“Although the thirteen American colonies were founded at different times by people with different motives with different forms of colonial charters and political organization, by the Revolution the thirteen colonies had become remarkably similar.” Assess the validity of this view.
I. As time was coming to the start of the American Revolution, the thirteen American colonies that had at first started out with differences in all aspects appeared to be astonishingly similar in several cultural ways. Mainly refugees from European countries who were fleeing their government’s oppressive and discriminative ways established these colonies. In addition, another main portion of these colonists were people trying to overcome their lives of poverty. When the colonies were first founded, each colony’s government was managed independently without a unifying base. By the brink of the Revolution, all the thirteen American colonies seemed to have very similar lifestyles and goals.
II. Colonial diversity was apparent. Several contributing factors drew attention to colonial disunity. The most prominent factors included differences in their economies and social structures.
ii. With the appearance of an enemy in England, a desire for independence and colonial unity was inevitable. The French and Indian war was the key starting point for the colonists’ newly found sense of unity. It was clear that the colonies had to unite and work together in order to overcome their common enemy (England).
i. In 1643, four colonies united. The Confederation was the first notable milestone on the long and rocky road toward colonial unity.