Establishment of American Identity in the Colonies

The colonies have withstood many continuities and changes throughout their development which allowed them to develop a sense of their identity as a newly independent nation by the eve of the revolution. The colonies have undergone many different conflicts which have all led to where they are today. Many different changes such as results from the French and Indian War allowed the colonies to develop a sense of their own identity. Some continuities such as gender roles and the class system also led to the unity of the colonies. These continuities and changes caused the colonies to become unique and different from Britain allowing them to develop a sense of their own identity and unity. Because of these continuities and changes the colonies were able to eventually become united and form a sense of nationalism different from thy of Britain’s. They became their own independent nation and developed their own nationality.

One continuity that helped develop a sense of unity among the colonies was that of gender roles and social constructs. The colonies adopted the standard, patriarchal society when they started out in America and kept them all the way through. The men were had many large responsibilities that they had to uphold. Some of those include having social power, contribute to the community, participate in the government, and many more. Another big aspect in the colonies was that only white men who owned land could vote. This is why white land owning men were dominant in colonial societies; they had more power in government than the average male or any women. Even though women didn’t have as much power or say in the colonies, they still played a big role. Women were expected to maintain the household order by taking care of young children, provide meals for the family, and do all household chores. As a result of this continuity, the colonies had a set social structure which was followed by everyone. This united the colonists and gave them a sense of Americanism without them realizing it at the time.

One change that led to the colonies to unite as Americans was the startup of the French and Indian War. This war required the British and the colonies to join alliances to fight the French, which was hard to do since the colonies couldn’t even get along amongst themselves. As a result of this, Britain called a congressional meeting to Albany, New York to talk about keeping the Iroquois Indians loyal to Britain and achieving greater unity within the colonies. The Albany Congress tried to come up with plans for the Colonies/British to follow but nothing seemed to work out. The French started out the war strong and sent an urgent wake up call to the British side. The start of this war resulted in not only the colonies and the British to unite, but it also provoked the colonists to achieve greater unity as Americans.

After the Seven Years War, which was really nine years long, the British came out on top over the French. This war changed many things for both the colonies and Britain which helped lead to the colonies becoming Americans. After the war, the British were very far in debt, and thought the best way to deal with that was to tax the colonies. In 1764 Britain put into effect The Sugar Act, which raised duties on foreign sugar allowing British sugar growers to make extra money. The colonists resented this tax and protested against parliament which resulted in them lower the duties once again. This didn’t stop parliament from creating new Acts later on. In 1765, they put into effect two new Acts: The Quartering Act and The Stamp Act. Once again, the colonists were not happy about this. They did anything from boycotting British goods, to rioting and attacking British tax collectors. As a result of these Acts, the colonists came up with one of the most known lines in colonial history, “No taxation without representation.” The colonists realized that they were being treated unfairly by parliament and wanted to split into an independent nation. This quote helped unify the colonies as Americans because it was a principle they all believed in and was one they created their own independent government around.

Parliament continued to put new Acts into effect changing ways the colonists would live throughout the next couple of years. The colonists began to take the taxes less and less serious which resulted in the British in sending two regiments of troops to Boston in 1768. On March 5, 1970 the Boston Massacre occurred, with the British killing or wounding 11 colonists and only two of the soldiers being charged with manslaughter. The colonists were engraved by the unequally treatment of the British troops which brought them one step closer in fighting for their independence.

In 1772 Samuel Adams, John Adams’ cousin, decided something needed to be done about all the changes brought about by parliament to the colonies. He organized the Committee of Correspondence. Their purpose was to keep alive the spirits of resistance of the British policy and to politically unite all the colonies. This committee provoked the creation of committees within each colony. Each colony had a small committee where they could relay ideas and information throughout the colonies; these committees showed that the colonies were united as Americans and directly evolved into the first American congress.

By the year 1773, the colonists where tired of parliament and were ready to separate from them. In December of 1773 the Boston Tea Party occurred which resulted in parliament passing the Intolerable Acts. One of the most memorable and important responses to these Acts was the First Continental Congress in 1774. They drafted many important papers such as the Delcaration of Rights, and many petitions for British Parliament. When the British denied their demands the colonists assembled the Second Continental Congress again in Philadelphia. When this second congress was assembled the battles of Lexington and Concord had already occurred which means the colonists official fight for independence has started. The congress appointed George Washington as their commander in chief, and they took the vital role in directing the Revolutionary War.

Throughout the years 1750-1775 the colonies went through many changes and continuities that helped unite and shape them as Americans. They preserved the gender roles they have always had which help create the standard American society of the men supporting his family. They have also gone through many changes such as the taxes they had to endure which helped them unite as an independent nation and fight against the British. The colonies started out as not only British enemies but enemies of themselves, and turned out to be one of the strongest nations in the world.