Response paper 2
This time topic of the textbook is The roots of revolution and following Fighting for independence. It took me a little while to read it because it seems to be written as a story which also helps me to think and imagine at the same time. The constant struggles between France and Britain also took place in North America. There it was about a land. It resulted into the Seven years’ war and subsequently Britain decided to support colonists by soldiers and money. They had probably let them defend themselves before this war (not in the text). After the war the English king released the proclamation that limited colonists from expansion and then the king wanted back some money which was spent on the war by paying new taxes. The colonists were not satisfied with it. What I found interesting was a sentence: “They also feared that if British troops stayed in America they might be used to force them to obey the British government.” (25) This idea could show how much they already felt independent. This whole taxation was also the beginning of the end. The other events aimed more and more to the final separation. Events like the Stamp Act, the Boston tea party and Samuel Adams´ letters which was clever and strong propaganda against Britain. The American War of Independence started in a fight between Minutenmen and British soldiers in Lexington in 1775. The Declaration of Independence was issued on July 4 1776, written by Thomas Jefferson. At first Americans were losing the war but after they gained allies in France they got lucky and finished the war by signing the Treaty of Paris in September 1783.
Moodlinka texts were a little bit more difficult and not so enjoyable to read mainly because of many economical terms. It caused that sometimes I got lost and had to read the same part once or twice and still not getting wiser. However the whole text tried to explain the situation in much wider view. It means that it also described the (primarily economical) situation in Britain, their financial difficulties. The text dealt in detail with sugar taxation, a monopoly to sell tea in America and Common sense which appealed to independence. The interesting idea there was that Englishmen took the colonies only as a resource of raw materials; they probably did not feel any other bonds to them.
After the textbook´s reading I missed the British version or situation of the history. With that helped me a lot the second text. The text started with sentence about describing the situation from a different point of view opposed the one where is King George III pictured as a despot. The textbook did not talk about him like that, though. It did not mention him almost ever. It did not also talk about the personality of Thomas Paine and his Common sense much. I did not register his importance as long as I read the second text where were described the ideas used here and which sounds universally for example dividing people by government into those who live in luxury and those who live in poverty, which is a powerful mean to influence people in every time. In both texts this time there was not mention anything about religious as it was before. It lost something from its importance or it had nothing to do with fighting for independence.