Tag: William Pitt

 Prewar Politics (<1775) Posted on

The Lord North Conciliatory Proposal: A Case of Too Little Too Late

Just prior to the start of hostilities in the American Revolution, and even early on in those battles, last-minute efforts were made in many quarters to reach a peaceful settlement to the differences between the belligerents. One lesser analyzed of these was Lord North’s Conciliatory Resolution, made in February 1775. This proposal, unlike an earlier […]

by Richard J. Werther
Prewar Politics (<1775) Posted on

Thomas Pownall, Governor of Massachusetts, August 1757 to December 1758

Thomas Pownall was appointed “Captain-General and Governor-in-Chief in and over . . . the Province of the Massachusetts Bay” on February 25, 1757. He had some advantages that other governors did not have when taking office: first, he had a great deal of experience in the colonies, having travelled extensively through many of them; second, […]

by Bob Ruppert
Prewar Politics (<1775) Posted on

This Week on Dispatches: Dean Caivano on American Colonists’ Growing Resistance to Tyranny

On this week’s Dispatches host Brady Crytzer interviews Dean Caivano, Lecturer of Political Science at California State University, Stanislaus, on the growing resistance to tyranny as colonists reacted to the prospects of their lives being reduced to a state of political and economic domination by Parliament and the Crown. Thousands of readers like you enjoy the articles published […]

by Editors
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Prewar Politics (<1775) Posted on

The Fear of Domination: Resistance Against Tyranny

The threat of continued oppression and an encroaching condition of slavery was central to the American colonists’ call for separation from Great Britain and the corresponding shift to direct resistance. While the lack of effective political representation was crucial, importantly the colonists held other more acute concerns than the issue of representation in Parliament. Crucially, […]

by Dean Caivano
Prewar Politics (<1775) Posted on

This Week on Dispatches: Steven Neill on the British East India Company and the American Revolution

On this week’s Dispatches host Brady Crytzer interviews JAR contributor Steven Neill on William Pitt’s 1767 proposal to tax the East India Company and strengthen trade with the American colonies and how the company influenced Parliament’s decision to set aside Pitt’s plan. Instead, Parliament decided to levy taxes on the colonies through the Townshend Acts. Thousands of […]

by Editors
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Prewar Politics (<1775) Posted on

A Chink in Britain’s Armor: John Paul Jones’s 1778 Raid on Whitehaven

John Paul Jones has earned enduring fame in American history for his sailing and fighting exploits during the American Revolution. His influence on the war, however, went far beyond his alleged immortal words while engaging the HMS Serapis with his vessel, the Bonhomme Richard. For a period in 1778, the mere mention of his name caused terror […]

by Andrew A. Zellers-Frederick
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Prewar Politics (<1775) Posted on

The Earl of Dartmouth: Secretary of State for the Colonies, Third Year: August 1774–November 1775

While the Earl of Dartmouth, Secretary of State for the Colonies, was on holiday in the summer of 1774, his office continued to receive and send communications concerning the political divergence with the American colonies. The general issues were the Quebec Act, the Massachusetts Provincial Congress, the Declaration of Rights and Grievances, the Non-Importation Agreement, […]

by Bob Ruppert