RE: 250 Years, Immigration, and Me
You are viewing a single comment's thread:
Hello @goldgrifin007,
My country was born from revolution. This nation was once 13 colonies owned and controlled by England. Those colonists did not like the way they were treated by the English. They did not think they were treated fairly. So they revolted. Not everyone in the colonies agreed with the revolution, but enough people agreed to assemble an army and fight for their freedom. All over my country (mostly on the east coast), there are markers that designate when battles with the British were fought. This fight for freedom became part of our national identity. We finally won that freedom on July 4, 1776. That's our Independence Day. That's the day when we became free from England. It was a long road to developing a government and a national identity, but July 4, 1776 marks the beginning of our country as an independent nation. That's why it's such a big deal here.
Madame @agmoore !
I remembered that the American War of Independence held great significance for Americans!
By the way, General East Asian historians believe that Americans started the War of Independence because Britain imposed excessive taxes on them!
Yes, it was mostly about taxes, but there were other issues. For example, Americans were forced to 'quarter' British soldiers in their homes. That is, a soldier could just come and live in your home and you couldn't do anything about it. Basically, the revolutionaries were angry because they were not treated as equals by the English. These Americans had thought of themselves as English, and when they realized they had no rights they were upset. They wanted an equal voice in Parliament. They wanted a say in the laws that were passed to govern them. If they couldn't be equal, they wanted to be free. At least 1/3 of the colonists did not want to revolt. But the war went forward anyway. There was always an issue of 'traitors'...that is, people who saw themselves as English. Many of these so-called traitors helped the English and were hanged as a result :)) Many lost their property after the war because they had stayed loyal to England.
Dear @agmoore !
East Asian historians believe that only 30 percent of Americans supported the American War of Independence!
I remember that although 70 percent of Americans believed themselves to be British, George Washington waged the War of Independence against Britain for eight years. As the war dragged on, angry British soldiers destroyed and plundered the property of American civilians, and many angry Americans waged war against the British forces.
I think Americans participated in the War of Independence because George Washington fought the British army alone for eight years!
So, I believe the American War of Independence succeeded because of George Washington!
If you think about it, this doesn't make much sense. The British army was organized and professional. They were battle-hardened. The American army was not made up of professional soldiers, but of ordinary people. One man could not win such a war. Many, many people had to be committed to the success of this effort for it to succeed.
It is true that as many as 30% of the colonists (some historians put that number lower) were loyal to England, and many colonists didn't really want to take a side. But there had to be a great number of dedicated fighters to win that war. Odds were against the colonists, but they did prevail. George Washington led well and the colonists likely would not have prevailed without him, but one man does not win a war. People win a war. And that's what we celebrate.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benedict_Arnold
In America 250 years ago, there were many Americans who pledged loyalty to Britain, like Benedict Arnold. George Washington achieved great feats by commanding the American War of Independence for eight years, even as many Americans supported Britain.
I thought that among the Americans who fought against the British alongside George Washington, there was no one who possessed the outstanding leadership and passion for independence like George Washington!
I agree with you!
Thank you for kind answer!
🌈🌟