40 Min extemporaneous midterm essay

Subject HIS 375

Grade B+

This is a problematic essay cuz I didn't mention the Britain leaders

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I hold the opinion that the statement that from 1620 to 1823 the British leaders determined America’s future more than American leaders did is reasonable.

First, the common British protestant religious root and the common respect to the common law were prerequisites for the independence and developments of the United States. The major part of the population emigrated from Britain to America was British protestant. For example, the immigrants of Plymouth, New England, their common goal was to achieve their religious practice in the new world which could not be completed in Britain due to religious intolerance. Except this, their common respect to the common law was a very important element for building a law abiding society, which made the constitution-abiding United States come true.

Second, the relationship between Great Britain and other European powers like France and Spain mainly dominated the agenda of the New World and showed the American leaders the devastating consequences triggered from entanglement of European monarchies. Basically it was true that during the early years of the United States the New World was the arena of European politics. For example, the Glorious Revolution took place in Great Britain which banished the catholic king had a great impact on the New World. The new king William and Mary supported the New England’s endorsement to the Iroquois confederacy and determined to contain the French power at upper-state New York. The vehement contest between Great Britain and France over the Ohio Valley Issue triggered the seven year’s war. The remote Spanish succession war also escalated to the New World called Queen Anne’s war. All of these examples demonstrated the future American leaders that any entanglement between the United States and European monarchies could cause catastrophic ramifications. Therefore future American founding fathers such as George Washington and John Adams made their resolution to keep the United States out of the battlefield of European monarchies and hammered out the long term neutrality principle.

Last, and the most crucial, the different attitudes toward Great Britain among the leaders of the United States catalyzed the formation of the first bipartisan system of America which had a far-reaching impact on America’s future fate. The Jay Treaty in order to ease the seemly inextricable conflict between the United States and Great Britain lead to severe divisions among American leaders. The Federalist Party strongly approved the Jay Treaty but the Democrats adamantly opposed it. This pronounced division gave rise to the first contested president election of the United States between two candidates representing different parties: federalist John Adams and democrat Thomas Jefferson. The enactment of the first bipartisan system had a gigantic impact on the subsequent American political system and historical trajectory.

In conclusion, I agree with the proposition that the Great Britain really had a great impact on the American diplomacy and politics from 1620 to 1823.