God Save the King…!?
May 24th, 2009 | By Tim | Category: HistoryAn interesting debate is taking place in my History of the American Revolution class. The question is: Would the United States have been better off if Britain would have won the Revolutionary War?
Arguments in favor of an American loss seem to line up as:
1. British “Tyranny” was not really all that “Tyrannical”.
2. Native Americans would have been treated much more kindly by the British Government as compared to the American Government.
3. The United Kingdom made slavery illegal earlier, which would have avoided the American Civil War and the mistreatment of African Americans afterward.
4. The United States would have entered both World Wars much earlier, ending both much quicker.
5. The United States would have had a much more regulated economy, avoiding the “Boom and Bust Cycle”.
6. The United States would have became much more… Canadian.
So have at it. What do YOU think?
The answer is simple: No. Had the colonies lost the war, there wouldn’t be an United States.
1. If the tyranny simply wasn’t that bad, what inspired a war? Were the founders just bloodthirsty hawks of war? When an empire 3 thousand miles away is shooting civilians in the streets, its only a matter of time before someone’s undying commitment to the beloved throne is somewhat shaken. One man’s benevolent social program is another man’s tyranny, and the british ministry of musket bullet distribution could be an example. hah. -_-. This is an ignorant premise.
2. They probably would have been, unless you happen to know something of European colonial history (i.e., Heart of Darkness)
3. Probably true, but there wouldn’t have been hardly any people of African ethnicity in North America, as the British would have taken an Abe Lincoln view of race, in that they would have sent the black man back to Africa in order to preserve racial purity. One simply needs to examine any of the abundant correspondence from the time. However poorly treated people with darker skin have been since the American Revolution, they have, as a group, benefited greatly from escaping the African continent, where they were not only slaves, but ruled by warlords (see Rwanda, Sudan).
4. Absolutely pure and baseless conjecture. The industrial might that allowed the U.S. to even be a game-changer in the world wars would quite likely not even have existed, if it were subjected to the sort of wanton and rampant taxation and regulation as British industry. The industrial ability would not have been sufficient to mount similar offensives.
5. Whoa total bullshit. Regulated economies have no fewer busts.
6. Fuck Canada.