Search -
The Colonial Background of the American Revolution
The Colonial Background of the American Revolution Author:Charles M. Andrews When it was first published in 1924, Charles M. Andrews' account of the causes and conflicts underlying the American Revolution raised a storm of controversy in both this country and Britain. Now almost universally accepted as the most penetrating analysis of the events leading to 1776, it explores the whole colonial period, as it was viewed on ... more »both sides of the Atlantic, beginning with the founding of Jamestown colony.
Andrews holds that "The years from 1607 to 1783 were colonial before they were American or national, and our Revolution is a colonial and not an American problem." In this light he examines the ideas that British statesmen and merchants held as to the place that the colonies should occupy in the state organization and describes British colonial policy as it developed from these ideas. He points out that, important as mercantilism was in determining British policy, imperialism was the first cause of the eventual rupture. To discover the actual causes, he examines the circumstances of the revolt and the social and intellectual contrasts that existed between Great Britain and America in the eighteenth century.« less