How Did The French And Indian War Contribute To The Major Alterations

Throughout the course of history, Britain and its colony in America were never truly one united being leading to major alterations after the French and Indian War. Firstly, the roots of the major alterations can be traced to the early days of the colonies. Many colonies were founded off people who believed that they would have a better life in an unknown land, showing their desperateness. Slightly further into colonial history, Britain would dump its prisoners in the American colonies. Because of this, it can be seen that Britain saw the American colonies as a garbage dump of the ‘failures of England’. As the colonies advanced, the colonists would come to see themselves as the cutting edge of the British Empire, while the British thought otherwise.

There are many instances during the war that dispel the myth of British invincibility and prove they are not as strong and almighty as they were perceived. One example is General Braddock’s loss during his attempt to overtake Fort Duquesne, in which he was severely injured and his army forced to retreat. This made it apparent that the British were not an unstoppable force and could be resisted. This inspired the colonists to have the will to resent the British, as seen with their complaints of how they were treated. The soldiers “though [they were] Englishmen born, [they] were debarred Englishmen's liberty” (Document C). The colonist soldiers were not given the same treatment as those who were from Britain, despite being promised the equal treatment. This pushed the colonists further into the feeling that they needed to protest and go against the British for their unfair treatment. The immense amount of taxes placed upon the colonists angered them even more and caused them to attempt to appeal such actions. One colonist, Benjamin Franklin, agreed that “the Stamp Act… we [propose] to get it repeal’d” (Document F). Once again the there was pushback from the colonists to lessen British interference in the colonies, so that they could be more independent. The large amount of resentment from the colonists resulted from events that occurred

After the war England dominated a large portion of the North American continent (Doc A). This event inspired conflict with the Indians as colonists migrated to the west. Pontiac’s Uprising resulted from these events, displaying the disdain the Indians felt for the colonists. Along with this Cantessago, Chief of the Onondaga Nation of the Iroquois Confederacy in a speech to representatives of Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia in 1742 commenting that, “You People daily settle on these Lands, and spoil our Hunting. We must insist on your Removing them, as you know they have no Right to settle.” (Doc B). This display of intolerance towards the colonists settling the Native’s lands foreshadowed Pontiac’s Uprising and the violence between the two groups. In order to ease the tensions Britain made the Proclamation of 1763, which stated that colonists could not settle past the Appalachian mountains. The Americans were outraged by this and defied this political act and continued to flood the West with settlers. This was not the only outrage in America. Later Britain created the Stamp Act to collect money from the colonists to ease the debt that accumulated from the French and Indian War. Ben Franklin in a letter to John Hughs in 1765 comments that there is support to get the act repealed and that even though the success of the repeal is uncertain if the act were to continue Hughs’ would gain