Question: What factors pulled the colonies away from Britain?
The separation of the thirteen colonies from Mother England cannot be attributed to one single factor. Years of history were required before the revolution was to take place, and within these years several factors built upon one another. These few however, stick out more than others: distance, taxation, and progressive pamphlets.
Distance played a crucial role in driving the colonists away from Mother England. To have a simple question answered the colonists would have to wait a minimum of three months, and to receive goods from England at least one month (Divine 128). This resulted in a complete lack of communication. "Â…Rumors sometimes passed for true accounts, and misunderstanding influenced the formulation of colonial policy" (Divine 128). Because of the great distance between England and America, "few Englishmen active in government had ever visited America", yet they were still permitted to create policies that governed the colonists (Divine 128). Colonists deeply resented being governed by those so far removed from their circumstance. Animosity grew as the gap seemed to widen.
Distance was not the only factor responsible for the growing rift. "The British governmentÂ…needed revenues to pay for the [Seven Years] war, and looked to the colonies for that" (Zinn 60). King George the III implemented several taxation policies designed to drain the wealth of the colonists back to England. There were several highly unpopular tax acts, but among the most unpopular was the Stamp Act of 1765. "By taxing deeds, marriage licenses, and playing cards, the Stamp Act touched the lives of ordinary women and men" (Divine 133). Parliamentary oppression such as this had not before existed and being sons and daughters of liberty as they were, the colonists were not going to stand for it. "Riots against the Stamp Act swept Boston in 1767" as well as other colonial cities (Zinn 65). Angry men and... [continues]
The separation of the thirteen colonies from Mother England cannot be attributed to one single factor. Years of history were required before the revolution was to take place, and within these years several factors built upon one another. These few however, stick out more than others: distance, taxation, and progressive pamphlets.
Distance played a crucial role in driving the colonists away from Mother England. To have a simple question answered the colonists would have to wait a minimum of three months, and to receive goods from England at least one month (Divine 128). This resulted in a complete lack of communication. "Â…Rumors sometimes passed for true accounts, and misunderstanding influenced the formulation of colonial policy" (Divine 128). Because of the great distance between England and America, "few Englishmen active in government had ever visited America", yet they were still permitted to create policies that governed the colonists (Divine 128). Colonists deeply resented being governed by those so far removed from their circumstance. Animosity grew as the gap seemed to widen.
Distance was not the only factor responsible for the growing rift. "The British governmentÂ…needed revenues to pay for the [Seven Years] war, and looked to the colonies for that" (Zinn 60). King George the III implemented several taxation policies designed to drain the wealth of the colonists back to England. There were several highly unpopular tax acts, but among the most unpopular was the Stamp Act of 1765. "By taxing deeds, marriage licenses, and playing cards, the Stamp Act touched the lives of ordinary women and men" (Divine 133). Parliamentary oppression such as this had not before existed and being sons and daughters of liberty as they were, the colonists were not going to stand for it. "Riots against the Stamp Act swept Boston in 1767" as well as other colonial cities (Zinn 65). Angry men and... [continues]
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