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U.S. History 1877-Present Videos 173 videos

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U.S. History 1877-Present 1: Salutary Neglect 7162 Views


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Description:

Today's lesson: if you're going to enforce rules, you need to start strong. Britain was pretty lenient with the colonies at first and by the time they put their foot down, the colonies were having none of it. Take a look at the video to see the tantrum that came next.

Language:
English Language

Transcript

00:03

salutary neglect what is it it's the kind of policy that Britain

00:08

practice for more than a hundred years with its American colonies it basically [Man wearing crown at the theater]

00:12

means that crown pretended not to notice that the colonists were breaking tons of

00:17

laws it's true America founded by criminals the colonists favorite laws [Man in ski mask appears]

00:22

break were the navigation act he's declared the colonies could only trade

00:27

with England Scotland Wales and Ireland navigation acts might seem crazy by [Ship sails to UK]

00:31

today's standards but they were par for the course at the time still Britain

00:35

turned a blind eye and didn't enforce them because well hey who has the time

00:38

so for a while colonists traded with whoever they wanted and Britain never

00:42

gave them grief about it but then the French and Indian War happened and it [Boy holding giant ice cream of french and indian war]

00:47

put a major hole in the old British wallet to help make up for this Britain

00:52

started squeezing the American colonies like an old aunt always hugs too hard to [Woman hugging girl and girl turns blue]

00:57

get more money out of the colonies the Brits started actually and war we're

01:00

seeing the Navigation Acts and even followed them up with some new acts

01:03

sugar Stamp tea all of these were draining colonial piggy banks like [Piggy bank shrinks]

01:09

everybody who's ever been hit up with a bill they didn't expect the colonists [Girl receives restaurant bill]

01:13

were overjoyed that was sarcasm they hated all these in taxes were seriously

01:18

messing with the colonists life liberty and happiness as the Declaration of [Man with head in his hands]

01:24

Independence later proved these were things that early Americans were super

01:28

touchy about of course before they went all out and declared independence which

01:32

meant war the colonists tried nonviolent economic protest they couldn't really [Man protesting against wall street]

01:37

occupy America since they already live there so they had to try some other

01:42

tactics like they passed non consumption and non exportation act against the

01:48

British this meant they didn't buy British stuff or sell American stuff to

01:53

the Brit this denied the mother country the benefits that it had demanded at the

01:57

expense of the colonies for example colonial women took the time and effort [Woman making clothing]

02:01

out of their already packed schedule to make their own clothes rather than

02:05

import the latest fashions from Europe they were better off anyway the old

02:09

world was so last year merchants lawyers and printers also felt the

02:13

of boycotting the Stamp Act with tax printed matter and legal documents yep

02:19

kind of hard to be a printer without the stuff to print on of course the most

02:23

famous example of economic protests happened on December 16 1773 that's [A ship with crates of tea]

02:28

right the Boston Tea Party this is when a group of colonists boarded three ships

02:32

in Boston Harbor and threw about 300 chests of tea into the water oh and they [Chests of tea thrown into the water]

02:37

did this while dressed as American Indians

02:40

brave soul no doubt the Boston Tea Party sent a message that the Brits could hear [British King on a throne]

02:44

loud and clear it was appointed protest against the idea that the British

02:48

legislature where colonists had no representation at the right to tax the

02:54

colonies the phrase no taxation without representation and it still echoes

02:59

through the years it's amazing what a little possibly racist costuming will do [Men dressed as american indians holding chests of tea]

03:03

to earn an event place in history

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