Could we have avoided the war?
I believe that we couldn't of avoided the war because as Americans we like choice and the British were defending their honor. British Ministry did not accept William Pitts suggestion on 1) making the Continental Congress a lawful body and 2) Renouncing British taxing power. Things were then made worse with the Coercive Acts which included 1)Port Bill 2)Government Act 3)Quartering Act and 4)Justice Act. Congress reacted with the Declaration of Rights and Grievances and the Intolerable Acts to be repealed by Sept. 1775. If both the British and Americans would of compromised the war could of been postponed but not avoided. Communication between the British and Americans was seldom and arrogance also played a big role. The Americans believed they were citizens while the British did not believe this which also caused tension.
Do you believe we could of avoided the war or was it too late at this point in history?
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19 comments:
I agree that the war could have possibly been postponed but not avoided all together. Even with Britain's attempt at compromising with repealing some of the taxes the war was still inevitable. Since Britain was so in debt after the French and Indian war, it is understandable that they would expect the colonists to sacrifice a little to assist with this. However, since Britain was not clear from the beginning about the colonists rights (citizenship etc...) it is understandable that the colonists expected more freedoms than what were given and protested when they were not allowed these. So because of the clear and logical conflict in ideas between the colonies and Britain, war was unavoidable.
You hit it on the head when you said that arrogance also played a big role. Don't get me wrong I support the colonists, but they were out of line. They were acting like they were real British citizens and refusing to help pay the debt for their own defense. After all they were only colonies of Britain.
But that is exactly the point here. If they are expected to pay taxes and troop funding, then why shouldn't they view themselves as equals and citicens? Also, a lot of the tension arose, not from repaying the debt of the Fench-Indian war, but from paying for and housing the British troop presence after the fact. They didn't view these troops as protection, but rather as a policing force put in place to keep the colonists under watch. The British parliament was "out of line", which is precisely why I agree that there wasn't any chance of avoiding this war.
I think it is hard to imagine arrogance as a cause of a war, but it appears to be exactly that. The British thought they were better than the colonists, and the colonists told them to shove it time and time again. World Powers dont take kindly to being told to shove it. So I would also have to agree that it might not have had to happen in the 1770s but it would have happened sooner or later.
I beleive that the war was aviodable up until the battles at Lexington and Concord. Changes could have been made and agreements could have been reached if the colonist and the British Parliament had communicated better. Parliament needed to realize and understand that the colonist considered themselves citizens while the colonists should have understood that as citizens they had a duty to paying taxes to their government.
I don't think war absolutely had to happen. If the colonists weren't so stubborn and realized that the taxes were not going to kill them it may not have gone so far. Of course there would have been issues, but i don't believe taxes had to be argued so much.
I think that this war could have definitely been avoided. The British Parliment and the colonists should have improved their communication and come to some kind of agreement. Of course there were many differences in ideas between the British and the colonists. I believe that the British thought that they were better than the colonists and that definitely brought in tension.
I think the war could have been avoided had compromise and communication been better. The Americans did want more freedom than British citizens had but they also valued being a british citizen and their loyalty to the king. Had they tried to compromise on taxing, the army, and the continental congressI believe that the americans would have remained loyal to the king.
I believe that up to a certain point the war could have been avoided (Lexington Concord), but after that the colonists had had enough and war was most definatly unavoidable. Thats what made them realize that they were never going to get their way, and the only way to obtain their believed rights was to fight back.
I believe that war was inevitable. My main reasoning would have to be because of the arrogance on both sides. The American colonists refused to accept that they were just that, colonists. They were not a sovereign country and they should have been obeying their king. Britain fought a war to protect the Americans and some of the debt should have to be paid by the colonists.
Another way to look at it is Britain had too much arrogance. Sure they negotiated but they had to always leave a little bit of arrogance in their compromise to say to the colonist that they were in charge. I feel that Britain could have gave a little bit more but they shouldn't of had to. That is why war was inevitable between the colonist and Great Britain
The colonist first came to America to seek a new life and avoid the religous ideals of england. The colonist always knew that someday in the future they would be their own state. The taxing and military movement only speadup the time frame for going to war.
I think that the war between Britain and the colonies could have been postponed, but not necessarily avoided. There were too may taxes on the colonies. The British and the colonies were too far apart to allow for decent communication, and in order to make a good settlement, there has to be communication between both sides.
I don't believe that we could have avoided the war in the end. It was just the last string pulled at that time that started the war. With each new tax, the string just got tighter.
I don't think the war between the colonies and Britain could have been avoided. I agree that arrogance played a big part in this. The colonists were arrogant because thy called themselves citizens of Britain, but thought they didn't have to listen to Parliament or pay taxes. Britain was arrogant because they thought they were better than even the most outstanding Americans, i.e. the Franklins, and they didn't see the Americans as citizens either. Eventually both sides arrogance would have led to a clash, as it did during the revolution.
I dont believe the war could have been avoided. Sure the colonists were acting as british citizens and expecting the same rights as british citizens, and sure they were'nt actually british citizens, but its not their fault completely they expected to be treated this way. The long period of neglect in which England let the colonies run themselves and evolve their own ideas spoiled the colonists, and I cannot blame them for wanting to stay independent as far as governing was concerned.
I have to disagree with the opinion that war couldn't have been avoided. Most of the Acts that the British imposed on the Colonials were repealed and demolished from existense. The British "CHOSE" to compromise, they did not have to. But the Americans never did, they felt from day one, after the salutary neglect policy was gone, that they were being treated unfairly. Which yes they were but they knew before they got to the Americas, that they would be taxed more and for different things than the rest of the British subjects. They "CHOSE" to go. But after that they felt they were being treated bad. If they would have compromised even a little the war would have never happened, but just as today's Americans are known for, they were to stubborn to see these things.
I believe that the war might not have been able to have been avoided, but it was taken to an extreme limit. For one, if the colonists had realized that they were still going to be taxed, things would have calmed down a little. Also, if the communication with Britain had been better, maybe some conflicts could have been solved by matters other than fighting and war.
I don't think the war was entirely inevitable. If both sides had been more willing to listen to each other, maybe something different would have happened. For example, if the British had repealed the Quartering Acts sooner, things might be different. If the colonists had realized that they were not the only ones being taxed, things could easily have taken a different course.
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