US History

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Thank you for using Brainmass. The solution below provides what you ask- a summary of each of the topics and a referential explanation for each of the personalities listed. I have also added some links to websites that you can use for further exploration of each topic. Also note the listed references below for a more in-depth study. Good luck with your studies!

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OTA 105878/Xenia Jones
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1. Navigational Laws and the Colonies

The English Navigation Act of 1712 affected shipping trade between the the colonies and England. It restricted the use of foreign shipping, for example and colonial development was made to be more favourable for England in that it stopped the direct colonial commerce and trade between the colonies and Holland, France, Spain and other European countries. It began with the Ordinance of 1651, passed by Oliver Cromwell enforcing the notion that English trade must be carried by English vessels only which effectively banned any foreign vessel to transport English goods or products bound in English trade to & from England. It was revived in the Restoration Acts of 1660-1663 (as it was made ineffective when Cromwell fell), becoming the basis of English Maritime Trade for 200 years. On the whole these series of acts was obeyed except the amendment in 1733 (Molasses act) and 1764 (Sugar Act). Both encouraged intensive smuggling and deep feelings of resentment from colonial merchants and the colonies. The Sugar Act for example helped fuel the American Revolution.

For More:
http://www.usahistory.info/colonial/Navigation-Acts.html

2. The Great Awakening

The Great Awakening was a religious revival in the Colonies, an offshoot of the European movement known as Evangelicanism in from the 1720's-1740's. In the Colonies, the Calvinists - Dutch Reformists,Presbyterian,some Anglicans, Baptists and Congregationalists - opened up to a sense of Evangelicanism that pushed with passion the terrors of the holy law to sinners, the grace of God and the return/rebirth of Jesus Christ. It was a reaction to standardized formalism in churches especially the neglect of pastoral supervision in Southern churches. One of these priests who practised Evangelicanism was George Whitefield (inspired by European priest and key Evangelicanism figure John Wesley). He travelled across the colonies and held services in open fields because he attracted such numbers that it wont fit in a church building. He was deeply criticized and accused of emotional excesses, breaking church laws and encouraging religious delusions. Another effect it had however was the stemming of ideas of the Enlightenment and the rational thinking it brought. It brought back religious fanaticism making it, once more, the arbiter of' 'truth' in the colonies. It also challenged the way the church handled their people and their services. The divisions in churches and denominations was such that it furthered the divide. But the established churches worked to quell the dissent which resulted to a positive status qou that allowed for religious tolerance. Another positive impact was the creation of universities and colleges carried on the back of divided denominations to ensure that their ideals were taught to prospective students. They included Dartmouth College, Princeton,Brown and Rutgers universities.

For more:
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/242887/Great-Awakening
http://www.christianchronicler.com/history1/great_awakening.html

3. Causes of the Revolutionary War

What were the main factors that drove the Revolutionary War? While one can propose that the revolutionary war was the sum total of all the excesses and abuse suffered by the colonists under England, there are key causes and events that tipped the balance towards War. According to most historians, they are as follows:

a. The British have decreed to make the American colonies take on a huge percentage of the French and Indian War- the amount was excessive and the Colonists felt that it was an unfair decree for them to take on the burden.
b. The collective of excessive taxation like the Sugar Act and the Stamp Act squeezed the pockets of every colonist affecting their domestic and economic ...