1. What were the Interests and Conflicts of the First Founding?
In Revolutionary America, conflicts arose when people competed over personal ideals and principles. As a result, these economic and political conflicts led to the Constitution and the American Revolution. In colonial politics, there were five sectors of interest: “(1) the New England merchants; (2) the southern planters; (3) the “royalists”—holders of royal lands, offices, and patents (licenses to engage in a profession or business activity); (4) shopkeepers, artisans, and laborers; and (5) small farmers.” Most of these interests competed over taxation, commerce, and trade issues. Several groups combined to make the colonial elite, who sought to maintain political alliance …show more content…
These financial situations confronted the British government and compelled the government to find new revenue sources. The debt came from a multitude of sources, including: “expenses it had incurred in defense of the colonies during the French and Indian War… the cost of the continuing protection that British forces were giving the colonists from Indian attacks and that the British navy was providing for colonial shipping”. As a result, the British government desperately needed to impose a higher tax to reduce their national debt. Most governments at that time had a limited array of ways to tax the colonists. This included: income tax, tariffs, and commerce taxes (ex. the Stamp Act, Sugar Act, etc.). The taxes on commerce greatly affected the southern planters and New England merchants. These two groups greatly opposed these taxes, citing “no taxation without representation”. As a result, the groups boycotted British goods, forcing the Crown to rescind their taxes. Although their intentions were successful, political strife endured and many radical forces requested political and social changes, and ultimately end British …show more content…
British government let the East India Company export tea from Britain and sell the tea to the colonists. This angered many merchants (and their southern allies), because the East India Company’s direct exports to the colonists, removed the need for colonial merchants. Since tea was an extremely valuable commodity at that period of time, anti-British radicals carried out the Boston Tea Party. Anti-tax Americans tried to block the importing of the tea; although, the governor of Massachusetts refused to let the tea return to Britain, so the radicals protested by dumping three shiploads of tea into the Boston Harbor. Samuel Adams and the other radicals succeeded in paving a way for a rebellion. The House of Commons closed the Boston Harbor to commerce, thus restricting movement to the West. The southern planters were worried because they relied on the western lands for imports. The Boston Tea Party stimulated incitement and retribution, which was exactly the intention of the anti-British radicals. As a result, the First Continental Congress was formed, and the Declaration of Independence was
In Revolutionary America, conflicts arose when people competed over personal ideals and principles. As a result, these economic and political conflicts led to the Constitution and the American Revolution. In colonial politics, there were five sectors of interest: “(1) the New England merchants; (2) the southern planters; (3) the “royalists”—holders of royal lands, offices, and patents (licenses to engage in a profession or business activity); (4) shopkeepers, artisans, and laborers; and (5) small farmers.” Most of these interests competed over taxation, commerce, and trade issues. Several groups combined to make the colonial elite, who sought to maintain political alliance …show more content…
These financial situations confronted the British government and compelled the government to find new revenue sources. The debt came from a multitude of sources, including: “expenses it had incurred in defense of the colonies during the French and Indian War… the cost of the continuing protection that British forces were giving the colonists from Indian attacks and that the British navy was providing for colonial shipping”. As a result, the British government desperately needed to impose a higher tax to reduce their national debt. Most governments at that time had a limited array of ways to tax the colonists. This included: income tax, tariffs, and commerce taxes (ex. the Stamp Act, Sugar Act, etc.). The taxes on commerce greatly affected the southern planters and New England merchants. These two groups greatly opposed these taxes, citing “no taxation without representation”. As a result, the groups boycotted British goods, forcing the Crown to rescind their taxes. Although their intentions were successful, political strife endured and many radical forces requested political and social changes, and ultimately end British …show more content…
British government let the East India Company export tea from Britain and sell the tea to the colonists. This angered many merchants (and their southern allies), because the East India Company’s direct exports to the colonists, removed the need for colonial merchants. Since tea was an extremely valuable commodity at that period of time, anti-British radicals carried out the Boston Tea Party. Anti-tax Americans tried to block the importing of the tea; although, the governor of Massachusetts refused to let the tea return to Britain, so the radicals protested by dumping three shiploads of tea into the Boston Harbor. Samuel Adams and the other radicals succeeded in paving a way for a rebellion. The House of Commons closed the Boston Harbor to commerce, thus restricting movement to the West. The southern planters were worried because they relied on the western lands for imports. The Boston Tea Party stimulated incitement and retribution, which was exactly the intention of the anti-British radicals. As a result, the First Continental Congress was formed, and the Declaration of Independence was