War or No War?

Heidi Wyman

5-14-08

Abstract: In this essay I will use a form of propaganda to persuade you to go to war with Britain. I will use Wikipedia, Nokomis Honors 10 class notes and USHistory.org. This is important because the American Revolution would not have happened based just on the British Acts themselves. It was the propaganda that persuaded most of the people to consent to the American Revolution.

I, Maximum Unrepresented, write to you about our current standing with the British. We have come to a fork in the road, we must choose do we work to make peace or do we go to war? The answer is simple, to me we must fight to defend our honor, our rights and to obtain independence. I know you loyalists would argue that we need to stay on good terms with the fellow British people, but why are you living so far away from Britain if you want to live just like them. It is only natural for a colony so far away from its homeland to want independence.

The British have violated us to many times over the past few years, starting with the Stamp Act. The British have decided to place a tax on all of our newspapers, pamphlets, and other public and legal documents. These articles are all required to have either a stamp or British seal on them. This was only the first of all the taxes and acts the British planned to enforce upon us. The British want money back from the Seven Years War and decided that the we would have to pay our debt one way or another. The British then inflicted the Sugar(molasses,wine) act upon us. Not only did we have to pay a tax on our paper, we have to pay a three cent tax on all foreign refined sugar. The British have also increased tax on coffee, indigo and certain kinds of wine. We were already in a state of economic depression because of the British and now we have to pay a three cent tax to print our beliefs and to put sugar in our coffee or tea.

The British have closed the port of Boston of "landing and discharging, loading or shipping, of goods, wares, and merchandise" until such time as restitution was made to the king's treasury. Paying them back for all that we have lost is an absurd concept. This closed off all of the Massachusetts connections with any foreign trade. It also reduced the Massachusetts supplies greatly, leaving them with very little to live off. This act drew help from sister colonies and we ask for that help again for a final attack on Britain. They then decide that we were not capable of choosing our own leaders and passes an acts stating that they have the right to pick the leaders of the colonies. With this act they have completely take away our say in things that are going to happen to us. They are becoming more in control of us every act they pass.

The British did not just stop at these four acts, they wanted to control everything that we do. They tell us that we must house and feed British soldiers, under the Quartering Act. Not only are the British attacking our economy, they are making it personal attacks on our colonists. These British soldiers do not have any respect for the people they are living with and take advantage of them and their children. Our economy has taken another hit with these men in our homes, we must provide them with food that has been taxed by the British government, decreasing the amount of money we have to provide our own homes with food. The British have passed an act stating that they, "had, hath, and of right ought to have, full power and authority to make laws and statutes of sufficient force and validity to bind the colonies and people of America...in all cases whatsoever." This act has provided the British with the power to make new acts that control our every move, we will have no rights to do anything they do not want us to do, if we let them continue.

The British have made several attacks personally on Massachusetts. First the British soldiers killed 5 colonial men in the Boston Massacre, and when on trial these men got a slap on the hand for their killing, by only getting their thumbs branded and then they were set free. This is not justice for what Boston had to suffer in that fight. Us as Colonies have to join together to fight for what we think is right, our independence. We have to stand against the British Government and declare war to obtain what our ancestors came to colonies for.

WE MUST STOP THE BRITISH FROM:

- Over taxing with no representation

- Inflicting huge consequences

- Destroying our economy

- Choosing our leaders

- Housing British soldiers in our homes

- Making our laws

- Splitting apart the colonies

- Expanding Westward

- Taking away our Independence

Sources

http://www.socialstudiesforkids.com/wwww/us/sugaractdef.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Townshend_Acts

http://www.ushistory.org
http://www.loyalamericanregiment.org/propaganda.htm

http://www.earlyamerica.com/review/winter2000/loyalists.html