Pre Revolutionary Mentality :: essays research papers

US History I Test   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The people represented in the picture, are pulling off King George III symbolizes how Americans felt right before the start of the revolutionary war. I believe this picture is in the beginning or middle part of 1775. The people of America were mad, were so, fed up with the British government that they will start a war in order to break away from them. These feelings didn’t just come about all of a sudden though, England set themselves up for this the moment they set up colonies that were three thousand miles away. When James the II was kicked out beneath his crown in 1688 his daughter Mary and her husband William of Orange became joint sovereigns. This led several of the colonies into small revolts of their own. Not battles where people were killed, but battles of overcoming oppression. this gave the colonies hope, even though the â€Å"imperial grip† around the colonies would be getting tighter. In the years between 1730 and 1740, there was a period of a religious â€Å"awakening† this brought about new ideas and new faith in God. The old Puritan ways didn’t fade out but new beliefs came about with new religious options. This gave people a chance to start over with their religious faith. People listened to great preachers like Charles Wesley, who founded Methodism, George Whitfield, and a Congregationalist named Jonathan Edwards. The Great Awaking was an awaking of religious beliefs and spirits, another movement, later labeled the â€Å"enlightenment† was an awakening of learning. Great improvements in science and technologies were coming out of Europe. Great thinkers were writing and challenging the norm. They brought up ideas of leaving England and questioned the Authority of the crown. Soon after things get rolling in America, Britain leaves the colonies alone. This period known as salutary neglect leaves the American people thinking about possible independence away from England. Before 1763 the only laws that were in place were the navigation acts, which made sure the colonies only traded with England, and were loosely enforced. In 1763 the proclamation of 1763 drew a line on the Appalachian Mountains that forbid settlers from traveling west of the mountains. The Indians were excited about this, it would stop the invasion of their lands and the battles they fought to protect it. It eventually failed as settlers moved into the Ohio valley anyways.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This was a changing point for the colonies, it was the first time they had really been restricted, but it would not be the last.