. The sugar act was enforced to try and stop the importation of molasses, so they taxed the sugar that the colonists imported. The tea act forced colonists to buy tea from the east India tea company. All these acts made the colonists very unhappy. Another act was the stamp act, which was enforced by Great Britain, and it made the colonies pay taxes on everything they printed. Benjamin Franklin wrote a letter to Hughs in attempt to tell Pennsylvania colonists that they are trying to get rid of the stamp act (doc G). Franklin urged Hughs to not do anything rash while they were trying to execute the stamp act. Also he mentions how the colonies will be very displeased and that Hughs would become “unpopular” if the stamp act continued to be enforced. Similarly (doc H), is a Pennsylvania newspaper talking about how the newspaper is going to end, due to the stamp act. This was an example of a

This was an altered relation between the two because after the war the enlightened idea of individualism came about. For example, George Washington (doc C) shows individualism because he doesn’t want to serve for Great Britain necessarily, but rather to gain a higher social standing. This idea of trying to get a higher social standing was an enlightened idea that came about after the French and Indian War. Reverend Thomas Barnard also exemplifies some sort of individualism in his sermon to Massachusetts (doc E). He was a Massachusetts politician who was offering his belief that the colonies were to be praised because they are the ones who gained the new land and gained freedom. Reverend Barnard also shares these enlightened ideas that the colonies were the ones who won the war not Britain. For example, he mentions how the colonies gained liberty because “our Fathers purchased with the Toil of their whole Lives”. Meaning that the colonies gained liberty because they were the ones who fought against the Indians in battles such as the Pequot war, which was the war fought between the American colonies and the Pequot nation (the American colonies were the victors in this war and destroyed the Pequot nation). Therefore, the ideological relation between the two transformed due to the new