Cultural Differences Between The Colonists And The British

Just before the American Revolution, which began roughly in 1765 and ended in 1783, the attitudes of many colonists were those of dissatisfaction and disdain for the traditional British government. These would exacerbate future relations with Great Britain, fueling dissent. The earliest component of these anti-British sentiments was the French and Indian War. The war gave the colonists their first feeling of any political unity apart from Britain. Since it was the first war where the British fought alongside the colonists, it outlined many of the cultural differences that had developed between the colonists and the British. As historian Matthew C. Ward says, the presence of British troops alongside colonial ones “highlighted the differences between the profanity and debauchery of the British rank and file and the morality and sobriety of the American troops. …show more content…
"French and Indian War, Legacy of." Americans at War).” The French and Indian War thus created a general awareness that the colonists were fundamentally different from the British. It also had quite an impact on Britain itself: it greatly expanded the British