Document-Based Essay_AP US History

           Before the outbreak of “French-Indian War”, three wars between England and France broke out primarily in Europe. From the fourth war, the French-Indian War, from 1754 to 1761, England and France recognized the importance of their colonies and sent troops to American continent. Since then, the wars became the starting point of conflicts between Great Britain and the colonies because of political, economical and ideological impacts of the wars on the North America.

          By the end of the war, the British changed several policies about the colonies. First of all, salutary neglect ended, which meant the start of Great Britain’s direct control over North America. In 1696, “Board of Trade” was formed to investigate smuggling and recommend political appointments, but it fell into disuse until 1760s and neglected the Americans. However, Great Britain started to enforce tyrannical laws called the Navigation Acts over colonies, and this led Americans, who once were content and tolerated the acts practiced by Great Britain (Document C), to dislike British law and government.

           There also was a big change in the territories of American continent. As presented in Document A, French left the continent, transferring the control of Louisiana and New Orleans to Spanish. British gained everything East of Mississippi River as the result of “Treaty of Paris (1763)”, which was made after the war and gave England significant territory to rule. British government then sent more troops to protect new boarders from Spanish and other European nations which were watching for a chance to take over some parts of the continent. This induced greater tensions between the colonies and British government because of Quartering Act, which the colonists had to house British troops stationed in America. This act was highly disliked by Americans because obnoxious British soldiers acted as symbols of tyranny to them. “Proclamation Line of 1763” even made the situation worse. (Document B) Since the “Proclamation of 1763” was about forbidding the colonists from moving west of the Appalachian Mountains, Great Britain exerted direct control over the continent. After the war, the political changes on the colonies evoked the changes in attitudes of Americans to “do no more duty” (Document D) to Great Britain and later start to protest.

           Aftermath of war on economics also influenced the changes in Colonial-British relationships. In 1760, King George III treated the colonies strictly economically, by passing several acts. “The Currency Act” was banning printing of money in individual colonies. This act was first passed to avoid inflation and production of counterfeit money, but later it tightened credit and harmed economy. “The Sugar Act” was an indirect tax imposed on foreign sugar and other luxuries. It raised money for the crown and enforced the Navigation Acts simultaneously. Those who violated this act were tried in admiralty courts by British judges without jury systems, and this angered Americans, for the trials were mostly unfair for the colonies and . “The Stamp Act” (1765) was a direct tax on all paper goods such as cards, legal titles and newspapers. The purpose of this act was to raise funds to support British military forces in the colonies, and thus it provoked the colonies to protest to repeal the act. “Stamp Act Congress,” headed by Patrick Henry and James Otis, was organized to demand no importation from England. Other than that, “Sons of Liberty” and “Daughters of Liberty”, formed under the idea of “No taxation without representation” effectively boycotted British products which later on resulted in Great Britain repealing the Stamp Act. Under the burden of high war debts and such acts, the colonists suffered from “dreadful, doleful, dismal, dolorous and dollar-less” life. (Document H)

           In addition to political and economical impacts, ideological one was also a big deal in changes in the relationship between the British and the colonists. The Enlightenment in the 1600s heavily influenced on the colonists. John Locke, an English philosopher, stressed the importance of inalienable rights on life, liberty and property and that the citizens have a right to protest against government which failed to protect these natural rights. Locke’s ideas contributed to the revolution later on.

           Changes in the relationship between the British Empire and the colonists were caused by political, economical, and ideological changes on American continent after having “French-Indian War.” The British government practiced strict and tyrannical control over the colonies in each fields, while the Americans continuously expressed their anger and indignation. The harsh conditions led to the occurrence of American Revolution to get liberty back.