Here are some informative websites on the Revolution:
PBS Liberty!
Library of Congress page on the American Revolution
Declaration of Independence at ushistory.org
Howard Zinn's view of the American Revolution
Here are some questions for you to consider as we cover the topic of the American Revolution.
Please post a response to one or more of these questions.
1) Was the American Revolution justified or not justified?
2) Was the American Revolution a radical revolution?
3) Were the violent actions (i.e. tarring and feathering) of patriots against other colonists who did not support the cause justified?
4) Was the American Revolution inevitable? (i.e. - Would the colonists, after about 150 years of some political freedom, demand independence even if Britain had not passed the taxes and other laws that it did?)
5) The Declaration of Independence lays out a long list of problems that they had with the King of England. Was King George the person responsible for all of the oppression of the colonies?
6) Did the colonists exhaust all measures of a peaceful resolution or were they too eager to separate from England?
7) Was the American Revolution fundamentally flawed since it did not enhance the rights of African-Americans and women?
Join or Die - This was a cartoon from Benjamin Franklin Pennsylvania Gazette 12 years before the Declaration of Independence (1754) in which the colonies are being urged to set up some type of centralized government to deal with the threat of Native Americans. It would later be used as a symbol for the American Revolution.
Gadsden flag - This symbol was used by the first Marines in the Revolutionary War. Notice there are 13 rattles at the tail.
Answer to question #1:
ReplyDeleteI believe the American Revolution was not justified. I think the colonist have part blame in the debt Britain accumulated, the war was fought to protect the colonist and it is not fair to just gain protection at no cost.
Answer to question #3:
I do not believe the violent actions of patriots against other colonist who did not support the cause justified. Those violent actions pose them as hypocrites, if they believe so strongly in freedom and liberty then why wasn't everyone entitled to their own opinion?
Thanks for having the courage to start the dialogue on this blog Monica. You have got some interesting ideas. I understand your argument that the colonists should help pay the costs of the French and Indian War (Seven Years War) since they clearly did benefit from it. Should we therefore conclude that the colonists had no legitimate grievances with England?
ReplyDeleteYour point about the hypocrisy of some of the patriots is well taken. Why might some of them find it necessary to take such extreme actions? (hint - What is the punishment for treason?)
I'd love to see some other students defend or take issue with any of Monica's arguments or mine for that matter. As long as it is done in a constructive and polite manner this type of dialogue can help us grasp a deeper understanding of the subject matter.
Question #3:
ReplyDeleteI think they were too eager ro seperate from england because they realized that England was taking advantage of them and was making a profit on the tax. some reason why i believe they wanted to seperate from england was boycotting. This demonstates that the colonies did not want anything from england and wanted to be left alone.....thats my opinion
I do agree with Bazo's opinion and i like Monica's response too but i can support Bazo's with some historical evidences. Boycotting was the best way to get England in economical trouble. It was a fact that happened in US history.....
ReplyDelete1.) I agree with Monica when she stated that the Colonists had to in some way pay back England for the protection against the Natives. This was why the taxes began in the first place. However, the colonists had been oppressed by Britain. For instance, being taxed with no representation in Congress? Moreover, I don't believe this war was completely justified but I can see both sides of the story. I've never personally believed that anything in history can be described as either black or white, there's always an in between.
ReplyDelete4.) If the Revolution wouldn't have happened in 1776, then it would've happened at some other time. Regardless of the taxes or not, the American Colonists were going to be demanding their independence sooner or later. How can one small island control thirteen colonies in the other side of the world for so long?
7.) Yes. It was hypocritical of the Colonists to demand Independence from Britain and at the same time be fighting to preserve their slaves. However, given the time and the circumstances it is difficult to judge. We can't repeatedly judge another time period with a 21st century mentality.
#6-I don't believe the colonies tried their best to resolve their conflict with England. they were so eager to break away from England and everyone was so fired up for home which lead to the coloist rushing into the war and not looking for peaceful solutions.
ReplyDeleteOops, I meant Parliament not Congress.
ReplyDeleteBazo,
ReplyDeleteI think you are saying that the colonial boycotts showed that the colonists wanted to break from England. I don't know if I would automatically accept that conclusion. Don't people usually attempt a boycott in order to get others to change their behavior? Do you think that the colonists who still be pushing for independence if the boycotts had worked? (i.e. - if Parliament stopped the taxes)
Kerline,
ReplyDeleteSeeing both sides is an important skill in the field of the social sciences. This will serve you well in preparing for the essays on the AP exam. But, there are times that you will be forced into taking a position on one side or the other. (i.e. MP1 project and your answer to question #4)
I think we would all be well-served to keep your last statement in mind through this year. It is very easy to blame people in the past for not living up to our modern-day expectations. This is not an excuse for inexcusable actions in the past (i.e.- slavery, torture), but some day people in the future may look back at how we have behaved through a similar lens. We will probably prefer to be judged with some level of understanding (while still being held accountable) since we have all done things in the past that we would like to take back.
Mr. Benson
Lashanda,
ReplyDeleteI can see your point on the anticipation of many colonists for a war with Britain. The Sons of Liberty was an organization that was committed to upsetting the colonies enough that they would want to fight. Keep in mind that 1/5 to 1/3 of the colonists wanted to remain loyal to the king and about 1/3 were undecided about whether they would want to fight a war of independence. As we look back in history, it is the side of the Patriots that tends to be emphasized more. Maybe that is for a good reason, since they are responsible for us having the nation that we do today.
Mr. Benson
#4
ReplyDeleteI agree with Kerline's opinion about the American colonists demanding for Independence whether or not the taxes and other laws were passed because the colonists would eventually want separation between England and themselves.
#7
I agree with you, Mr.Benson when you noted that we cannot judge people in the past for their actions because of our modern day expectations. We must judge with some type of recongnition so that we wont accuse people for such actions nor excuse them. As you said, people in the future will look back at us just as we looked back at people in our history.
#2)I will admit the American Revolution was a radical revolution, but it was the result of unintelligent decisions. Britain had most of the blame for the revolution, they built up years of colonies' believing they had power over themselves (salutary neglect). In this case Sir Robert Walpole personal motto " Let sleeping dogs lie", backfired completely. Maybe Britain should have not been and idle bystander and should have enforced their control over the colonies.
ReplyDelete#3) The answer is plain and simple "all is fair in love and war." The loyalists knew what was happening and their ignorance led to their humiliation. They very well knew that there was an on going struggle between the British and the colonists. The colonists were upset and determined to take matters into their own hands. The loyalists knew very well what was going on, and if they really wanted to help themselves they should stayed under the radar. If they were tarred and feathered, it was because they were strutting around the colony proclaiming their allegiance to King George, the tyrant.
Question#1. i think that the American Revolution was justified because even though Britain was in debt they did not have to tax the colonist to solve their problems, by taxing the colonist it gave the colonist the right to rebelled on Britain to be free
ReplyDeleteI disagree with Marlon 100%, Britain has problems based on colonist interest, they owe Britain because both Britain and the colonist got into the French and Indian war together so why should Britain solve the issues of that war alone?
ReplyDelete1.) I don't think that the American Revolution was justified because a few of the events were exaggerated a bit. Like the Boston Massacre, it was made out to be such a horrible event to occur but in reality only five people died and a few were injured. It really wasn't that severe.
ReplyDeleteQuestion# 6: I think that the colonists were too eager to separate from England rather than take a look at the situation and try to work something out. Continuously the colonists exaggerated and manipulated to gain independence. The one attempt to make peace with them, it was too late for since they had already upset the king.
ReplyDeleteI think the war was justified at some points, but not justified at others. I believe this because in a sense there gets to a point where everyone wants to become independent.(As stated by Kerline and Reeham). However Monica has a point when she states that the British protected the Colonies. Protection costs and one way or the other the colonists had to help the British pay it. In addition in the reading it clearly states that most of these taxes were affordable. I do not understand what was the big problem, if it was to pay for a war that they(colonists) had been involved in. I just think that the colonists were ungrateful to the British. First of all, most of those colonists arrived to the Americas thanks to Great Britain. If we all recall before they left England they needed permision from the government.In order to gain something we must lose another.
ReplyDeleteQuestion #1 :
ReplyDeleteSome may say that the American revolution was not justified because a main reason the was commenced was for the protection of the colonists against the natives and French attacks therefore they should take responsibility and pay for the cost and damages of the war. I agree with Britains argument but what i disagree with is the actions they took to raise money and pay their debts. It first began with the Navigation Acts in which Britain was able to control the trade. Then the sugar act was passed and soon after the war it leads to stamp act in which the colonists were not asked or had a representative in the parliament to discuss it. In one word they were forced to pay taxes for the war while the British people didnt have to pay taxes. They tried to enforce the laws many ways that couldn had been avoided. A whole "nation" doesn't uprise for nothing and wouldn't go to war with one of the most powerful nations in the world if the war was useless. Thus I beleive that the war was justified from the above resons.
Question#1
ReplyDeletei believe that the revolution was not justified because its colonist right to help get Britain out of the debts because colonist got freedom in returned. i also agree with Melina that it was not a good idea to enforce the taxes on the colonist. the colonist were willing to help the British like they provided food for the soldiers ... i think if the British would have asked the colonist they would have gotten a lot of help from them instead they enforced and it angered the colonist.