Change Over Time in American Society and Culture from 1700 to 1812: Multiple Independents to Collective Independence (CLB)
By lbarkley21
-
The Rise of the Colonial Gentry
The rise of the colonial gentry in the American colonies, a wealthy class of planters/merchants1, illustrates a good starting point to me that, in the beginning all the colonies and the people who lived in them were all out for self. There was little to no camaraderie between the colonies, and all functioned as their own. It was England all over again, even though the majority of the gentry occured in the Chesapeake colonies - it was just a different continent and a different world. -
The French and Indian War
This war, fought over contested land in western Pennsylvania, did many things for the American colonies. One, it drove France out of North America, taking a huge threat off the table for America2. But most importantly, the war effort brought all the independent colonies together to fight alongside Britain against a common enemy. It facilitated camaraderie among the colonies. The war effort left a deep debt for Britain, leading to many taxations on the colonies. Now to the action! -
The Coercive Acts of 1774 in Response to the Boston Tea Party
The Coercive Acts, or Intolerable Acts, were 4 edicts handed down punitively to Massachusetts for restitution for the Boston Tea Party. These punitive measure (which I will address in my analysis due to a restriction of space here) were seen as extraordinarily harsh, even by some British, and had the unforseen effect of rallying all the other colonies behind Massachusetts in their struggle against the crown3. (My primary source will be referenced in my anaylsis due to TT's space restriction) -
The Declaration of Independence
The final move in a couple of years of movement towards action of the American colonies to declare their independence from the mother country. This declaration required the collective participation of all the colonies, working together, not independently towards a common goal. The wealthy merchants stood alongside the poorest militiamen and took a stand, jointly for liberty and independence from the crown, from Georgia to Massachusetts and everywhere in between. (Painting by John Trumbull) -
The Constitutional Convention of 1787
With the birth of a new country, there were obviously growing pains. There were those that wanted to see the colonies go back to being sovereign states and be all on their own. However, it soon became apparent to the American people that they would all have to work together to survive. The government had to be strengthened, and in secret, there was held a convention to draft one Constitution for the whole U.S. for which all the states worked towards collectively (except Rhode Island)4 -
The Rise of The Federalists and Democratic-Republican Political Parties
As the newly formed U.S.A. grew and formed, its people began to become concerned, not with the direction of the colonies in respect to their role under Britain's authority - but to the direction of the U.S. and the direction that the country would go as an independent sovereign nation, not under anyone else's rule but their own. This led to the rise of two different political parties 5, which I believe gives the starkest contrast to my fist entry. We are now focused on US and our direction!
