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American Sense & Sensibilities. 18th Century America is a very diverse place in terms of race, religion, and home country Colonists saw themselves not as Americans, but as English living in America
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American Sense & Sensibilities 18th Century America is a very diverse place in terms of race, religion, and home country Colonists saw themselves not as Americans, but as English living in America Just as the colonists looked at the Indians as inferior, native English people looked at the colonists as inferior
Colonial Population Philadelphia population @1700 = 35,000 London population @1700 = 675,000
Virtual & Actual Representation John Dickinson King George III • ACTUAL = a representative from your district • VIRTUAL = someone else votes for you
Parliamentary Power • The governor could veto laws passed by the assembly or could just dissolve the assembly if they did things he didn’t like • The assembly had the power to enact taxes, so they had a de-facto veto over anything the governor did • Assemblies become more powerful and the governors less so as the 18th century wears on
Cato’s Letters 1) Argued human beings were ruled by ambition not principle 2) While all humans are corrupt, politicians are the most self-interested and corrupt of all human beings 3) The only antidote against this type of abuse of power is a watchful citizenry
John Locke & the Opposition Thinkers FOUR DEMANDS • Adult Male Suffrage • Homebound Representatives • Complete representation • Instructional citizenry JOHN LOCKE
English Government Structure James II
The First Acts • 1733 Molasses Act - Parliament taxed all sugar imports from the West Indies • 1764 Sugar Act - Lowered the tax on imported sugar but also provided for new customs officers
The Second Acts • 1764 Currency Act - Prevented colonists from using colonial money to pay debts and completely outlawed paper money in the colonies • 1765 Quartering Act - British made the colonies pay all the money towards housing British soldiers
1765 Stamp Act & Pope’s Day George Grenville
August 14, 1765 • Oliver, a wealthy merchant in town, was hired as the stamp collector Andrew Oliver
August 14, 1765 • Oliver, a wealthy merchant in town, was hired as the stamp collector • The mob tore down Oliver’s new warehouse, carried all the boards with them to his home and built a bonfire, and burned and beheaded the effigy Andrew Oliver
The Loyal Nine & John Hancock The Loyal Nine Burning Andrew Oliver’s effigy
The Third Acts • 1766 Declaratory Act - claimed that Parliament had the right to govern the colonies • 1767 Townshend Acts - Sweeping taxes that placed tariffs on glass, lead, paint, paper, and tea
Meanwhile in South Carolina… Henry Laurens