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| January 1775 |
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| Written by Andrew Stough |
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No battles were fought, and no nationally organized contests of the Monarch’s will are to be seen in the month of January, 1775. His policies were playing into the hands of those who were building the thirteen colonies in the direction of unification. This in turn would lead to antagonisms and slight encounters with his Majesty’s troops. Such encounters would in turn bring the thirteen colonies into a closer alignment. The division between King and Colonies began with the quartering of troops and the imposition of taxes by Parliament. Winning the French and Indian War placed Canada safely in the hands of the Empire. From Pennsylvania to the Canadian border only the Indians remained as a menace to the colonists. Stationing of British regulars in Boston by the sea hardly represented a defense against the Indian along the western borders. If the British army was not there to defend against the Indian, then who was he there for? Philadelphia and New York were the largest cities in the nation. While the inhabitants of the two cities had their share of dissidents, the bulk of the citizens were predominantly loyal to King and Parliament. Smaller Boston was a hotbed of resentment toward the imposition of policies arriving from London after 1763. The most resented was the stationing of troops in Boston, ostensibly for the protection of the people. The Yankee mind was not fooled. Troops in Boston could only be there for one reason, to intimidate and oppress the people of that city and it’s surrounding communities. For over a century the King had ignored the colonies, allowing them to prosper or die based on their ability to govern themselves and to regulate their own commerce. Why now was the Crown so concerned about their welfare? In Britain’s past wars with France, the local militia had fought and died side by side with British regulars on the North American continent. How much more loyalty was required? On it’s own, New England had developed a thriving trade with the rest of the world particularly the sugar islands of the West Indies. The plantation economy of the more southerly colonies did not impact as many individuals as did the small farm and sea-borne trading economy of New England. While still acknowledging it’s allegiance to the mother country and it’s monarch, the local populations were the strongest in their resentment against London’s interference in daily affairs of government. In the 12 years since 1763, the colonies had given the government in London ample warning that they did not intend to tolerate any interference in their overseas commerce or internal affairs. They asked but one thing; that London return to the relationship enjoyed prior to 1763. Inherent in this insistence was the admitted fact that by British law Parliament could not tax or otherwise interfere with the colonies' internal affairs. Whether true or not, the colonies insisted on Parliament’s asking for their permission to tax or direct business and trade in the colonies. There had been a desire by the Crown and Parliament to undo what had been done since 1763 but they found the colonies in denial of Parliament’s right to govern the colonies under any circumstances. This caused a hardening of opinion in Parliament, who insisted that times had changed and it now represented the colonies as well as the inhabitants of the British Isles and were not only justified in their actions, but acted for the best interests of both the home islands and the colonies. This bickering would continue for a few months before unplanned actions would lead to a war that would last from Lexington to Yorktown, almost seven years later. References: Robert Leckie’s "George Washington’s War"; Edmund Morgan’s "The Birth of the Republic" |