The Making of a Rebellion - Assignment Example

Assignment 2 The Making of a Rebellion Introduction England and European powers, colonialists and explorers believed that a country should be economically sound as possible. As a result, the Europeans were motivated to discover new lands and thus develop colonies. Through these colonies, the Europeans would be able to obtain raw materials and cheap workforce for their industries. The belief of the Europeans doe economic superiority and conquering is described by the mercantilism which is one of the economic theories of the British. Because of the colonization of the British, the economies of Europe, Africa and the Americas were ties together. These economies were tied together by the triangular trade. Because of the economic conquests and ambitions, wars were experienced among the European themselves and these fighting spilled across into the Americas and thus causing a lot of social and political unrest among the Native Americans. The war politics during this period was characterized by alliances among the Native Americans, the French and the Europeans themselves. This essay discusses the political status of the Native Americans and the Europeans colonial empires in 1750s and the political implications of the Seven Years War among these political entities. The political and economic interests of the Europeans in the Native American region led to conflicts and unrest among the Europeans themselves (Boyer 89). Since the European rule applied to its colonies, the colonialists and explorers who were driven by economic conquest ambitions were opposed to the economic and political limitations that the European governor Sir John Andros implicated on them. The colonialists wanted the parliamentary system of governance in Britain because it catered for their colonial and economic interests. As a result, Sir Andros was removed from power in 1688. William of Orange and Mary who became the new governor in Britain promised to provide full support for the parliamentary system of governance. The colonists thus pledged their loyalty to the new monarchs but they wanted to know the kind of governance that they wanted to adapt. The colonialists were surprised to find out that William and Mary also advocated for full control of Britain for all colonial affairs and interests. This led to revolts such as the Catholic Maryland conflicts because the colonialists wanted the British government to limit its control over the colonial affairs. The conflicts among the Europeans had political impacts on the Native Americans. For example the fighting between the French and England over economic and political dominions led to the British and French allies being formed among the Native American tribes (Cobb 103). The natives were therefore involved in the European fighting. The economic and political oppression of the Europeans on the Native American communities eventually led to the Great Awakening because the indigenous people would not stand economic exploitation and political cruelty of the British any more. The political implication of the Great Awakening was demonstrated by the use of religious leaders who advocated for social equality to motivate the native communities to fight or their rights. The social rebellions which characterized this awakening increased within the American British colonies. These rebellions were fueled by the religious questioning of the European political and economic authority in the Americas. These rebellions and revolts against the Europeans eventually led to the Seven Years War (Boyer 92). The formation of alliances among the Native American Indians, the British and the French led to divided political and economic interests which eventually led to the Seven Years War. The diversity of interests caused a lot of tension among the three political entities. The Seven Years War is termed as a global conflict which began as soon as the British and their Indian allies declared war on the French (Cobb 102). Even though the British and the French were in constant fighting in North America due to economic and political differences, the Seven Years War was an active conflict which led to many political consequences. Early in 1750s, the move of the French to expand its territory deep into Ohio River Valley catalyzed active British and French conflict. The British engaged the native Indians in the war and thus the Seven Years War is usually referred to as the French Indian war. Early in the Seven Years war, the native Indians and the British suffered many defeats. In 1756, William Pitt who was the then British prime minister borrowed a lot of money and invested in the war to mitigate defeat by the French. This resulted to defeat and expulsion of the French form Canada. The French were very bitter for the loss of their colonial territories which is demonstrated by their political intervention during the American Revolution in which they sided with the Patriots. Conclusion The political status of the Native Americans tribes in 1750 was that of being under the British colonial rule. There was social, economic and political oppression and exploitation of Native Americans by the European colonialists which led to the Great Awakening and social revolts and eventually the Seven Years War. The European nations were interested in political and economic conquest in the Americas which caused a lot of political tension and thus revolts among themselves. The British colonialists and the British monarchs also had political tension which stemmed from the desire of the colonists to have the British government adopt a parliamentary system which could limit its interests into the colonial affairs. The conflicts of the European powers spilled into the American natives who were involved in active fighting such as the seven years war in which the Indian British allies engaged in active war against the French. Independence Introduction The American Revolution which led to the independence of America from the British rule in the 18th century had both positive and negative implications. The North American colonies of the British were lost by the Europeans. With the aid of the French, the patriots fought for the independence of America from the political and economic dominion of the British. The United States of America was created after the victory against the British during the war for independence (Boyer 91). Despite the fact that America was freed from the colonial rule of the British, the benefits that ordinary white Americans, natives and African Americans were promised were not fulfilled. This essay discusses the life of white farmers, native and African Americans with illustration of the reasons why their life did not improve as they had expected and promised during the declaration for independence. After the declaration of American independence and the resultant political, social and economic independence of thirteen US states from the British, it was not immediately certain how the acquired freedom would be used. The independent states focused on writing new constitutions. The states also were seeking to become republics by making changes to their old charters. In 1787, a convention was created because the Articles of Confederation was found to be inadequate in providing the alliance of the states (109). The convention of 1787 was the basis from which the constitution was produced which provides a framework for the US government. Even though the constitution formed a stronger union of the states, it had some contradiction which has affected America up to this moment (113). These contradictions involved rights and equality among the states and individuals. The expectations of the common Americans were not met because the struggle to write and implement the new constitution for the federation led to inadequacies which failed to cover all needs of Americans. Regardless of the Declaration of Independence Statement which illustrated that the American constitution will protect the rights of African Americans against slavery and create human equality for all Americans, these promises were not immediately realized (Boyer 97). This is demonstrated by the exploitation of the African Americans in hard labor within industries which provided poor working conditions for the laborers. Moreover, the compensation of the African Americans for their labor was low and thus leading to low living standards among this ethnic group. The hard labor that the African Americans were subject to even after independence can be equated to the slavery that the British colonialist imparted on the clack community during the colonial period. This illustrates that the expectations of the African American community were not immediately met after the declaration of independence. It is argued that the promise for economic development in America after independence was unfulfilled (Cobb 117). After independence, the gap between the living standard of the ordinary American and the wealthy widened. This resulted from the fact that the significant increment of income for the white farmer was not experienced in the post independence America. Economic rights of the ordinary Americans were not adequately implemented after independence. This is demonstrated by the fact that the white settlers were allowed to own more land in the new states and had economic advantages over the ordinary American farmer (Boyer 97). The returns on investment therefore continued to have a gap in the independent America which led to disparities in income between the white settlers and the ordinary American farmer. As a result the income and living standards of the American farmer were way below the expectations and promises that were given by the government leaders during the declaration of independence. The Native Americans such as Indians were also affected by the white settlers who occupied their lands and exploited it for personal economic gain (Boyer 93). This led to rivalry and clashes between the settlers and the white settlers which caused a lot of social and economic suffering. Despite the promises that were given to Native Americans after the Revolution, it is therefore notable that what happened was against their expectations and it led to the worsening of their lives. The republican form of American governance which advocated for equality and consent of the American people was not in actual practice after independence (Cobb 124). The occupation of the white settlers on the native land of the Indians and indigenous Americans was no different from the British colonialist occupation of America. Additionally, the white settlers who occupied vast land within the Native American region exploited the natives through poor compensation for their labor and poor working conditions. All these experiences of the Native Americans were not expected at the declaration of independence. The promises that the statement of declaration of American independence presented included economic equality and social well being for all Americans but it is ironical that the lives of the ordinary American and natives worsened. The political and economic rights for all Americans including women were a promise that the declaration of independence presented to the Americans but this was not implemented after independence (Cobb 106). The ordinary American faced inequalities in economic amenities and was not given opportunities to progress economically. Moreover, white males who had no property had difficulties of attaining full citizenship against the promises of right to citizenship for all during the declaration for independence. People of color especially African Americans and women were faced with most inequality especially in education, employment and public amenities (Boyer 98). This situation led to the unexpected social status gaps and income and living standards differences within the society. This is against the promised equality for all after the Revolution and independence. Conclusion After the Revolution and the declaration of independence, all Americans were promised economic, social and political equality. As a result, the expectation of Americans were improved life, increase in income and living standards. However, these expectations were not met immediately after independence. There was exploitative labor of African Americans in industries which was characterized by poor working conditions and low compensation for hard labor. Additionally, the ordinary America farmer experienced economic gaps as compared to the white settlers who occupied vast land within the Native American region. The occupation of the white settlers within Indian land led to conflicts and fighting which was far from the promises that the Americans were given during the declaration of independence. THE MAKING OF A REPUBLIC Introduction The modern Democratic Party originated from the Jeffersonian Republic Part which followed the Thomas Jefferson’s sentiments. Jefferson who was the Secretary of State during the presidency of George Washington was in favor of the rights of the American states and interpretation of the American Constitution (Kennedy 212). The point of view that Jefferson and his followers showed they were opposed to a central government which was perceived as a threat to the liberties of individuals and all American people. On the other hand, Alexander Hamilton who was the Secretary of Treasury during the reign of Washington believed that it is through a central government that the new America would be united. This essay discusses the competing political interests in the early American republic with illustration of how they contributed to the shaping of the American constitution as stipulated in the constitution. Additionally, the influence of the opposing political groups and ideologies are explained in relation to how they contributed to the shaping of the new government and the American society in general. Jefferson and his followers view the US as sovereign states or entities which are interwoven together for common good and interests. On the other hand, the Hamiltonians view the constitution from a wide scale and interprets it as unifying factor which unites all states through a common central government and constitution (Kennedy 216). It is notable that leading American political figures within the newly formed country were opposed to political parties which were considered a threat to the unity of the country. George Washington for example argued that political parties could lead to polarization of the country, government and the citizens. Both the Hamilton and Jefferson groups were in agreement with this notion. However, the two groups separated into different political factions with different ideas with the Hamiltonians becoming Federalists with the Jefferson group calling themselves Democratic Republicans. The early differences between the Hamiltonian and Jefferson factions were demonstrated by their divergent opinions on the US foreign policy. The political and economic approach that the US followed in its relationship with France and Britain differed between the two political factions. On one hand, Democratic Republicans wanted the US to favor French while the Federalists wanted the US to strengthen its ties with the British (Boyer 96). These differences created an environment of political rivalry within the US government. These differences have been experienced to date as illustrated by the American foreign policy which faces criticism from some political factions within the government or from the opposition parties and political activists. Even within the American society itself, there are notable political differences among the population. These differences are playing a significant role in shaping the government through the election of leaders who are considered to be sharing the same political opinions about the country and its relation to the foreign communities. The role of politics in shaping the economic status of the society is influenced by the economic differences between the Jeffersonian group and the Hamiltonians (Kennedy 223). The Democratic Republicans were in favor of the protection of economic rights of merchants, laborers and farmers. These views were motivated by the need to effectively meet the economic needs of the US citizens. This explains the strong support that Democratic Republicans had for agrarian economy. According to the Hamiltonians or the Federalists were in favor of the manufacturing industries as the most significant economic factor for the growth and attainment of self-sufficiency in the US and thus eliminate possible economic dependence on other countries (Kennedy 219). The early economic differences between the political factions can therefore be attributed to the modern economic policies of the government. The government’s economic policies on matters of empowerment of the working class, import tariffs and protection of local production and manufacturing industries are being influenced by the followers of the Hamiltonian and Jeffersonian factions of political opinions, views and beliefs. Conclusion The US politics has been influenced by two political factions since the creation of the new nation up to the present time. The Hamiltonian group or the Federalists are in favor of a central government and considers the manufacturing industries as being most significant for growth and self-sufficiency. On the other hand, the Jeffersonian faction or the Democratic group favors the working class, merchants and farmers and considers that the government should invest in them for growth. Additionally, the Democratic group advocates for the independence of the US states. Even though the two political groups agreed along with George Washington that political parties would divide the nation, they have been having divergent political sentiments for a long time. The influence of the differences in political opinion between the two political factions has influenced even the US foreign policy of the various governments in the USA history. Works Cited Cobb, Richard. The French and Their Revolution. New York: New Press, 1998. Print Kennedy, Roger. Burr, Hamilton, and Jefferson: A Study in Character”. USA: Oxford University Press, 2000. Print. Boyer, Paul. “The Enduring Vision: A History of the American People”, Wadsworth. Print. Read More