The American War of Independence.......

Question

Why did American colonists in 1775 consider British rule to be oppressive and tyrannical and fight a war of independence - but Canadians subject to the same regime not only refused to join rebellion but actually fought to remain British subjects?

Answer 1

The American colonies from the very outset of the creation of the very first English colony at Jamestown VA in 1607, was heavily colonied by English Puritans.

Following the English Civil war of 1642-1651 between Parliamentarians and the Royalists and after the restoration of the Monarchy, many hundreds [possibly thousands] of Puritans flet England to settle in the New World - the American colonies in fact.

It is these same folk [their descendants] by the 18thC who finally decided that they wanted 'liberty, freedom and democracy'.  Above all, they wanted to decide for themselves any tax which would be imposed upon they, by a government which they [the people] would elect.

Above is mostly based upon my own observations of the American people and having worked for abc News for a long time from 1968-1991.  My overall impression of the Americans is that while the date may have changed, nothing much else has.  They firmly believe in their independance and will do their utmost to maintain it, against all odds.

Canada is an entirely different story.  Following the Revolutionary War of Independance in the former American Colonies, the Royal Navy transported some 100,000 loyal subjects of His Majesty King George III to Canada.  In addition, the Canadian Indian nations were loyal to the King - some indeed being in posession of silverware given to them by King James of England.

And, when Cornwallis surrenedered to General George Washington USA at Yorktown, there were still 10,000 Redcoats in the Loyal city of New York.

Lobster 3 shots in 46 seconds - Brown Bess Musket - re-enactment.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJMbxZ1k9...

The USS Constitution - oldest warship still afloat

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69kr5WpYj...

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POWER TO THE PEOPLE

Please accept my apologies for any spelling errors - no spell checker visible. . . .

Answer 2

Of course they did ! British expansion was at the cost of individuals . There was a manipulation and exploitation of people for the benefit of a few running back centuries . Bristol ,Liverpool and to a lesser extent Glasgow grew on the back of slavery . In the States " no taxation without representation " was the hub of revolt .They shipped thousands to Ausztralia - to Botany Bay for the most trivial offences . The Canadians were flooded with Empire Loyalists who kicked the butt of the indigent French and were subsidised by mad Geordie and his Hanoverian cohorts . Sanity  fortunately prevailed .  

Answer 3

Canadians are smarter than Americans

Answer 4

the answer lies within the canadian structure, at that time. to americans, who always thought different, saw the brits as tyrants  and  taxing for a cause that wasn't 'american' in origin (queen anne's war). there is also a little thing as neglect. the brits left the americas alone for such a long time without a word or their personal appearance and suddenly when the brits were running out of $$$, for their foreign wars et al, then the brits 'discovered' the colonies - once again!  we americans don't mind a tax dollar here or there but give us something for our time and effort. now, this wasn't happening. with the canadians, that was another story. the brits were constantly in attendance, the canadians were more pro brit than us, so their allegience was pro (and i mean PRO) britain. by the way, some 200 years later, they did indeed sue the british govt for independence. the canadians weren't ready in the 18th century but we americans were. the rest, as they say, is history!

Answer 5

Well, keep in mind that the Canadians

A. were not subject to entirely the same regime.  The British, by way of the Quebec Act, treated the Canadians rather magnanimously, and did not expect them to pay a share in the cost of the previous war.  

B. didn't have the same sort of independent make-up that the Americans, and especially the New Englanders had.

The various taxes levied against the Colonies chaffed, because the Colonies had never had to pay tyaxes of that sort before.  Moreover, the argument that the Americans needed to pay their share of the cost of the war against (in American minds) the Canadians and French was insulting.  The Americans had voluntarily raised large sums of money to fight the war, and had sent their militia forces off to fight alongside the British, and now were being treated as if they had sat back and done nothing.  Again from the American point of view, they were being taxed for a war in which they had spent greatly, risked even more, and for which they recieved nothing, no benefit.  The French Canadians still were free to practice the Catholic faith (this was especially galling to New Englanders), and the Americans were not allowed to settle the Ohio River Valley.  Last, but not least, the inhabitants of Canada, at the time of the American Revolution were largely French, and they had no illusions about how they would be treated by the New England Americans.  The British had treated them surprisingly well after the end of the Seven Years War, and they could see no benefit whatsoever to siding with the anti-catholic, anti-monarchy crowd of Americans.

Answer 6

for the first part read The Declaration of Independence. It explains it well

Second part you'll have to ask a Canadian?. I'm not to sure that the population was sufficient to revolt as well as the part of the new world that was fought for( ports of Massachusetts to Virgina) was productive enough to warrant taxation;so not quite the same for Canadians. Beside Canada has/had a huge French influence.

USA has always had a high rate of immigration. Canada has paid people to immigrate.

  

edit: Good point ! I looked it up; Slavery in Canada was practiced for millennia by aboriginal nations, who routinely captured slaves from neighbouring tribes. However, chattel slavery (that form of hereditary slavery in which humans are regarded as the private property of an individual) started with the European settlement of Canada, appearing soon after the colonies were founded in the early 1600s. Most of the slaves were used as domestic house servants, although some performed agricultural labour. Some were of African descent, while others were aboriginal (typically called "panis", likely a corruption of Paw

Answer 7

  The British decided to put taxes directly from Parliment on to the Americans, who had always had their own colony legislatures put any taxes on them.  They felt that giving Parliment or the King the right to tax them directly, without any vote on it, would end up costing them their rights and prosperity.

The Canadians though, were more afraid of the protestant colonies being anti-Catholic than of the King.