Monday, October 11, 2010

The Conciliatory Propositions

Before the actual start of the Revolutionary War, the colonists were taxed in multiple accounts by the English. The colonists saw these taxes as a breach of their rights as citizens of the British Empire, which they still viewed themselves as. The colonists problems with these taxes was not the taxes themselves, but the fact that the colonists did not have a representative in Parliament to speak about these taxes on their behalf. The colonists outrage at their lack of representation in Parliament led to multiple boycotts and protests. The English saw that this cycle of taxing the colonists and the colonists boycotting the taxed materials was not working in their favor, so in the winter of 1774, Lord North came up with "The Conciliatory Propositions". "The Conciliatory Propositions" was a document that proposed to the colonists that they tax themselves upon Parliaments request, essentially satisfying both parties. But the Propositions did not reach the Colonists until after the first shots of war had been fired at Lexington and Concord. Lord North's Proposition did not matter at that point, rendering the venture pointless. I thought that this was a crucial point in the history of the war. These Propositions seemed that they satisfied the needs of both the colonists and the English, while at the same time maintaining English rule over the colonies and preventing bloodshed. I'm not saying that this was the best option in the long run, but at the time this probably would have made a whole lot of difference if it had reached the colonists on time. My question to you is: If the colonists had received "The Conciliatory Propositions" before the events at Lexington and Concord, do you think the colonists would have reconsidered going to war with the English?

1 comment:

  1. Jayson,

    I'm not sure if they did satisfy both parties. Look at, for example, Franklin's letter on the topic--he doesn't seem very satisfied.

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