Stony Brook University 1750 1789 Motivation of Americans Through This Time Discussion

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Resources: https://www.learner.org/series/a-biography-of-amer…

https://www.learner.org/series/a-biography-of-amer…

https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration…

• A People and A Nation 15TH edition Norton, Mary Beth, Kamensky, Jane, Sheriff, Carol, Blight, David W., Chudacoff, Howard: Books .Textbook 98-100, 104-5, 109–130, 131-134, 139-145, 146, 148-154, 156-160, 165-175, 176-177

During the period from the 1750s to 1789, Americans fought for the British empire against France and its Indian allies, became increasingly dissatisfied with English rule, waged a successful rebellion to win independence from England, and devised two different national governments and thirteen state governments.

1. What do you think motivated the actions of Americans throughout this tumultuous time? 2. Do you think they were driven by the ideals and beliefs that Thomas Jefferson articulated in the Declaration of Independence that “all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” (Jefferson, Declaration of Independence)? 3. Were other concerns perhaps first in their minds? Discuss and cite evidence from the assigned materials to support your views.

Comment provided by teacher:

I am not going to answer this question directly, but instead want to comment on some related issues that are only briefly touched on in the reading and Biography of America videos 4 & 5. By the 1750s Americans had become accustomed to a great degree of autonomy (Norton, Brief 10th ed., 76-77). England restricted American trade and sometimes intervened to protect the colonies, as in the French and Indian War, but mostly left them alone. From the point of view of the central government in England, this policy has been described as “benign neglect” or “salutary neglect.” From the point of view of many Americans, they tended to be suspicious of concentrations of governmental power, especially distant and unaccountable power held by the Crown, and fear that it would be abused to take away their liberties (Norton, Brief 10th ed., 117). If one were ungenerous, one might say that they were paranoid and always on the lookout for abuses of power — a more generous interpretation is that they were very sensitive to impositions on their rights and autonomy, especially by outsiders. In any case, these attitudes almost certainly accentuated American distrust of English policies from 1763 to 1775.

In the colonies most free adult male property holders could vote and hold public office, though they generally (in what some scholars have called “deferential politics”) returned local elites to positions of responsibility and authority (Biography of America 3). One example of these elite colonials would be someone like George Washington, who was born into the equivalent of the upper middle class. He married a wealthy widow, Martha Custis, and increased his wealth significantly. One sign of Washington’s elite status was appointment to head a militia company that the colonial governor of Virginia sent into the Ohio country to assert Virginia’s claims to western lands in 1753, and which ended up precipitating the French and Indian War between France and Britain (Norton, Brief 10th ed., 112-113).

Many people have pointed out the inconsistency between Thomas Jefferson’s words in the Declaration of Independence that “all men are created equal” and the fact that Jefferson himself, as well as many elite Americans such as Washington, were slave owners. Perhaps less appreciated is the fact that most American elites expected the majority of the free population to defer to them — to elevate them to positions of power and responsibility and to follow their lead. The circumstances of the Revolution tended to undermine traditional instincts to defer to local elites. For one thing, some of these elites like Massachusetts’s Thomas Hutchinson supported England’s policies and remained loyal to England during the Revolutionary War (Norton, Brief 10th ed., 120, 129, 148). They were the enemy. Perhaps even more important was the fact that, people like Samuel Adams tried to stir up the people to offer mass resistance to the British before the war broke out, and then to mobilize the population to fight for independence. As a result, a greater percentage of ordinary people came to expect that they would take a more active role in governing themselves (Biography of America 5).

Still, the transition away from an elite-dominated political regime was often very gradual (in fact, if one looks at the fact that many people in high political office in the United States today are people from well-off families who attended elite educational institutions, one could argue that a complete transformation to a democratic and egalitarian political regime has still not taken place!). Looking at the structure of the Constitution, it has many features that can insulate the government from the people — the President is not elected by popular vote, but by an electoral college whose members were (originally) chosen by the state legislatures. The Senate was, until about one hundred years ago, also chosen by state legislatures and the “Great Compromise” assures that every state, no matter how small its population, has equal representation in the Senate (Norton, Brief 10th ed., 172). Federal judges are appointed for life by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate — this is intended so that, once in office, they are not beholden to the other branches, but it also insulates them from the popular will. The Federalists who supported the Constitution envisioned “a virtuous self-sacrificing republic led by a manly aristocracy of talent” (Norton, Brief 10th ed., 173). Thomas Jefferson, who often stated that he was committed to democratic self-government, also believed that there was a natural aristocracy who should make up the governing class. The Constitution, unlike the Articles of Confederation, has proven durable and long-lasting, but I would caution you not to see it as sacred or perfect. Like all things, it is a reflection of the times and concerns of the people who wrote it. One of my favorite moments in Biography of America 5 is the image of a draft of the Constitution with parts crossed out and other lines inserted. It reminds us, in Prof. Maier’s words, that the Americans were undertaking an experiment. It is an open question whether, in the words of John Adams, they succeeded in their attempts “to form and establish the wisest and happiest government that human wisdom can contrive.” I look forward to reading your thoughts on what motivated Americans during the “Revolutionary period” from the 1750s through the 1780s.

sample student response:

The American colonists went through a lot during this time period and, in my opinion, I think one thing that kept them motivated was the want to create their own society. “The colonists did not seek independence…colonial leaders searched for a formula that would let them control their internal affairs, especially taxation, while remaining under British rule” (Norton, Brief 10th ed., 119). The colonists wanted to remain loyal to their roots, but the British government had begun taxing everything, for example, the Sugar Act of 1764 “was explicitly designed to raise revenue, not to channel American trade through Britain” (Norton, Brief 10th ed., 118). The Stamp Act also had a way of bringing Americans together to form demonstrations to protest.

Many colonists took action in different ways, some groups, such as the Daughters of Liberty, “met to spin in public squares to encourage colonists to end the colonies’ dependence on British cloth by wearing homespun” (Norton, Brief 10th ed., 125). This group of women also protested tea consumption and purchase. It is to no surprise that some colonists wanted to free themselves from the British rule.

Eventually when the Grand Continental Congress convened they focused on “defining American grievances, developing a resistance plane, and articulating their constitutional relationship with Great Britain” (Norton, Brief 10th ed., 132). The congress “adopted fourteen Articles of Association calling for nonimportation of British goods, nonconsumption of British products, and nonexportation of American goods to Britain and the British West Indies” (Norton, Brief 10th ed., 132). American colonists were slowly liberating themselves from British rule in order to create their own independent republic.

The Second Continental Congress drafted the Declaration of Independence which was “a document that proclaimed independence of the Thirteen Colonies from British rule and concentrated on the actions of George III, accusing him of attempting to destroy representative government in the colonies and of oppressing Americans” (Norton, Brief 10th ed., 143).

In conclusion, I think that the colonists did believe in what Thomas Jefferson stated in the Declaration of Independence that “all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness” Jefferson wrote this with the people of the colonies in mind, to assist with granting them the freedom to create their own government free from British rule.