Development of the United States - Assignment Example

Discuss the process of transition as analyzed by Gordon Wood of how Franklin becomes a Diplomat The process of Franklin’s transition to diplomat, according to Wood, began with his return from England and his election as a delegate to the Second Constitutional Congress by the Pennsylvania Assembly. Although he hoped to keep a low-profile, his in-depth knowledge of the working of British officials meant he attracted considerable attention and was appointed postmaster general and made of member of various congressional committees. Franklin also became known, perhaps surprisingly given his time spent in Britain, for his strong desire to see American Independence and his hatred of the King. He did not want reconciliation but rather envisaged a long war and eventually liberation from British tyranny. Wood points out that some of this opposition may have been calculated to dispel any doubts the might have been over his commitment to the cause of independence. Genuine or otherwise, Franklin’s dedication and criticism of the British soon laid rumours of his being a spy to rest. Wood underlines how personally involved Franklin was in the cause. He had been blocked from playing an important role in the Empire by British officials and this treatment had led to bitterness and resentment. He therefore took any British attacks on America as a personal attack on himself. It is for these reasons that Franklin had abandoned hopes of negotiating with England long before his fellow countrymen. Although he maintained close friendships with his British colleagues, his criticism of the country as a whole was ever increasing. Indeed when his son was exposed as a royalist and arrested, Franklin did not attempt to get him out of prison, such was his belief in the cause of Independence. Franklin served on the committee that drafted the Declaration of Independence and then, in 1776, president of the Pennsylvanian convention which was tasked with writing a new constitution for the state. Pennsylvania and its constitution was regarded by the rest of America as an anomaly however, having as Wood points out, a government with a plural executive and a unicameral legislature. The most alarming aspect of Pennsylvania was its un-tempered democracy. Other states preferred to use governors and senators to balance to democracy found in the houses of representatives. Franklin however openly and willingly aligned himself with this simple, unmixed democratic constitution. In this way, Franklin gained his reputation as a democrat, although this was applied to him as a serious criticism. In 1776 Franklin had to respond to a British offering of peace. Franklin rejected to offer. Lord Howe attempted to make peace again in August 1776 and Franklin was on the committee which was dispatched to meet him. In their meeting Franklin refused to give up the American bid for Independence. In November 1775 Franklin had been appointed to the Committee of Secret Correspondence which was designed to seek overseas support for the American campaign. Once to declaration of Independence was made, this search became much more open. So it was in October 1776 that Franklin set sail for France as the representative of America to the world. Wood suggests that Franklin was so keen to take on this role because it acted as a sort of compensation for the influence he had lost in the Empire. Franklin was back on the world stage and keen to be there. Franklin had what Wood describes as an extraordinary international reputation and was one of the main forces that America had against Britain. Franklin’s cause was met warmly in France where his reputation preceded him and the French aristocrats played a major part in forming him into the symbolic American. They helped to form his reputation as a simple philosopher and symbol of simple democracy for which he is so famous. In establishing this Franco-American alliance, Franklin had performed one of the most important diplomatic moves in American history. Discuss the key economic, political and cultural events that led to the American Revolution The initial spark for the American Revolution came as a result of a dispute over taxes. The North Americans maintained that they could not be taxed without giving their consent, while Britain maintained its right to tax all colonies irrespectively. The Americans rebelled and the British used force to put them down. The Americans therefore made a Declaration of Independence and in 1776 they founded a republic. By taking these actions, the situation had developed from a colonial rebellion into a revolution. The origins of this revolution, however, were long in coming and the tax rebellion was the final straw in a much more complex set of situations. The origins lay in the British government’s need to raise money after the French and Indian war. The obvious step was to increase customs duties, since as Maier et al. explain the customs establishment in America brought in substantially less revenue than it created. The Sugar Act of 1764 was therefore brought in which it was estimated would raise £40 000 - £50 000 per annum. A stamp tax was also proposed. Once news of these reached America however, colonists claimed that it went against their rights not to have duties imposed upon them, because they were not represented in Parliament. They rejected the idea that the British government put forward that they were virtually represented in parliament. The economic issue had become a political one. Further problems would be caused by the Townsend Revenue Acts of 1767. Protest nonimportation associations were formed in angry response, forcing imports down by fifty percent. The Acts were subsequently partially repealed by Parliament and the power of colonists against the British was felt once again. The final of the significant rebellion of this period took place over the Tea Act of May 1773 which was designed to save the East India Company from bankruptcy by selling the tea it had in America. The act cut out the middlemen, allowing the company to sell directly, instead of via auction. For the colonists, this meant accepting taxes imposed on them by Britain. In Boston, protestors attempted to force ships carrying tea to return to England and therefore avoid paying duties on the tea. The protest culminated, on December 16 1773, with the so-called ‘Boston Tea Party’ when protestors threw 90 000 pounds of tea off the ships in Boston harbour. In order to deal with the increasing resistance in America, the British government brought in the Coercive Acts in spring of 1774. These consisted of the Boston Port Act (which blocked the port until losses from the Tea Party had been repaid), the Massachusetts Government Act (which annulled its 1691 charter and reduced popular participation in its government), the Administration of Justice Act (allowing Crown officers in Massachusetts who were accused of capital offences to be taken to Britain for their trial) and the Quartering Act (which effectively put Massachusetts under military rule). The idea of these Acts was to act as a warning to other states and discourage rebellion. It actually had the opposite effect, uniting other colonies to send help to Boston and raising support for Massachusetts. Throughout this period, power had also been slowly shifting from Britain to the colonists. This was initial allowed by Britain to allow colonial leaders to limit resistance to acceptable levels. However, as the crises mounted, the resistance movement gained greater authority so that by the time revolution took place, America already had the necessary systems in place to be self governing. What were the key economic, political, and social results of the American Revolution (1783 – 1789) The biggest social change to come as a result of the American Revolution was the emancipation of slaves. Between 1783 and 1789 a wave of northern states passed gradual emancipation laws, including Connecticut and Rhode Island in 1784. However this reform was slower to come about in states which were more heavily dependent upon slavery for their economy and remained exclusively a social phenomenon of the north. Rights were also established for white adult men and their equality was recognised as the concept of ‘the people’ was used to describe the political community. There were suddenly enormous opportunities available for virtuous and hard working young men, even from humble origins, to rise to social levels which had previously been unobtainable for them. Positions in public office were suddenly available due to an increase in the number of positions obtainable only through election combined with the resignation of the Loyalists. It also gave them the opportunity to explore the west and expand in a way which had previously been prohibited by British rule. Land, which had long been considered a mark of respectability, was now theirs for the taking. Maier et al. comment that by 1790, the white population of the area south of the Ohio River soared from 12 000 in 1783 to 100 000. Economically the American Revolution had been a disaster. Maier mentions that per capita domestic product declined by half between 1774 and 1790. A substantial part of the labor force of the south – slaves – had been killed or had fled to Britain. Once peace had been made, the British blocked America from trade with Britain and the West Indies. However, Maier points out that these economic necessarily led to innovation and invention on the part of the Americans. In Chesapeake the traditional tobacco crop was replaced with wheat which was less labor intensive and therefore cheaper to grow. American farmers also seized opportunities for new markets with China and India. The expansion west also allowed similar new trading partnerships to be forged. However the most important economic innovation of this period was the birth of the American corporation. British corporations had been regarded as monopolizing and privileged but the American corporation took a slightly different form, not formed for business purposes at all for the most part during the 1780s but generally incorporated towns, districts or non profit making organisations. The organization had to serve a public purpose; otherwise it could not be incorporated. Politically this period saw a move away from the Articles of Confederation and towards a national government in Congress. This was because the Confederation was dogged by a shortage of money and structural problems. The shift towards Congress was therefore logical, to elevate these problems. With this came the need to put together a new Constitution. This was ratified by Delaware, the first state to do so, on December 7, 1787. However it was a long process of debate and revision before the Constitution became law on June 12, 1788 when it was ratified by New Hampshire. Although there was to be disagreement and debate over the exact nature of the Consitution, the American Revolution had led to the birth of the document in which all American legal values are enshrined. Read More