The Pre-War Era

The United States experienced a moderate change in the treatment of the colonies, slavery, and women’s role in society. The Pre-War era lasted from the 1686 to 1756. The Post-War lasted from from 1686 to 1763. The Seven Years War marked a moderate change in the treatment of the colonies, slavery, and the role of women in society from the Pre-War era to the Post-War era.

The Pre-War era lasted from 1700 to 1756. In 1686 Britain started the Dominion of New England. This dominion was England’s attempt at strengthening its control on the colonies by forming the northern colonies into a union called the Dominion of England. Under the Dominion, after a highly criticized act of putting down Monmouth’s Rebellion, Percy Kirke was stripped of his

A consequence of the the protests was a new law that only allowed one single town meeting a year, only for electing officials. This decrease in local power was also hated. Andros then had Connecticut’s governor to surrender the colonial charter and Andros continued to run everything according to the charter. New York and West and East Jersey were added to the dominions. The adding of Jersey was uneventful, because of their colony being so far from the powers that represented them, also known as virtual representation. Many Massachusetts peoples petitioned for the restoration of the Massachusetts charter. This spread throughout the colonies and eventually lead to the dissolution of the Dominion of New England. Later as the revolutionary attitudes of the colonies began, slaves also wished for life changes. During the protests against the Stamp Act, slaves were crying “Liberty”, more concerned about freedom than the Stamp Act. At this time about one-fifth of the people in the rebelling colonies were enslaves, 500,000. By April 20, many conspiracies of slave rebellion came about. Virginia’s royal governor Lord Dunmore saw this as an opportunity and removed gunpowder from the

Slaves from not only Virginia but the other colonies began rallying together for Britain. On November 14, 1775, Dunmore’s Ethiopian Regiment, the African American troops, fought the colonists militiamen at Princess Anne County and the blacks won. The next day Dunmore issued freedom to any slave able and willing to bear arms for the King. Most the slaves died of Smallpox within a year but the ones who survived earned freedom by fighting for the British throughout the war. Seemingly powerless Americans actually played a crucial role in the revolution. During and before, women’s role in society was another crucial point in the revolution. Women could never vote or own property. During the revolution, particularly the boycotting period, those products vital to the colonists that were boycotted were made by women. Women supported boycotts and it would not have been successful without them. Women also served as maids, cooks, nurses, secret soldiers, and spies. During the battle times, women tended to wounds, performed surgery, and cleaned the hospitals. Women as nurses and cooks invented things to help the patients