The French and Indian War

Tara Flanagan

Mr. Perez

APUSH W3

October 24, 2012

FRQ 1

The French and Indian War, beginning in 1754, lasted seven long years and led to extreme tensions between Great Britain and the colonies. The French and Indian War began with the tensions between the colonists, Great Britain, and France and ended in a more strenuous relationship between Great Britain and the radical colonists who pushed the colonies to a revolution even though many were still loyal or neutral to Great Britain. Socially, the French and Indian War created an appreciation and usage of enlightenment philosophies including liberty, equality, and democracy. These philosophies created an identity, nationalism and even more tension within the colonies because the colonists felt they were being denied their rights. Politically, the French and Indian War caused Britain to tighten her grip on the colonies while the colonies sought more freedoms to enhance their economy through expansion and trade and to be given their rights within government and society. This led to many political acts put on the colonies by Great Britain which led to many forms of protest within the colonies including boycotts, vandalism and radical groups trying to win their freedoms back from Britain. Economically, both the colonies and Great Britain's depended greatly on one another because to mercantilism. As an effect of the French and Indian War, manufacturing in the colonies decreased, tax disputes caused tension, and the favorable balance of trade in both places was interrupted. Thus, the French and Indian War affected the relationship between Great Britain and the colonies socially, politically and economically.

Politically, Great Britain and the colonist's agreement on a balance of power between them differed immensely. In the French and Indian War the colonists and Great Britain were allies to one another. However, once the war ended, Britain's grip on the colonists increased because Tories took control of Parliament in Great Britain. This was shown by various acts including the Stamp Act that put a tax on all paper items. Britain also put limits on the colonists with the Intolerable Act that shut the port of Boston as a punishment of the Boston Tea Party. Alongside the Intolerable Acts was the Quebec Act that made it seem like parliament favored the more northern colonies rather than the thirteen colonies. However, the colonists pushed towards more freedoms within the New World given that there were no immediate threats, such as foreign European nations, once the war ended. One large shift in the colonies was the end of salutary neglect. This shift made the colonies lose a lot of business and feel that Britain's control was limiting them. Tensions began to rise slowly from Great Britain's increased control. As the tension increased, the union within colonial government increased as well, separating Great Britain and the colonists even more. For example, the Albany Plan of Union, although rejected, created unity among the colonists against the Indians for a short period of time and proved that the colonists were able to have their own government. However, as the colonist's self-government began to grow, tension and separation increased and some radical colonists began to lash out. One event that led to the hatred of Great Britain among radicals was the Boston Massacre in which many colonists believed that British soldiers attacked a group of colonists although evidence shows that the fault was on both the colonists and British soldier's hands. Radical movements became more common through boycotts and vandalism, one example being the Boston Tea Party in which radical's ruined British tea imports to show their resistance towards the British Empire. The Sons and Daughters of Liberty, a radical group lead by Sam Adams, also protested through petitions, acts of violence (tar and feathering) and boycotts. By the end of the 1770's the radical group grew and political tension between the colonists and Great Britain was on a thin string that was about to break.

Economically, the colonists depended greatly on the business of Great Britain but they also wanted to expand their trade. When the Tories came to power in Parliament, mercantilist laws in the colonies strengthened and salutary neglect within the colonies ended. Negative effects of this were that the colonists were limited to trade with Britain, colonial manufacturing decreased and a favorable balance of trade within the colonial products lacked. However, on the positive side, colonists had a reliable source of business with Great Britain and the continuous protection and financial aid from Great Britain. The main crisis of the augmented mercantilism put on the colonies was the end of salutary neglect. This kept the colonists from being able