Before and during the French and Indian War,
from about 1650 to 1763,
Britain essentially left its American colonies to run themselves
in an age of salutary neglect. Given relative freedom to do as they
pleased, the North American settlers turned to unique forms of government
to match their developing new identity as Americans. They established
representative legislatures and democratic town meetings. They also
enjoyed such rights as local judiciaries and trials by jury in which
defendants were assumed innocent until proven guilty. American shipping,
although theoretically regulated by the Navigation Act, functioned
apart from the mighty British fleet for more than a hundred years.
Finally, the promise of an expansive, untamed continent
gave all settlers a sense of freedom and the ability to start fresh
in the New World.
After the French and Indian War, the age of salutary neglect
was finished. Britain, wanting to replenish its drained treasury,
placed a larger tax burden on America and tightened regulations
in the colonies. Over the years, Americans were forbidden to circulate
local printed currencies, ordered to house British troops, made
to comply with restrictive shipping policies, and forced to pay
unpopular taxes. Furthermore, many of those failing to comply with
the new rules found themselves facing a British judge without jury.
Americans were shocked and offended by what they regarded as violations of
their liberties. Over time, this shock turned to indignation, which ultimately
grew into desire for rebellion. In a mere twelve years—between the
end of the French and Indian War in 1763 and
the outbreak of the Revolutionary War in 1775—the
colonists moved from offering nightly toasts to King George III’s
health to demonstrations of outright hostility toward the British
Crown.
The American Revolution had profound consequences, not
only for the American colonists but for the rest of the world as
well. Never before had a body of colonists so boldly declared their
monarch and government incapable of governing a free people. The Thomas
Jefferson–penned Declaration of Independence was as unique as it
was reasonable, presenting a strong, concise case for American rebellion
against a tyrannical government. Since then, his declaration has
been a model for many groups and peoples fighting their own uphill
battles.
