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1998-07-25
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Jeff Novich Donnison
Period 4 September 22, 1996
Essay on three factors that shaped British North America from 1607 - 1763
The society of British North America was shaped by a number of factors between 1607 and
1763. Three of these factors were the shortage of labor, British imperial policies, and
colonial assemblies. Because America had an agriculturally based economy with farming as a
chief business and as a way of life for many, and as a result of the colonial frontier
being either cheap or free land, thousands of frontiersmen went out in search of land to
cultivate and settle on. Labor soon became drastically scarce, and resulted in both
positive and negative changes in the economy. The economy was also greatly shaped by the
economic policies of the mother country, imposed upon colonial America. By restricting
trade, but at the same time allowing monopolies over certain products, and trade and
commerce with England in an enclosed market economy, the British empire profited under
mercantilism. Colonial assemblies clearly shaped what we now perceive as "American
Democracy," as Charles M. AndrewsÆs sums up: "In the development of American political
ideas and social practices, the influence of the popular assemblyàis the most potent single
factor underlying our American system of government," (The First American Revolution: By
Clinton Rossiter; page 119). The advancement of British North AmericaÆs economy and
democratic values until prior to the Revolution, were due to the effects of a labor
shortage, the mother countryÆs imperial policies, and colonial assemblies from 1607 to
1763. An increase in cost and scarcity of labor became evident in almost all colonies as a
result of the shortage of labor, causing wages to increase and conditions to be better than
that of England. There were both exceptional and detrimental effects of the shortage of
labor on the American economy. Since the laborers were small in population, they were a
very important class, and because of their significance in the economy of British North
America, they were able to make many notable accomplishments. As the working class worked
towards a "democracy of labor," there soon followed good wages and good working conditions,
protection against capricious employers, a philosophy acknowledging the prestige of the
work force, and opportunities for advancement and legal regulations that helped bolster
against disaster. Furthermore, it supported American liberty. On the other hand, however,
two very deep-rooted problems also occurred as a result of the shortage of labor. The most
straightforward problem was simply the restraining effect it had on the condition of
manufacturing. If there are very few people available to work, then clearly there canÆt be
any mass production of goods and merchandise. Therefore, to correct this problem, the
colonial system of labor turned to slaves to work. Although the system made thousands free
men, it also was one of the greatest factors which gave rise to the terrible plight of
slavery in the colonies. Because the shortage of labor put a major damper on the economic
aspect of British North American society in the 17th and 18th centuries, economic success
rooted through British imperial policy. The English imperial system was designed, not only
to help England, but to sustain the whole empire as well as each individual unit,
encouraging each part to ædo what it could do best.Æ England had originally created
America in the early 1600s as a mercantilist state, an established area created solely as a
source of money and resources to help their economy as well as their empire. It was this
ægive and takeÆ idea that lead England to make colonial America a large component in the
enclosed market economy between them, and immediate economic success on both parts was a
result. To regulate this economic growth, some restrictions were imposed upon the
colonies. One of these restrictions was the Navigation Acts from 1651 on through the
1700s. The effects of these acts on the economy were, although appearing detrimental, very
beneficial for the economy of the colonies. They did not allow the colonies to export to
anyone but England, and, with the addition of the Staple Act of 1663, all imports had to go
through England before going to the colonies. However, they did create a near-absolute
monopoly for the colonies over England in terms of resources, (for example, the tobacco
colonies had a monopoly for their product), and England depended greatly on them for it.
They also helped greatly to protect the American carry trade, and stimulated shipbuilding
in British North America. The Navigation Act of 1660 allowed export of such products as
flour and fish to the West Indies and southern Europe, "in order to pile up specie and
credits to pay for still more English wares," (page 59). Although there were some major
restrictions on colonial trade and export, if it werenÆt for the English allowance of the
colonies into the trade circle, their economy might well have collapsed. On the other
hand, however, it was all of the restrictions and limitations that Britain proscribed upon
the colonies that cleared the way for a more resentful and surreptitious society as well as
an economy that did not thrive as far as it could have. With the introductions of the Wool
Act of 1699, and the Hat Act of 1732, both of which prohibited the exportation of their
respective products, and the Iron Act of 1750, which forbade the establishment of iron
developers, the general reaction was disgust for the constraints. Furthermore, when the
Molasses Act of 1733 was created, which would have terminated the production of rum if the
colonists had obeyed it, a æsneakyÆ attribute to the British North American society was
contrived. Colonists were becoming very contumacious as a result of their ignoring these
laws. By 1763, the economy of the colonies had risen to such a great level, despite
problematic laws and acts that confronted them, and the people of British North America
came to "possess most of the requisites of an independent people," (page 63). The
colonists would not tolerate the British imperial policies any longer, and the collective
desire of the society of the colonies was to overcome them in some way or another. This
desire of most of the colonists by 1763 to rid themselves from the English reign about them
arose likewise as a result of the colonial assemblies. Since the assemblies were formed in
the colonies, as a primitive democratic "ruling by the many," they struggled with the
governors for power. By opening up the proceedings of the assemblies for inspection and
criticism, printing and distributing their journals, and thorough coverage by the colonial
press concerning their exchanges with the governor, the direction of power consistently
moved towards the assemblies. As they gained more power, they were able to produce a line
of techniques for representation: "Residence requirements, constituency payments, annual
elections, instructions, voting by ballot, and bans on place-holding by assemblymen is
evidence that the assemblies were far more advanced toward the idea of a popular
legislature than was the House of Commons," (page 104). With the assemblyÆs ability to
decide the governorÆs payment, "they brought more than one recalcitrant to heel in such
matters as personnel and jurisdiction of colonial courts," (page 117). By the mid-1700s,
the colonial assemblies were dominant in nearly every colony of British North America,
which lead to very democratic ideology of the colonists. It was because of these powers
that the colonial assemblies "were the most important instruments of popular government in
colonial America," (page 104), and that they "were influential schools of American
political thought," (page 118). The colonial assemblies of British North America, by
fighting for legislature and liberty against the governors, were able to cause the colonial
mind to begin thinking about liberty and freedom, and a government of democracy which
eventually developed into the "American Democracy." As British North America developed
between the years of 1607 and 1763, its path was dictated by many factors. Three of these
factors, the shortage of labor, British imperial policies, and the colonial assemblies,
greatly refined and advanced many aspects of colonial society. By causing the work force
to be an important component in the cities, and making colonial America a very significant
agent in the enclosed merchant economy with Britain, respectively, the economy of the
colonies was shaped both positively and negatively. While the colonial assemblies were
making progress towards modern day democracy, they influencing the minds of the colonists,
all three conditions helped immensely to shape the developing colonies.