English Colonization and the Road to Revolution

This essay analyzes the colonization of America and its fight for independence through primary and secondary sources. It focuses on the power of the British during the seventeenth and eighteenth century, the role of religion in the conflict, and the importance of the agency of the State. The primary sources include 'Liberty and Conscience: A Documentary History of the Experiences of Conscientious Objectors in America through the Civil War' edited by Peter Brock and 'An appeal to the public for religious liberty against the oppressions of the present day' by Issac Backus.

Running head: ENGLISH COLONIZATION AND THE ROAD TO REVOLUTION
English Colonization and the Road to Revolution
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1ENGLISH COLONIZATION AND THE ROAD TO REVOLUTION
The power of the British was at its height during the seventeenth and eighteenth century.
The British naval forces dominated the sea and its army was powerful than ever before. This
arrangement worked in the favor of the country when the British government decided to extend
the power of Britain and dominate the territories lying outside the continent. As a result, Britain
send out its government agents and people to colonize the other parts of the world which were
rich in resources as the main intention of the British government was to control as many markets
of the world as possible. This led to the colonization of the land of America and its consequent
fight for independence. The essay seeks to analyze two primary sources with reference to a
secondary source about the colonization of the Americans and their fight for independence.
Brock, P. (Ed.). (2002). Liberty and Conscience: A Documentary History of the Experiences
of Conscientious Objectors in America through the Civil War. Oxford University Press on
Demand.
Peter Brock was highly involved with conscientious objection,that is he believed in
freedom of thought and religion and refused to serve in the military and was imprisoned also.
The authors of this book focus on the relation between the agency of the State and the dominate
position of religion in the lives of the people. This situation was in existence in the land of
America as it was initially a British colony. The authors believe that a condition of conflict was
always in existence and thus, the authors made an attempt to document certain real examples of
court cases where the tussle between freedom of religion and dominance of the Church was
exaggerated to such an extent that it reached the level of the courts.
This book helps to understand the situation prevailing in America during the time period
of its colonization till it achieved independence. The authors believe that there are not many
documented cases of the power of the military of America during its period of colonization. For

2ENGLISH COLONIZATION AND THE ROAD TO REVOLUTION
this purpose, they had documented many primary sources which would help the readers to gain
an insight about colonized America. One of the main ideologies advocated in the book is that of
freedom of religion. The concept of religion played a significant role in the American war of
Revolution. It led to the development of a conflict with the Church in England and the
revolutionaries opined that war is morally justified against immoral rulers. The authors tried to
showcase how the people of America gradually fought for the freedom to practice their own
religion and how the agency of the State recognized the freedom of the people to do so.
Backus, I. (1773). An appeal to the public for religious liberty against the oppressions of the
present day. John Boyle.
Issac Backus was a preacher during the times of American Revolution. He preached
against the idea of establishment of the Churches in New England. The main purpose of this
book is the glorification of the agency of the state government and to instill the idea in the minds
of the people that freedom is in consonance with the idea of the state. There is a general
presumption that the agency of the state is necessarily against granting absolute freedom to the
individuals and that the formation of the State means that the freedom of the people will be
curtailed. However, the authors of this book spoke in favor of the agency of the State. They
opined that the state government provides the right to liberty to every individual within the
concerned state. According to the authors, those who fought against the agency of the state in
search for freedom, have now themselves fallen in to the abyss of corruption. The state
governments are completely aligned with the nature of liberty and freedom of the individuals
(Norton et al., 2011).
This book reflects some of the major incidents occurring within the folds of the American
society during the period of colonization. The authors of the book state that the agency of the

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State is important for the perpetuation of the freedom of liberty. If left to the individuals of the
State then it will result in anarchy and chaos. It was this situation which necessitated the
instillation of a State for the American people which was provided diligently by the English
colonizers. Many American people believed that the war in America was necessarily a war
among the different religious sects, caused between the Congressionalists and the Presbyterians,
both of whom were against the teachings of the Church.
In conclusion, it is observed that the land of America was colonized by the British
imperialist masters during the early years of the eighteenth century. Many scholars in the ensuing
years had a lot of opinions on the nature of such imperialism. They believed that the period of
colonialism led to the development of the agency of the State which ensured the preponderance
of the freedom of liberty. However, many other scholars opined that significant conflicts existed
between the State and the dominance of religion. All of these developments and conflicts
resulted in the people fighting for their independence, both from the State and from the colonial
masters, which finally culminated in the independence of the American people.

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References:
Backus, I. (1773). An appeal to the public for religious liberty against the oppressions of the
present day. John Boyle.
Brock, P. (Ed.). (2002). Liberty and Conscience: A Documentary History of the Experiences of
Conscientious Objectors in America through the Civil War. Oxford University Press on
Demand.
Norton, M. B., Sheriff, C., Blight, D. W., Chudacoff, H., & Logevall, F. (2011). A People and a
Nation: A History of the United States, Brief Edition, Volume II: Since 1865. Nelson
Education.