NG+Responses+to+essential+questions

Essential Questions There are many opinions on why the colonists decided to stay in America despite the extreme hardships they had, and all of them are good reasons. A good reason for the English staying there was to keep pace with Spain, but in my opinion this was not a main reason for them staying at all. In my own opinion though the main reason they decided to stay there is because they wouldn’t accept the fact that there was no gold there and they refused to leave until they got their gold. They traveled all the way out there and already had to go through so many hardships that the fact of coming home empty handed was not an option for them. The idea of them staying just to keep in pace with Spain is in my opinion idiotic because at the extent of hardships they were going through was not worth just being able to have the same success as Spain. People at some point, which is the point the colonists were at, start focusing more on personal needs than on their countries wants, and it would take a personal need and determination to follow through with staying in America. Another factor that kept them from coming back to England was the fact that they had much more freedom and land in America. England was overpopulated and these colonists could in no way get as much land as they are in America. Also since they weren’t in England anymore they didn’t have to swear an allegiance to the king or queen, which gave them more freedom. Finally, they also wanted to prove to themselves and others that although they were wealthy noblemen that they could still survive in the wild without the help of anyone else. This gave them the determination they needed in order to stay there despite all those hardships.

Massachusetts Life over Pennsylvanian Life In the 17th century northern America began to be settled by Europeans and the leader in these settlements was England. England had many different people come to the New World for different reason and two of these settlers were the Massachusetts Bay colony with Puritans and Pennsylvania with religious toleration. The colony that would have been better to live in though during this time was the Massachusetts Bay colony because there was a lot less crimes because of the harsh repercussions and the colony had much easier trade opportunities. The Puritans in the Massachusetts Bay colony had the earliest form of laws in the New World and these laws were the Connecticut Blue Laws. These laws were an extremely harsh form of laws, but they got people in line and helped prevent tons of crimes. Almost everything that someone did that was against these laws would lead them to be killed. This prevented anyone’s bad actions to be spread throughout the colony and have it create a problem. The Puritans were ultimately trying to create a utopia and these laws are what in their heads would have this happen. It may not have created a utopia, but it did create a much better environment than in Pennsylvania. The Puritans also had the advantage over Pennsylvania in their trading. Besides being able to get a lot for little by the Native Americans, which even Pennsylvania was able to do, the Puritans had access to the ocean. This access made them able to trade with other countries in Europe, Africa, and even Asia easily. This really boosted their ability to survive easily in the New World. Pennsylvania didn’t have a way to the ocean easily so, therefore they based most of their trading with the Indians. Also Puritans had a much easier time being able to survive because they were able to use slaves. Pennsylvania did not allow slaves and people that were found with slaves were prosecuted, and kicked out of Pennsylvania. The Puritan lifestyle was a much more easily lived lifestyle compared to the Pennsylvanian lifestyle. The colony that would have been better to live in though during this time was the Massachusetts Bay colony because there was a lot less crimes because of the harsh repercussions and the colony had much easier trade opportunities.

French and Indian War EQ The French and Indian war changed the tide of the world in many different aspects. It caused Britain to be the most powerful European country in the Americas. Also, it caused a great tension between the colonies and Britain, which this tension would eventually lead to the Revolutionary war.. The greatest thing that caused the tension between the Americas and Britain was the Proclamation of 1763. This proclamation created a tension because it prevented the colonists from settling past the Appalachian Mountains and this didn’t sit well with colonists. Also because of the war Britain got into very large debt. Due to this debt Britain decided to pay off the debt by passing a series of taxes. These laws are one of the greatest causes of the Revolutionary War and this is leads back to the French and Indian War. This shows the great magnitude that the French and Indian War had on the world.

Reasons for American Fighting The Americans have all the rights to want to fight and declare their own independence, and the main reason behind this is the excess amount of taxes that British put on the colonies. It all started with George Grenville’s program which included the Sugar Act, Currency Act, Quartering Act, and Stamp Act. All of these taxes were unreasonable acts which were eventually all revoked. The Stamp act was the big act that got the colonists blood boiling because it was a direct tax which means it pissed off everyone because everyone had to pay it. It was a tax on every single printed document that anyone had and everyone needed documents during this time. This act brought up the question, how can a representative legislature directly tax 2,000,000 people an ocean away without representation? The Stamp act was eventually revoked though, but that same day the Declaratory Act was signed which gave Parliament power to make laws. Then there was the Townshend Acts which created even more of a ruckus in the colonies and led to more activity with the sons of liberty. After this, the first bloodshed was created in the Boston Massacre between Britain and the colonists. This resulted in the death of 8 men and 11 men were wounded. This was all just because the colonists were throwing snowballs at the British. In no way is it necessary to shoot the colonists because of snowballs. The Tea Act was one of the final acts before the colonist’s breaking point and it put a tax on tea which was something that all colonists drank during this time. The final straw for the colonists was the Coercive Acts of 1774. These acts include the Port Bill, Government Act, Quartering Act, Administration of Justice Act, and the Quebec Act. Due to these Acts the first Continental Congress was assembled excluding Georgia and they decided to stock up on guns. This is the correct reaction to these series of acts because they didn’t want to jump right into war with Britain, but to just sit around and let Britain pass these acts is unacceptable. These excessive amounts of taxes and acts that Britain passed on the colonies totally defies their rights as Englishmen and they shouldn’t have to sit around and deal with it.

// Revolution of 1800 // The Revolution of 1800 is a very shady term to call the events that happened during Jefferson’s presidency. A revolution is defined by [|www.dictionary.com] as an overthrow or repudiation and the thorough replacement of an established government or political system by the people governed. Jefferson’s presidency was not to the degree that a revolution is defined as so I would not was that the Revolution of 1800 is truly a revolution. There were a lot of changes that happened during Jefferson’s presidency, but nothing to the extent to call it a revolution. The major change that happened was the government shifting from a Federalist based government to a Republican based government. This change happened because of the Federalists lack of ability to please a bunch of large groups of people because of their choices. This led to the victory of Jefferson in office. His new Republican views brought many other changes to the office that our country benefitted from. These included buying the Louisiana territory, participating in the First Barbary War, and pardoning people imprisoned under the Alien and Sedition Act. His goal to have America as the haven for the oppressed, and this is what cause the changes in America, but none of these changes were great enough to consider Jefferson’s presidency a revolution.