1999 DBQ: Colonial Pre-Revolutionary Unity
On the eve of the revolution, Americans were not completely united. As always, there were the dissenters, in this case the Tories, and many people just didn't want to get involved. Even so, there were evidently enough people that the Americans could win the war (with the help of the French, of course). Before the war, practical people like Ben Franklin saw that the American people needed to come together as one in order to triumph over the evil British Empire.
Ben Franklin's drawing of the snake chopped into pieces fairly adequately showed the situation in the colonies around 1750 up to 1774 (A). By that time, the American people were in disarray, so Ben Franklin and others tried to do something about it. However, it didn't work because people were completely split about Britain, so they couldn't come together. They later sent the Olive Branch petition to King George, as a last chance kind of deal. However, he scoffed at the proposal and at the idea that the Americans would revolt, which may have had to do with the fact that he had a blood disease that made him totally mad at times. But people like Richard Henry Lee saw how united the colonists really were, and tried to tell people about it. "A very small corrupted Junto in New York excepted, all N. America is now most firmly unite and as firmly resolved to defend their liberties ad inifinitum against every power on earth..." (C).
Throughout all of the time, there were Tories. These were people who were loyal to the King and Britain. However, they had good reason. Almost 50% of the Tories in the colonies were farmers. These men had very little money and needed all of their children at the farm, so none of them could fight at war. Also, they needed the British outlet for goods, otherwise they would have no money. Money is what makes the world go round, and if you don't have it, serious problems arise, like starvation. The Tories were not quite enough of a problem to stop the success of the revolution, but the
Ben Franklin's drawing of the snake chopped into pieces fairly adequately showed the situation in the colonies around 1750 up to 1774 (A). By that time, the American people were in disarray, so Ben Franklin and others tried to do something about it. However, it didn't work because people were completely split about Britain, so they couldn't come together. They later sent the Olive Branch petition to King George, as a last chance kind of deal. However, he scoffed at the proposal and at the idea that the Americans would revolt, which may have had to do with the fact that he had a blood disease that made him totally mad at times. But people like Richard Henry Lee saw how united the colonists really were, and tried to tell people about it. "A very small corrupted Junto in New York excepted, all N. America is now most firmly unite and as firmly resolved to defend their liberties ad inifinitum against every power on earth..." (C).
Throughout all of the time, there were Tories. These were people who were loyal to the King and Britain. However, they had good reason. Almost 50% of the Tories in the colonies were farmers. These men had very little money and needed all of their children at the farm, so none of them could fight at war. Also, they needed the British outlet for goods, otherwise they would have no money. Money is what makes the world go round, and if you don't have it, serious problems arise, like starvation. The Tories were not quite enough of a problem to stop the success of the revolution, but the