Introduction
During the 18th century, British colonies gained more independence through the policy that allowed the violation of trade restrictions in order to promote economic growth post-French and Indian wars. The policies marked an uprise of the members of American colonies who focused their activities on achieving independence from the usurpation of the British government, which were known later as patriots. Patriots resisted the imposition of taxes from the British government and strived for representation of colonists in the parliament that would consider their interests and address their grievances. In pushing to their goals, the patriots were mainly driven by the principles of civic virtue without relying on ethical considerations. This paper will analyze the methods patriots used in their civic engagements, the ethical considerations they took into account to address their grievances, and evaluate the consequences of creating the American Government.
Main Body
To further their goals through civic engagement, the patriots mainly used methods of showing resistance to the British government, military, and tax collectors. As patriots were drawn to civic virtue, they rejected both monarchy and aristocracy and frequently engaged in violent acts and rebellions. According to Johnson, rebellious and violent acts were common, ranging from protests and crowd actions against taxation and perceived injustice to burning a boat in Newport that came to collect sailors1. Patriots forced people to pick a side in the conflicts to push their civic engagement goals, and while some people preferred to shun the rebels, the majority of the population supported the patriots. The patriots continued to engage in boycotts and reformation of the administration, which eventually led to the war of the American Revolution.
In seeking redress of their grievances, patriots were not very much guided by ethical considerations. While they operated with considering the principles of civil liberty and independence, they also addressed concerns on the economic state of the colonies. Although the manifestation of violence presented an ethical issue, the violence offered a solution to resist British oppression. In the book that focuses on the daily life of American colonies during the British occupation, the author points that even in the administration of collaboration with imperial officials, violence and harassment were frequent from the British military (24)2. Thus, although violence was not an ethical consideration for the patriots, in hopes of creating a new government, patriots were desperate and had to resort to violence.
In their desperation, the patriots failed in the creation of the first American government under the Articles of Confederation due to lack of support and conflict of interest between colonies. There was no system for law enforcement, no definition, and opportunities for jurisdiction, and the population was more loyal to their home states than a nation. The second government under the Constitution addressed the grievances without simply putting the new government in the position of the previous imperial government. The Constitution introduced domestic security and defense systems and allowed proper responsibilities and functioning of administrative bodies.
Conclusion
In Conclusion, this paper examined how patriots used civic engagement to move to their final goal of eliminating the British oppression and establishing their own government. In their methods of civic engagement, patriots encountered pressure from the British government through non-violent protests and were not afraid to resort to violence. Although they relied on ethical considerations of liberty and independence, the violence was a solution to answer to violent harassment experienced by the population from the British military. Even though the first attempt to establish one nation failed due to conflicts of interest and lack of support from individual states, the Constitution provided a foundation for further development of the nation.
Bibliography
Johnson, Donald F. Occupied America: British Military Rule and the Experience of Revolution. University of Pennsylvania Press, 2020.
Footnotes
- Donald F. Johnson, Occupied America: British Military Rule and the Experience of Revolution. (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2020), 63-64.
- Johnson, Occupied America, 24.