Seven Years War Paper Derek Conway July 24, 2011 HIS/115

Various elements made way for the Seven Years' War. With these elements, I think that

the dissimilarities in backgrounds and views between the different nations also added to the Seven Years' War. Scarcity, rivalry, and spiritual oppression pushed various nonEnglish sects to leave their European homes and head for American colonies. This move grew the population quickly and caused the colonies to become more and more diverse. This variety triggered the colonies to become divided amongst cultural boundaries. The colonists divided themselves according to ethnic, regional, racial, and religious differences (Davidson, 2006). Since many of these immigrants had no way to pay for their trip to America, they arrived in the colonies already signed into indentured servitude (Davidson, 2006). This increase in the population had a considerable influence on the lives of the colonists in those times. The birth rate around this time skyrocketed, and women normally gave birth to about four to seven babies. For instance, my family is rather large and my household consists of my mom, dad, three brothers and five sisters. This quick rise in the population made every facet of eighteenth-century American life more chaotic. Public interactions in this time became more stressed because many colonials realized that this variety opened the door to create a mutual distinctiveness. Eighteenth-century colonial societies were divided along many social lines (Davidson, 2006). A persons social class primarily controlled how many legal rights they had; moreover, religious beliefs and duties were key. The gentry class had access to the most money and financial power, the highest level of education, and wielded the most political influence (Davidson, 2006). They also possessed and handled many farmhouses. Additionally, corporate jobs like wholesalers, lawmakers, clergy, or physicians made up the gentry. They held the most positions of

leadership within the community. People in the middleclass consisted of farmers, small business owners, and other people who served the gentry class in skilled crafts or trades (Davidson, 2006). This essential discrimination made socializing hard and caused adversity amongst the colonists. In this time, having extra children in was beneficial to people in middle class. Having more children meant that they could split the work that had to be done the women fixed supper, cleaned the house, and sewed the clothing, while the men preserved the farm. However in the city, women were allowed to work in the shops, help their spouses in their trade, and maintain accounts for their business. The man primarily had legal authority, regardless if the woman contributed a large portion of work in the business. Our colonial homes were love-centered, while our ownership and projects were practical. In those days people fought hard to become educated parents had to pay full price for education. Upper class people were typically more educated because they had the money to pay for schooling. Most middleclass people tried to teach their kids in the home. In other places where religion was more important, education wasnt a priority. They mainly learned what they learned in the home. For instance, the boys learned how to hunt and the girls learned how to cook.

The spread of Enlightenment ideals was the primary cause of the first Great Awakening and it further intensified conflicts between eighteenth-century colonial citizens (Davidson, 2006). The conflict between superpowers for control of the continent began the Seven Years' War. Some put the beginning of the Seven Years' War in 1754, but it actually occurred from 1756 to 1763. In the Seven Years' War, France and Great Britain struggled to control eastern North America (Davidson, 2006). When the British

won the Seven Years' War, their colonial stock doubled in size and they gained control of North America. Conflicts over trading rights and the control of the Ohio country was the primary cause of the French and Indian War (Davidson, 2006). British control of North America and the Seven Years' War led to many problems as the British struggled to maintain their supremacy. The French came out behind in each of these struggles. They lost their position as highest colonial power for the next generation. Since each colony had run its own military campaigns for many years, the colonies were isolated from each other. While the Seven Years' War did determine who would control the North American continent, conflicts caused by the war would still continue. The British Parliament was determined that the colonists obey their trade regulations, and passed the Sugar Act in 1764 (Davidson, 2006). Because of this act, the British colonists were taxed on molasses imported into the colonies. 1765's Stamp Act extended the tax to include colonial taxes on newspapers and legal documents (Davidson, 2006). Colonists were unhappy about this taxation and actively opposed it. The colonists believed that they should not be taxed since they had no parliamentary representation, and therefore could not agree to these policies. The British Parliament was alarmed by the colonial boycotts in protest against these taxes. This resistance resulted in the overturning of the Stamp Act in 1766 (Davidson, 2006). The American Revolution found the American colonists challenging the most powerful Empire in the world the British Empire after repeated conflict. The Americans won the battle of Yorktown, in Virginia, on October 19th, 1781 (Davidson, 2006). After the surrender of thousands of British soldiers, the British Empire eventually decided to make peace with the colonists. The

American Revolution ended on September 3rd, 1783, when the Americans and the British signed the Treaty of Paris (Davidson, 2006). The Revolutionary War brought about revolutionary social, political, and economic change. American colonial society was never the same. Firstly, colonial society became more egalitarian rather than socially stratified. While the North did not approve of the continuation of slavery, the South did continue to hold slaves. The war also politically affected the lives of colonial women. Although it may seem slight compared to the position of women in the modern day, women in the colonies did gain the right to divorce their husbands. Their right to divorce, though, was not accepted in every colony.

References

Davidson, J., Gienapp, W., Heyrman, C., Lytle, M., & Stoff, M. (2006). Nation of nations: A concise narrative of the American Republic (4th ed. Vols. 1, 2, and Combined). Boston: McGraw Hill. ISBN 0-07-297087-1.