Unity and Identity in the Colonies Essay Example for Free

Unity and Identity in the Colonies EssayBecause of several events that preceded and lead to it, Colonists had developed coc cayed senses of both identity and unity as Americans by the eve of the Revolution. The French and Indian War was one of the initial events that played a pivotal role in establishing unity amongst the colonists. Winning the war was critical to the colonists because a loss to the French would result in a loss of British superiority. A British victory would enable colonists the opportunity to expand in territory and form a new nation. m each such as Benjamin Franklin urged colonial alliance.During the wars first year, Franklin published his famous crossroads or Die cartoon in Philadelphia, which strongly urged unity amongst the colonies. Due to poor battle tactics, Britain suffered premature losses. The losses deteriorated the image of the British as an invincible force in the eyes of the colonists. It showed an underlying point of weakness, which dista nced the colonists from their mother country, Britain. While the actual war served as a catalyst for the unification of the colonies, the results of the war besides had large effects on their identity as a new nation.The victory increased colonial self-esteem, and helped the colonists to perceive themselves as independent people who could defend themselves. Like the French and Indian War, The Proclamation of 1763 was a cardinal event in the development of the colonists sense of identity and unity. The Proclamation declared that remittal tungsten of the Appalachians was illegal to colonists. The land was declared off limits because it was Indian land, and the King did not want to cause any more dispute between Britain and the Indians. The colonists found this law to be unacceptable.Colonies had already begun planning on settling west, and found that giving land to the Indians was defeating the purpose of the French and Indian War which they had just fought in. Colonies had have a go at it to crystallise their independence and self-sufficiency. They rebelled against the law, and proceeded in settling westward. Thomas Paines Common nose out is arguably one of the great influences on the unity and identity of the colonists. Thomas Paines pamphlet brought the possibility of Revolution into full steering for the colonists. The writings placed blame for the suffering of the colonies solely on King George III, the current British ruler.Paine beseeched the approximation of an immediate declaration of independence, implying that America had a moral obligation to secede from the corrupt nation. Common Sense further inspired colonists to initiate secession from Britain, and lead to the writing of the Declaration of Independence. During the time of the American Revolution, the colonies had come to identify themselves as a self-governing nation, enraged by the country who had ruled them. Throughout key events in history, the once estranged colonies that lacked a sen se of identity metamorphosed into a full blown and co-ordinated nation on the verge of revolution.