American West free essay sample

The American West Is not what many people think of when they hear those words. People think of it as cowboys and Indians fighting on the Great Plains and in the canyons or the travel across rugged terrain traveling as fast as they could for the gold rush. In all honesty the west started as soon as the Americas began to be colonized and many historians say it begins at the Proclamation Line of 1763.They had many struggles with the Native Americans, the French trying to take their land by way of war, and Great Britain, the motherland, taxing them harshly for war debt but he American colonists eventually made their way to what Is today commonly called the West. The Albany Plan of Union, which was drafted by Benjamin Franklin and the governor of Massachusetts Thomas Hutchinson, was a proposal to unite the thirteen colonies in preparation of a war with France. The proposal was drafted during a meeting with the native leaders, colonial officials, and representatives from the seven British colonies. This meeting was called the Albany Congress because they all met In Albany in the spring of 1754. The meeting had two focal points. The first was to ally tit the Iroquois. Before this the Iroquois had a better relationship with the French. This was until the sass. During Albany Congress the Iroquois Indians were bribed with supplies and weapons to ally with the colonies. The other point of this meeting was the Albany Plan of Union. It called for a new government, a person who had powers of the relationships with the natives, and a grand council was also made.The plan was approved unanimously by every delegate at the Albany Congress but when it was presented to the colonists it never passed. The colonists all would rather have he wars paid for by the motherland. The Albany Congress and Albany Plan of Union could be seen as a prelude to American Revolutionary thinking and action because the Americans wanted to separate themselves to from the motherland little by little. The British would not have let them unite In America, because they would be afraid of what did eventually happen.The motherland wanted the colonies for more land to expand, exploration, and more power. Before the French and Indian War, the Native Americans had a good relationship with the French so England wanted to appease the natives rather quickly. The king of England, George Ill, issued the Proclamation of 1763. This was written to halt the westward expansion of the colonists. King George Ill did this to keep the Native Americans happy and keep the colonists from taking all of their land. The line he talked about In the Proclamation of 1 763 was at the crest of the Appalachian Mountains.Colonists were not allowed to go west of that line and any of the people who were already west were told to move back east. Most of the settlers that had already migrated to the west ignored what the king said and stayed. Even though Illinois were not able to settle west of the line, they were allowed to trade with the Native Americans as long as they received a license from the governor and commander In chief of the colony of which they resided In. The colonists reacted moving west. Many thought that risking their lives in the recent war had been rewarded by the creation of a vast restricted native reserve in the lands they coveted. They also thought they were losing some of their rights since the new proclamation. Following the French and Indian, the French were forced out of North America and ceded all of their land to the British. The lands they lost included Canada and what is known as America today. They were only allowed to keep a few islands. With the British gaining control of the North American continent they had the most land and the most powerful army. They still tried to let the Indians keep their land east of Appalachian Mountains but it wouldnt be long before they began migrating back west again.All of this land gave the British the most political power in the world. The outcome of the French and Indian War, also known as the Seven Years War, was a major factor in the coming of the American Revolution. It caused war debt which led to taxation and also England left troops in the colonies. War debt caused a change of attitude between England and the colonists in America. Great Britain thought the colonists should have to pay for the funds used to fight the war with them against the French so they started putting heavy taxes on them.The Americans thought they had done their part in paying for the war so they should not be taxed. Also they had no say in Parliament about the harsh taxing they were receiving, and this where the famous saying No taxation without representation comes from. The military officers caused many problems in the colonies as well. The people living in the colonies were being forced to house and feed the troops. This made the colonists feel like the British did not trust them and that they were trying to take their freedom away.Of course the colonists were enraged over this and it led to many conflicts including the Boston Massacre. These are Just two outcomes of the French and Indian War and why many historians believe this was a prelude to the American Revolution. The Buxton Boys had a major role on the frontier. A group on men from Buxton, Pennsylvania Joined together to respond to the fear of Indian attacks. These incidents happened during the time of Pontiac Rebellion when tensions were high between settlers and the Indians.The settlers were afraid of being attacked and were receiving no help from the government to pay for supplies to protect themselves and their family. Instead the government of the state of Pennsylvania was aiding the Indians that were living amongst them. This led the Buxton Boys to attack the friendly Conestoga Indians of Lancaster County on December 14th, 1763. They killed six embers of the tribe and took fourteen others as prisoners and they were later killed. The government found out and ordered a warrant for their arrest but no action was taken because people of that county were sympathetic for them. A large group of Buxton Boys (estimating number from 600-1500 members) would march to the capital of Pennsylvania, which at the time was Philadelphia, in January of 1764. Benjamin Franklin and other leaders of the government met with them and listened to them. Even though no action was taken to arrest the Buxton Boys or to help them n protection, the leaders and colonists realized that people on the frontier and Native Americans could not live together in peace. They realized that they would try to rid of them.The Buxton Boys stood up for many colonists that were afraid of the Indians when the government said not to and without financial aid from them. They felt as if they had to take a stand and prove to the government that action needed to be taken. They succeeded in showing the authorities of Pennsylvania how the people of the frontier felt towards the Indians and to the government. The Regulators were a group of about 2000 backwoods farmers from North Carolina who worked hard for the money they earned, but were being excessively taxed by corrupt government leaders during the late eighteenth century.They Joined together under the leadership of Herman Husband and William Butler. Husband was a Quaker and did not want to engage in violence but try and reason with the government about the unruly taxes though he ultimately knew only violence would bring Justice. Butler on the other hand was the leader of their military, but he lacked in leadership and being able to unify their soldiers. The governor of North Carolina, William Tyrone, was backed by the wealthier colonists of the state so it was easy for him to do what he wanted.This mob violence as Tyrone would call it, would eventually lead to the Battle of Alliance Creek in the spring of 1771. The Regulators, led by Butler into battle, had around 2,000 men (who were not all armed). The governor, Tyrone, called in the North Carolina Militia who numbered 1,000 men fully armed and trained for battle. The regulators were put down in a short amount of time and six of them were hanged for treason. The rest of them were killed in battle, led west, or exiled to the mountains.