edited rough draft; 2nd essay

Dear Diary,
---As the colonies here in America begin to grow in size, the people are beginning to grow in confidence. When England colonized America they had no plan on how we were going to be governed, nor did they have any concerns. Britain was passing laws that helped themselves, without taking our best interest into consideration. After the Stamp Act was passed many colonists began thinking in a new direction, independence from Britain. Unfortunately, many of the colonies were split over the issue of Independence. Some staying loyal to the British no matter how far they went to get as much control and power over us as possible. Then there is the other side that will no longer keep letting Britain take advantage of us while they profit off of our economic struggles. I on the other hand am standing up for what I believe in and am willing to do anything to regain my liberty back and earn our independence.
---One single act of greed can have a significant affect on the whole course of history. The British passed acts to tax us to pay for the war; these acts taxed glass, lead, paint, tea, and paper which made a lot of colonists very upset. "The colonies refused to pay the levies required by the Townsend Acts claiming they had no obligation to pay taxes imposed by a Parliament in which they had no representation".(EyeWitness to History). When they decided to make us pay taxes on tea, which all of us drink daily, it caused a big disruption, everyone thought it was just ridiculous. Some people straight up refused to buy tea, some started smuggling it to avoid paying the taxes.
---When Britain passed the tea act, they neglected to take how it affected the common people into consideration. My family, friends, and neighbors on the other hand were not fooled by Britain’s newest law put onto them, and were not going to easily except it. The new law caused two huge events to occur, one being the Boston Tea party when a group of dearest friends here in Boston snuck onto a ship and dumped a significant amount of tea into the harbor to prove their point that they were not going to be used. This made us feel like we had one, but only made the British resent all the people of Boston and pass laws to punish the colony. “In response to the destruction of the tea, the British Government adopted four Acts, these acts known in the colonies as the Coercive or Intolerable Acts, closed the port of Boston, redesigned the government of Massachusetts Bay to increase British Authority, provided for moving trails of British officials to another colony or to England when local opinion was inflamed, and permitted the housing of British troops in unused buildings” (http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=vPFVCXEKXvIC&oi=fnd&pg=PA195&dq=Intolerable+Acts+in+1774&ots=mAcVcHML_I&sig=OtEO4yRor4qJapCmWeGRxpO_Sig#PPP1,M1). The significant event that occurred because of the Tea Act was a much more violent act. The Boston Tea Massacre, where once again the people of Boston were protesting against Britain. They were only throwing snowballs at British soldiers, when the soldiers in return killed five Boston colonists. This was a devastating time for all of us in Boston. I think it was a time when a lot of the people who were still supporting Britain finally turned their backs, and became united with the American colonies.
---The colonies in America relied greatly on the trade between them and Great Britain. Well I know for sure everyone here in Massachusetts did. So for Massachusetts to agree upon not sending or importing anything from Britain was a huge step towards our revolution. The people in Boston came to an agreement, "That we will not, from and after January 1, 1769, import into the province any tea, paper, glass, or painters' colors, until the Acts imposing duties on these articles have been repealed" (Boston Non-Importation Agreement). I am so glad we finally came to an agreement I think it was a semi-successful method in the hopes that we would cause financial hardships to businesses in England. Unfortunately, this was not the last we would hear of Britain, this just encouraged them to keep taxing us which was exactly what we were trying to avoid. I had a feeling war was going to be the next solution. Although war wasn’t what I had initially wanted it was the next thing to come.
---Before the war had even begun the British sent their troops to my land trying to take charge and control of the patriots. The troops came here looking for the uprising, a revolt against a constituted government or its policies. They went through people’s homes without consent, raided through everything, and took anything valuable they could. They were so cruel; they even went to the extent of burning our barns and homes. On top of that they were killing innocent people for standing up for their beliefs, including not only patriots but loyalist as well. “In the fall of 1768, three thousand uniformed troops arrived to occupy Boston, The soldiers drilled conspicuously on the Common, played loud music on the Sabbath, and in general grated on the nerves of Bostonians” (The American Promise). They took away my dignity, while intruding on my privacy. I had never felt as betrayed as I did when my own old country battered me and my people. Finally, a war did brake out, we were ready to stand up for ourselves and fight for our independence. But once again, Britain had one another cruel and mischievous act to play on us.
---The spreading of Small Pox was a huge disadvantage during the American war for the patriots to succeed their revolution. The impact of the deadly disease almost caused all of our American military strategies to fail. "This frightening disease affected the actions of the revolutionary army and its generals, reduced the American ability to attract and hold recruits, and influenced the controversial development of preventive medical polices" (Becker). Small pox was brought here to the colonies by the English soldiers during the war. “Around the city, soldiers began to talk amongst themselves of a British plan to destroy the army through intentional infection” (Liu). It was never proved that the British purposely tried to infect the colonists but it was defiantly believed by me, as well as many other colonists.
---Diary, I have no one else to turn to during this time of economic struggle, fight for independence and war. Because of the British I have no family or friends to lean on or receive comfort and support from anymore. I want this war to be done and over with, so we can get on with our lives. I pray to God every night that our colonies uniting together was for the best, and we will win this war, and win our independence. I can say with confidence that I am a patriot who will fight to my death to win over our independence from Britain. I know from the bottom of my heart that the only way the great people residing in these colonies will ever better themselves is to separate themselves from Britain. It has been a very intense and long experience watching all of these significant events occur. But, it has also been a incredibly immense learning experience for me. I have very much enjoyed watching Massachusetts come together with the only colonies to fight for something we all believe so strongly about. My only last wish is for us to achieve our goal and to obtain control of our Independence. I look forward to seeing what is in store for the future of our colonies.




Citations:

Kindig, Thomas. "Boston Non-Importation Agreement." August 1, 1768 17 Nov 2008 .

"The Boston Tea Party, 1773," EyeWitness to History, www.eyewitnesstohistory.com (2002).



Greene, Jack P.. "A companion to the American Revolution." 19 Nov 2008 .



Roark, James L., Michael P. Johnson, Patricia Cline Cohen, Sarah Stage, and Alan Lawson. The American Promise. 4th. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2009.



liu, Joan. "SMALLPOX DURING THE AMERIAN REVOLUTION." Biological warfare during the American Revolution 19 Nov 2008 .



Becker, Ann M.. "Society for Military History ." The Journal of Military History 68april 2004 19 Nov 2008 .