Who can help me with AP US History (APUSH) essay questions?

Question

As a part of summer work, we have to answer past AP questions.

I was looking for help answering one of them:

The official policy of the British crown and Parliament toward the American colonies is essentially embodied in the economic and political theory of mercantilism; however, in reality sometimes by intent, mostly by accident, a policy of salutary neglect developed and flourished. This policy is considered by many to the the underlying cause of the American Revolution. Judge the degree to which this statement is accurate.

I'm mainly looking for ideas on how to organize the essay, because I find the question slightly confusing.

Any help is greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

Answer 1

I think you should structure the essay in the following manner:

Paragraph 1:

Introduction - state time period, brief historical context, outline main points, make sure you end with a thesis (Yes, salutary neglect is an underlying cause of the American Revolution

Paragraph 2:

What is salutary neglect? describe British policies that led to this, what type of political atmosphere did it create? colonies felt separate from homeland

Paragraph 3:

What ended salutary neglect? French-Indian War

What followed? Britain implemented several acts to tax colonies and colonies resisted

Paragraph 4:

How did the colonists respond to the end of salutary neglect? they felt outraged that they were being taxed even though they received no representation in British parliament... this eventually led to revolution

Paragraph 5:

Conclusion

tie your points together, and restate your thesis

If you would like a good outline of the time period visit the following link

http://apclassnotes.com/APUSHN4.html

Many of the British policies and acts are explained... There's also a page that presents both the British and the American points of view

Answer 2

The French & Indian war, or as it was known in Europe > The Seven Year War, caused Britain to change the way it managed the colonies.  Though they won that war, it caused a huge debt in their treasury.  

The war changed the relationship between Great Britain and the colonies. Prior to the war, Great Britain had practiced a policy of salutary neglect, not insisting on strict enforcement of laws, such as the Molasses Act, which in 1733 imposed a tax on molasses, because trade with the American colonies was making Britain very wealthy and powerful. During this period, the colonists developed a nearly independent political and economic system.

After the war, however, British leaders reevaluated their relationship with the colonies, ending the policy of salutary neglect and proposing reforms and new taxes. This reevaluation was caused by conflicts between Great Britain and the colonies during the war, such as the colonial assemblies’ insistence on controlling the militia units (these were the citizens  pressed into military service to assist the British) raised to fight the French, the increased colonial independence, and colonial smuggling of French goods into the country during the war. In addition, the war had left Great Britain deeply in debt. British leaders viewed American prosperity as a resource and taxing the colonies as a means to relieve British debt. Conflicts arose as Great Britain attempted to reassert its power over the colonies; they viewed Great Britain’s attempts to tax them as interference into internal matters. The colonies believed that Great Britain had jurisdiction only over external issues.

Answer 3

I believe that they are stating the following:

British saw the colonies as a purchaser of goods a trading partner

They (British) were involved in many other things overseas (wars etc) so there was some benign neglect from the government on any oversite of trade or profit.

When they tried to regain control - their American Trading partners were too used to be left alone and treated as equals.

I think if you organize it this way you will be able to find suporting documents and timelines that could be useful.

Summer work huh!   Almost ran out of summer :)