Preliminaries of the Revolution, 1763-1775

THE primary cause of the American Revolution must be sought in the character of the old colonial system, which was based on political and economic theories generally accepted as valid in the seventeenth century, but which, nevertheless, were the fruit of ignorance and inexperience. Politically, colonies were then looked upon as "dependencies," not as integral and fully privileged members of the growing parent state. Economically, they were "possessions," subject to exploitation for the benefit of the people who remained at home. These doctrines found partial expression in two ways: politically in the subjection of the colonies to "prerogative"; economically in their subjection to the "laws of navigation and trade." In both ways the Englishman who became a colonist sank somewhat in the social scale. The enterprising men and women who bravely faced the perils and hardships of the savage wilderness, thereby extending the prestige and wealth of the British nation, were not intentionally rewarded therefor by

-47-