After reading chapter six of “US: A Narrative History”, about the Seven Years’ War and how its outcome affected relations between England and its colonies, there was eagerness to see how things played out in the aftermath of Britain’s attempts to consolidate political control over its American empire by imposing stricter regulations designed to raise colonial revenues and how this actually motivated many Americans to view independence as the only alternative. Chapter seven brought out the conflict in a different perspective by shedding spotlight on the unintended consequences of a long running struggle for supremacy between the English and French powers.
What was most surprising was the way the British had seemingly portrayed a lack of concern toward a potential backlash from the colonists or if they did not, then they underestimated the power of such an uprising. In other words, it was such an ironic ending to a conflict which the British thought they had put behind them with the ultimate victory over the French, only to take a new twist and have them removed instead. (Davidson, Brian, Christine, Mark and Stoff ch6).
Evidence from chapter six points to Britain spending quite a lot of effort dealing with the French’s interference, while leaving internal matters affecting colonists to play second fiddle. Whereas Americans had optimistic expectations from the role they would play in advancing the empire, their British counterparts had expressed litany of accusations against their perceived non cooperation with imperial forces and continued trade with the French enemies during the Seven Years’ conflict.Consequently, the British Parliament decided it was payback time to assert its authority directly in America’s trade and territory.
To ensure their end of advancing centralization was achieved, they deployed more British troops in American colonies and maintained it by increasing tax revenues. This was the spark that touched off the flame of the American Revolution and which chapter seven brings into sharp focus to help us see clearly the real cause(s) of the war. This is something unbeknownst to most people around the world but one that lies at the core of American libertarian value system.
Chapter seven also builds on the preceding chapter by outlining the actualization of the fears that had been expressed forthwith. Chapter six entailed the point of departure in thinking between the colonists and the colonialists, how the two sides started to drift apart in terms of anticipating to carry on with the duties of the new empire. Americans craved for more equal status in the empire while, on the other hand, the British responded with a cold heart toward granting any measure of power within the colonies.
This led to spirited campaigns against discriminating British policies with average success. Now, it was time to act once and for all against the all time aggressions of the British power. This action is what sets the tone in chapter seven and helps to set us up for what would follow the victory of the Continental Army namely the defining of the American society and the challenges associated with it (David et al ch7).
Although settlers who came from Europe did so because of religious freedom, at the start of the war of revolution, the motives had completely changed to those promoting “self-evident truths” of human equality and “inalienable rights” to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” These core values form the American society to date and are reflected in the way that they promote the ideals of freedom and democracy around the world.
Indeed, this time period is characterized by intrigue, suspense and twists that would work together as perfect ingredients to a movie set depicting the American dream of independence. The most captivating features in the film would be the backdrop and terrain of the battle fields overrun by the rebels and seasoned fighters alike.The main character would be George Washington and the monumental task he would face would be transforming a rag tag army to match or outwit a ruthless bulldog predisposed to massacring and vanquishing enemies (Wister, 1).
This chapter covers a total time span of 18 years of action packed galore ensconced between two wars that ran from 1863 to 1881. This time period was mostly chosen by the authors since it marks significant endings to two crucial conflicts which helped define the formation of the American society.
It makes for an interesting read about how the victory of one power became short-lived and its expectations overturned by unforeseen events when the enemy took advantage of the divisions that emerged in-house.
The material in this chapter does not need to be so hard for Americans to understand given the observation and experience of how things turned out to be today. Many Americans looking back to the bold decisions taken by their brave forefathers will no doubt be proud of the strong foundation laid in the formation of a world power today.
Those living at the time of the revolution might have doubted the idea of switching loyalty because the colonies were still fledgling and dependent without any clear future of their own or because the Continental Army could not bring itself to match a professionally trained Royal military, or both. Modern Americans, though, have the benefit of hindsight to count it a blessing to have the sort of men like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine, Francis Marion, Thomas Sumter, and the like to stage a rebellion against the mighty England.
Works Cited
Davidson, James, Brian DeLay, Christine Heyrman, Mark Lytle and Stoff, M. US: A Narrative History. New York: McGraw Hill. 2008. Web.
Wister, Sally. “A True Narrative.” Sally Wister’s Journal (1902).