Tuesday, September 4, 2007
What if?
What if Ben were to of stayed in England? Would America of ever turned out the way it was? or would America still be a part of England? I dont understand how William can defend Americans so easily and then return to England becasue he is loyal to the crown during the revolution. It seemed as if a war was going to happen. England controlled Canada, the colonies and everything from the Appalachains to the east bank of the Mississippi. The Sugar and Stamp Act helped ignite the struggles England placed on the colonies
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9 comments:
If Ben Franklin were to of stayed in England a major voice in the the American REVOLUTION WOULD not have been herd. Ben left England because as time went on in the decade he spent there he felt that England's hierarchy and way of rule was unjust to the American colonists. Ben wanted a seat in parliament and thank god he did not get one, because as we discussed in our discussion, one vote was not going to make any difference. On the case of William Franklin i totally agree, i don't know how he could return to England after defending American. Yes the stamp act and the sugar act did spark the Americans to lead to a Revolution, but i think the Townshend Acts were what ignited it. The Townshend acts were the major contributors especially after what happened in Boston with the massacre and then the tea party. Once America felt their liberties had been swindled, for lack of a better term, that is when the revolution began, and because of how history went down and how Britain treated Ben Franklin during his stay, there was no was Ben was not coming back to his fellow Americans.
I also agree with Evan that the Townshend Act was the last straw for the colonists. Townshend acts covered the people as a whole from upperclass to even lowerclass. This made them all extremely irritated and hyped up to do something about the taxes in unity.
Before really reading into William's actions, I was appauled that he would flee to England. However, after reading further into the colonists actions, I agree with William that they were too extreme. I can justify being upset with England over the taxing situation, however I think mob mantality got the best of the colonists.
As resentment grew towards William for not agreeing with the revolt, I can understand why he and his wife would flee to England.
It would have been a lot different outcome if Ben weren't in England. I think it was a good thing that he was there, especially since he was losing his liking for the British. As for William, I think its sad the "First American's" son was so against America. This makes me wonder why he didn't just leave sooner and go to the place he actually liked.
It is true that Ben was a very influential person in the American revolution, but to say that it would have not of happened, thats not possible. The war was on a good path to happening before he even came back. And for William, it's a simple concept, he was keeping his word. Some people still believe in honoring their loyalty to who and what ever they have given their word to.
If Ben had stayed in England I don't think America would have turned out much differently. I think that regardless of Ben being in England the Americans were unhappy with the way they were being treated by the British and that a revolution was already in the making. Honestly if Ben would have stayed in England I think that eventually America would still seperate from England into it's own country.
I think William was willing to return to England after he defended Americans because he was interested in job security. He had worked hard to get his position as a royal governor and i feel that by speaking out for americans against certain policies was more of an attempt to strengthen the British empire by telling the king what things needed to be changed for these subjects in America to remain loyal. A lot of his squabbles with parliament was just that, a disagreement with parliament, not the crown. i believe he had no idea the direction of the revolution that was taking place in America and was possibly not willing to risk his position of royal governor and his career by supporting a movement that possibly could damage it.
I agree with William's thoughts on the Boston Massacre & Tea Party being to extreme. Even though there were only five fatalities, that was five too many, because it was started by New York artisans and workers provoking the British troops until they were pushed too far. It was rediculous the amount of tea that was lost. I think it could've been settled in a better way rather than wasting 342 chests of tea. And I agree it was best Benjamin Franklin was not part of the parliment, because as it was said before, one vote is not going to be enough to sway the decissions.
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