Power began to change hands in 1767, and with this came new policies. Charles Townshend had become Treasurer and he proposed a new plan to get out of the depression that England was sliding into. With the Townshend Act, the colonies were more restricted than ever before. Under the Act it was deemed illegal to buy certain goods from England such as “tea, paper, glass, red and white lead, and painter’s colors.” (LEP,5-3a). While this may have become the norm for the colonies, what was different about this particular tax is that Townshend decided to remove the tax in Britain so that way it would “offset with the new revenue to be collected in the colonies.” (LEP,5-3a) It is obvious that the motivation of this was impure, the preamble stated his …show more content…
Various newspapers called for a ban on imported British goods and non-consumption of British goods and more home manufactures (LEP,5-3b). Boston, Massachusetts once again set the stage for rebellion, “its assembly petitioned the King, not Parliament, against the new measures. Without waiting for a reply, it also sent a Circular Letter to the other assemblies, urging them to pursue “constitutional measures” of resistance” (LEP5-3b) against different taxes and use the profits from the Townshend Act to pay their political figure heads. With the Boston Massacre, British soldiers murdering innocent people simply by mistake, this was a turning point in regards to public opinion. In addition to this, Lord North prompted Parliament to repeal the Townshend duties, all but the one on tea. Colonists were left …show more content…
There was no one common group. The colonies had a sense of diversity. One thing that differentiates America from other countries is that there is no one religion, race, there is no one common group. The Revolution was also unique in the sense that it involved everyone whether rich or poor, white or black, young or old, women and men. What is Tthe unifying factor amongst the citizens is the identity of being an American and we are a the melting pot of diversity. The American Revolution is the ultimate story of an underdog. People from all over the world flocked to this country prior to independence for refuge, “this new world hath been the asylum for the persecuted lovers of civil and religious liberty from every part of Europe” (Thomas Paine, Common Sense, pg. 20). The Revolution was fought by common people from humble beginnings, this in effect created a society of equals amongst white adult men. In England, white adult men are referred to as subjects. Citizens by definition are regarded as equal in a republic (Lecture #9) whereas a subject is subjected to the ideals and a hereditary-hierarchy put in place by someone who is deemed more powerful than you. This is a revolutionary concept to emerge out of the revolution. Thomas Jefferson used this language throughout the language of the Declaration of Independence. He writes “he has constrained our fellow citizens…” (Declaration of