Essay #3: First Continental Congress

[9/29 note: You said to leave you a note in class, but I didn't get time to write one, so I'm including it here. I don't know if this applies to me, too, or just Sarah, but I feel like the prompt was vague and I may have been graded down for interpreting it differently. You said in your comment that I was supposed to discuss the position of the radicals in the pretext. I did not do this because I saw the prompt as meaning "explain what persuasive techniques the radicals used to get their points across" instead of "explain what the opinions of the radicals were and why." Therefore, my background information was about the reasons for the Continental Congress and I included the descriptions of the opinions in later chapters. The essay still might still deserve the grade that you gave it, but I would appreciate the second look because the prompt did not say we had to discuss it a certain way. In case you still don't like it, I'm putting my revises thesis in this note. I didn't change it in the essay because it would not make sense with the rest of it.
My revised thesis: The radicals were the most persuasive and effective in achieving their goals because their view made the most sense. They wanted to separate because the British government was imposing taxation without representation as well as the "intolerable acts" and because the war had already started.]

The people of America might still be living in colonies if not for the eloquent arguments of John Adams. Following the French and Indian War, the British government began to create a series of new laws that limited the colonists’ freedom. One of these was the Tea Act, which was created in 1773 to give the British a monopoly on the American tea business. The colonists’ response came in the form of the Boston Tea Party, in which they dumped the contents of 342 chests of tea from a British ship into the ocean. The enraged British government passed a series of acts to restrict colonial freedom – particularly in Massachusetts – that came to be known by colonists as the “Intolerable Acts.” Colonists met in Philadelphia at the First Continental Congress to respond to this and broke into three groups: radicals, moderates, and conservatives. Of these, the radicals were by far the most effective in creating persuasive arguments and achieving their goals. They were severely outnumbered in the beginning, but they ended up guiding the actions of the colonies through the continental congress because they gave good arguments and used logic to point out the problems of the British government’s relationship with the colonies.

Most representatives at the First Continental Congress held opinions that differed from those of the radicals. Many of them, including George Washington of Virginia and John Dickinson of Pennsylvania, were moderates. Moderates were the complete contrast to radicals in that they wanted to avoid taking any real action against Britain. Although they agreed that there were problems between Britain and the colonies, they maintained that the problems could be resolved and the relationship could be fixed without separating or taking action to remove British authority. The moderate opinion was held by certain colonists for a long time, but the congress eventually came to the decision that something had to be done. The recent problems were proof of the rocky relationship with Britain and the moderates offered no solution, so the people of the Congress were easily swayed by other arguments.

The second group formed was the conservatives, including John Jay of New York and Joseph Galloway of Pennsylvania. They, like the radicals, believed that action was required against the British government, but did not favor the idea of separating. Instead, they wanted to recreate the situation in the colonies from before the French and Indian War. Joseph Galloway proposed a plan called the Galloway plan, which would restore the relationship between the colonies and the British crown to what it essentially was before 1763, but with one major change: the colonies would have a “grand council” that would be given the power to veto British acts. This plan was almost passed, but was defeated by only a few votes. Eventually, the radicals began to win over the rest of the representatives and they chose to take more severe action.

There were twice as may Americans opposed to or indifferent to the idea of independence than there were those who favored it. The same was true of the representatives when the First Continental Congress began. However, John Adams of Massachusetts gave very eloquent arguments in favor of separation and managed to sway quite a few people to his ideas instead of those of Galloway or the moderates. The radicals used ideas from Thomas Jefferson’s A Summary View of the Rights of British America in their arguments. They pointed out the reasons why Britain should not have authority to tax the colonies and that each colony had its own individual legislature, none of which were related to that of Britain. The arguments were persuasive and the radicals managed to barely defeat the Galloway plan in favor of their own. They were not able to convince the other representatives of separating, but they did manage to convince them to take more extreme action than had been suggested by the moderates or the conservatives. They created the Declaration of Resolves, which declared the “Intolerable Acts” null and void and recommended that colonists obtain weapons and form militias. It also recommended a boycott of all British imports and even called for the establishment of “associations” in every colony to make sure that people enforced the boycott. The radicals won the debates and eventually convinced the others to help them to reach their goals. They did not declare independence at the First Continental Congress, but they started on the path to it and managed to gain support from those who had originally disagreed completely.

Of the three groups of people at the First Continental Congress, the radicals definitely took the most important steps to achieving their goals by creating the most persuasive arguments. The moderates did not offer a plan that would help to fix the situation between the colonists and the British crown. The conservatives created a plan, but it was defeated because their arguments could not beat those of John Adams. The radicals created logical and eloquent arguments and eventually managed to sway opponents onto their side. They were severely outnumbered in the beginning, but their style of debate brought opponents onto their side and allowed them to create the Declaration of Resolves. The First Continental Congress was the colonists’ first step to the radicals’ goal of independence.

Essay #2: Religion in the Colonies

Should the “opiate of the people” cause this many extraordinary developments? In 1517, Martin Luther nailed his protests about the Catholic Church to the door of Wittenberg’s Cathedral, starting the Protestant Reformation and causing many Christians to separate from Catholicism. In the 1530s, Henry VIII severed ties with the Catholic Church and created the Church of England. Many people, later named “Puritans,” wanted to purify Christianity. As time passed, these people became upset by the lack of reform in the Church of England. When England began colonizing the Americas, many settlers sought to bring about religious change. Religion played an extremely significant role in the establishment of the English colonies in North America by giving incentives for the creation of early colonies, causing conflict which led to the founding of other colonies as religious havens, and being heavily incorporated into multiple colonial governments.

Two of the earliest colonies, Massachusetts Bay and Plymouth, were founded by Puritans seeking to avoid persecution. Massachusetts Bay was originally started as an economic venture, but it was made into a theocracy before the settlers even reached land. John Winthrop, who was a preacher on the Arabella, said that he wanted Massachusetts Bay to be a “city upon a hill.” This meant that they would be watched by the world and could not allow themselves to do anything wrong. He believed that God had created an agreement with the Puritans similar to the one he held with the people of Israel. He also believed that the Anglican church of England had gone astray and wanted to help fix it. As a contrast, the Pilgrims who founded Plymouth were separatists who decided that their differences with the Church of England could not be reconciled. They came to the New World with the hope of creating a sanctuary where citizens could worship in the “correct” way without being persecuted by the Anglicans of England.

Conflict between people with different religious opinions led to the creation of new colonies as havens for settlers with certain beliefs. Although the settlers of Massachusetts Bay and Plymouth sought to avoid oppression based on their beliefs, they themselves oppressed others, such as Roger Williams and Anne Hutchinson for their differing beliefs. Roger Williams believed in the concepts of separation of church and state as well as complete religious freedom. He was banished from Massachusetts Bay and eventually created his won colony, Rhode Island, where his views were incorporated into government. Anne Hutchinson publicly expressed her opinion that people could interpret the Bible themselves and that priests were not necessary. After being banished, she helped Roger Williams to found Rhode Island. Other colonies were also created as sanctuaries that provided freedom. Pennsylvania was founded by William Penn as a haven for Quakers, but allowed settlers of many origins. Maryland, created by Lord Baltimore, was originally a haven for Catholics, but ended up being a sanctuary for all Christians because they were all given equal rights.

Religion played an important role in colonial government as well as providing an incentive for creation. Massachusetts Bay created a theocracy. Only adult males belonging to Puritan congregations were allowed to vote. Laws punished those who did not attend church or who did things considered to be sins. Anyone who expressed a differing religious opinion (such as Anne Hutchinson or Roger Williams) was banished. Plymouth had similar laws, punishing those who failed to live by “God’s law.” Rhode Island was the complete opposite. The government was created on the idea of separation of church and state. All residents were guaranteed religious freedom and religion was never incorporated into government in any way. This was very strange at the time because all other governments had specific religions that people were expected to follow by law. Pennsylvania was similar. William Penn, the founder, was a Quaker and believed in equal rights for people of all religions. He, too, incorporated this idea into his colony’s government. Lord Baltimore, founder of Maryland, was less extreme. He gave equal rights to all Christians, but persecuted people of other religions.

Religion played an extraordinary role in the shaping of the English colonies in North America. It gave settlers the incentives to come to America, caused conflicts that led people to found new colonies, and was used as a basis for multiple governments. Two of the earlier colonies were created because the Puritans and Separatists wanted places to worship without persecution. Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, and Maryland were founded by people who were persecuted in existing colonies and wanted safe havens for their beliefs. Religion was the main basis for government in Massachusetts Bay, while Rhode Island had separation of church and state as well as complete religious freedom. The English colonies never would have developed the way they did if there had not been so many religious conflicts and revolutions at the time.

Essay 9/6/08: Comparing the Colonies

The English colonies in the New World shared many things, but they were also very different. Some were founded on the basis of religious freedom or tolerance. Others were created for political or economic reasons. Populations varied differed by high numbers and some colonies were much more diverse than others. Many colonies had governments that gave citizens little to no voice, while others allowed all adult men to be involved. Each colony had a completely original history and culture.

The colonies were all founded for different reasons. Many founders were searching for religious freedom. Massachusetts Bay was created by Puritans who sought to escape the persecution they had faced in England. The separatists, also known as Pilgrims, who felt the need to separate from the Church of England due to differences, founded Plymouth. Lord Baltimore, who was given Maryland by the King, wanted to create a haven for Catholics. Roger Williams, after being driven from Salem, Massachusetts for his beliefs in equality, created Rhode Island as a place of religious freedom. Thomas Hooker left Massachusetts because he wanted to practice a freer and more tolerant form of Protestantism. He founded Connecticut as a colony for people with similar beliefs. William Penn, a Quaker who was given land by the King, founded Pennsylvania both on his belief in religious tolerance and his desire to have positive relations with the Native Americans. Other colonies had different origins. Virginia was founded for economic reasons. Many people came from England to Virginia seeking precious metals such as gold. Georgia was originally planned as a place to house English debtors that were in jail, but that idea was never actually put in motion. Delaware has perhaps the most interesting history, as it changed hands between the Dutch and the Swedes several times from 1631 to 1673, before the English took control in 1674.

The populations varied in different colonies. Virginia had the highest number of people, with an estimated 447,000 in 1770. That was over 12 times the population of Delaware, which was only about 35,500 people. The races and religions of these people were also very different in separate colonies. Massachusetts Bay had a population that consisted entirely if Puritans, while Plymouth’s consisted of Separatists. The people of Virginia were almost all Anglicans, although they did not incorporate it into their government as much as the Puritans and Separatists did. Connecticut’s population was mainly Puritans who, like their founder, preferred a more tolerant approach. Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, and Maryland were much more diverse when it came to religion because they all promoted religious tolerance. New York had a high number of Dutch people because of the fact that the Dutch had settled there earlier. Delaware’s population was very diverse because there were still remnants of all the different countries that had controlled it before the English. A large percentage of Georgia’s population was African slaves.

Although all of the colonies were part of England, they were each governed differently. Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Delaware were all proprietary colonies. Their individual governments were decided by whoever the King had given the land to. Pennsylvania, however, still had its taxes enforced by the British Parliament. Delaware was only a proprietary colony from 1682 to 1701, before William Penn, its owner, could no longer control it and it became independent. It elected its own assembly in 1704. By the time of the Revolution, all proprietary colonies except for Pennsylvania and Maryland had come under royal rule. The non-proprietary colonies had their own individual governments, allowing for a certain amount of self-government. Virginia had the House of Burgesses, which was the first representative government in the New World. Connecticut’s Fundamental Orders boasted a democratic government following the will of the people. Rhode Island’s charter guaranteed religious freedom, which was very strange at that time. As a contrast, Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay both based laws on religion, forcing people to go to church and punishing people for things that they considered to be sins.

None of the founders of the colonies were seeking the same thing. The Americas were new and each colony could be shaped into something different. Many were diverse while others were created purely for one religion or race. Some were given the right to govern themselves, but many had to obey leaders appointed by the English King. The laws created by these governments were unique in themselves, as they were all created to tailor to specific interests. Through these differences, the colonies created unique cultures and societies.

[Soure for populations: http://merrill.olm.net/mdocs/pop/colonies/colonies.htm]

Summer Vacation

Over the summer, I went went to a drama camp at the University of Chicago with my friends. We wrote and performed a play with a very strange plot (A hurricane named Zoe doesn't want to destroy things, so she moves to the city, where only mental patients can see her). After the drama camp, I went to a debate camp in Chicago.