Misconceptions of Us History

There are many misconceptions among our general public about the origins of the United States and the causes of the Revolution. Many people believe that the settlers who immigrated to the colonies were heroes who came to America to establish a country where everybody could experience religious liberty, or to help the English economy. It is also a common misconception that the English were very controlling of the American colonies. Some might think that the taxes that led to the revolution were a result of British envy over the success of the colonies. There is also a lot of pride in American culture stemming from the belief that we won the Revolutionary War due to our superior skills as soldiers. However, all of these are misconceptions. The results of these events came from American rebellion along with plenty of luck.

The immigrants who came to colonize America had their own self-interests in mind. Many were coming for financial opportunity, while others were of Puritan faith, and did not agree with Catholicism or the Church of England. Another key factor was overpopulation in Europe. Because there was a shortage of resources in Europe and an increase in population, living conditions for the average man dwindled. The increase in population, coupled with the fact that England wanted to limit Spain's expansion in colonizing the new land, would lead the British government to support the settlement of colonies in the New World. The new settlers took huge risks in finding land in America that could produce wealth. The textbook, Firsthand America, describes these men as "adventurers," and the women that came with them were nothing less, but the textbook also recognizes that women had better financial opportunity in the New World than in England. Many died while trying to settle at Roanoke, where there was heavy resistance from the Indians, as well as Jamestown, where disease was rampant, along with some Indian resistance. Jamestown eventually endured, and became one of the southern settlements that benefited greatly from the abundant land and tobacco crop.

Besides those seeking the financial advantage, there were many Puritan settlers fleeing religious persecution from England, where King James I had been imprisoning Separatist leaders. The Separatists were so called because of the desire to separate themselves from the Church of England. In 1620, the Separatists, or Puritans, settled in Massachusetts, which had been cleared of most Indians because of a smallpox epidemic a few years earlier. Because these settlers had faced persecution in England, their original purpose in coming to America was for their own independence, while those seeking fortune would later seek the same, again in their own self interest. So while the Puritans came to America seeking freedom, it is most likely that they weren't looking ahead to founding a government that gave its citizens freedom of religion. It could also be assumed that there was already an underlying bias toward the British government.

Another common misconception is that England was very controlling, almost over-bearing, towards the colonies. In actuality, up until victory in the French and Indian War, England had practiced "salutary neglect" in governing the American colonies. This meant that they pretty much ignored the colonists and let them govern themselves under England's law. However, after the war, Parliament was angry at the colonists for stirring up the conflict that started the war to begin with. England had set rules for the colonists to avoid any need for military force, which England could not afford because of its economic troubles. The colonists' actions and the war debt forced England to end salutary neglect and enforce new laws, which included taxes and customs officers to collect revenue to pay off the colonists' war debt. They also sent officials to be appointed by England, as well as British troops, to keep order.

Because the British had previously given the colonists so much freedom, there was resentment toward the new laws set by England. Although the now "spoiled" colonists initially reacted angrily, the new laws were pretty much ignored and, as a result, England was unable to collect much revenue to cover the war debt. The Americans and British eventually came at heavy odds because the colonists felt threatened by the presence of the British troops, as well as the fear that "taxation without representation" violated their rights as Englishmen. It was also the Sons of Liberty, a radical rebel group that stirred up most of the rebellion towards England. They had independence on their agenda long before the revolution.

So while many believe that the British were trying to bully the colonists, the reason for the taxation was because England was in terrible