instilled the rebellious spirit in america
defying the proclamation of 1763
Summary
As a result of clashes with Native American tribes, King George III issued the Proclamation of 1763 on October 7th, which forbade colonial settlement west of the peak of the Appalachian Mountains. Colonists were not allowed to purchase lands from the tribes, that right was reserved for the Crown. Due to the weak enforcement, and the rigid opposition of colonial settlers, the proclamation did very little to curb the westward flow of pioneers into the West. Instead, colonists like George Washington used the Proclamation of 1763 against the British as a source of Anti-British sentiment during the years preceding the American Revolution. To infuriate the British and rebel, Washington attempted to purchase as much Native American land as possible (illegally), as he claimed that "The Proclamation of 1763 will soon be revoked... it was only meant 'as a temporary expedient to quiet the minds of the Indians.'" Other colonists who protested against this act included Patrick Henry, who was famous for his notorious "Give me liberty or give me death" speech and Henry Laurens. Washington's bold prediction about the Proclamation of 1763 proved to be correct when the British moved the boundary line as part of the Treaty of Fort Stanwix, where the Iroquois Confederacy sold parts of current-day New York, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Kentucky, and West Virginia to the colonists. In the South, however, Natives became disillusioned with the colonists' rapid westward movement. The Creeks referred to the Colonists as "People greedily grasping after the lands of the red people." However, in the end, the colonists were not satisfied, and this act along with the Sugar Act, the Stamp Act, the Townsend Acts, the Intolerable Acts, and the Boston Massacre all culminated in the passage of the Declaration of Independence and the waging of the Revolutionary War.
Connection to the Thesis
This artifact connects to the thesis because it portrays how the American frontier (physical) impacted American society by catalyzing the growth of the "American Rebel." When the Colonists felt that their freedom and right to their prized frontier was endangered, their intuition automatically told them to fight and protect their freedom. With each act passed by Parliament during the late 1700s, Colonial rights and freedoms were infringed, and dissent grew. The first signs of dissent were with the continuation of the expansion and progression of the American frontier-- no British act, document, or idea could contain the frontier. Just the presence of abundant, free land (along with unreasonable British rules) implanted the idea of rebelling in American society, one that reverberated throughout history. The Civil War, the race riots, womens' demands for equality, African American demands for equality, demands for equality for homosexuals are only a few examples of post-Revolutionary war rebellious movements. Had there been no frontier, one could argue that there would have been no "rebellious American," which would have resulted in an entirely different society. We may still be British subjects. Women may not have the right to vote. Slavery could still exist today, in the 21st century. One can only imagine how society, today, would be like without the influence of the American frontier on the rebel.
As a result of clashes with Native American tribes, King George III issued the Proclamation of 1763 on October 7th, which forbade colonial settlement west of the peak of the Appalachian Mountains. Colonists were not allowed to purchase lands from the tribes, that right was reserved for the Crown. Due to the weak enforcement, and the rigid opposition of colonial settlers, the proclamation did very little to curb the westward flow of pioneers into the West. Instead, colonists like George Washington used the Proclamation of 1763 against the British as a source of Anti-British sentiment during the years preceding the American Revolution. To infuriate the British and rebel, Washington attempted to purchase as much Native American land as possible (illegally), as he claimed that "The Proclamation of 1763 will soon be revoked... it was only meant 'as a temporary expedient to quiet the minds of the Indians.'" Other colonists who protested against this act included Patrick Henry, who was famous for his notorious "Give me liberty or give me death" speech and Henry Laurens. Washington's bold prediction about the Proclamation of 1763 proved to be correct when the British moved the boundary line as part of the Treaty of Fort Stanwix, where the Iroquois Confederacy sold parts of current-day New York, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Kentucky, and West Virginia to the colonists. In the South, however, Natives became disillusioned with the colonists' rapid westward movement. The Creeks referred to the Colonists as "People greedily grasping after the lands of the red people." However, in the end, the colonists were not satisfied, and this act along with the Sugar Act, the Stamp Act, the Townsend Acts, the Intolerable Acts, and the Boston Massacre all culminated in the passage of the Declaration of Independence and the waging of the Revolutionary War.
Connection to the Thesis
This artifact connects to the thesis because it portrays how the American frontier (physical) impacted American society by catalyzing the growth of the "American Rebel." When the Colonists felt that their freedom and right to their prized frontier was endangered, their intuition automatically told them to fight and protect their freedom. With each act passed by Parliament during the late 1700s, Colonial rights and freedoms were infringed, and dissent grew. The first signs of dissent were with the continuation of the expansion and progression of the American frontier-- no British act, document, or idea could contain the frontier. Just the presence of abundant, free land (along with unreasonable British rules) implanted the idea of rebelling in American society, one that reverberated throughout history. The Civil War, the race riots, womens' demands for equality, African American demands for equality, demands for equality for homosexuals are only a few examples of post-Revolutionary war rebellious movements. Had there been no frontier, one could argue that there would have been no "rebellious American," which would have resulted in an entirely different society. We may still be British subjects. Women may not have the right to vote. Slavery could still exist today, in the 21st century. One can only imagine how society, today, would be like without the influence of the American frontier on the rebel.