By the Eve of the Revolution

as Americans by the eve of the Revolution?"

I. Thesis: By the eve of the Revolution, the colonists had developed a strong sense of their identity and unity as Americans.

II. Identity: By the eve of the Revolution, the colonists had a strong sense of identity of who they were.

a. "…The eternal Barriers of Nature forbid that the colonies should be blended or coalesce into the Mass…" Edmund Burke (Doc B)

i. Edmund Burke believes that the colonies were too different from Great Britain that they couldn't blend in with the "mass."

b. "…What then is the American, this new man? He is either an European, or the descendant of an European, hence that strange mixture of blood which you will find in no other country…" Hector St. John Crèvecoeur (Doc H)

i. Hector St. John Crèvecoeur believed that American were different genetically, such as the background from where they came from.

c. "…He is an American, who leaving behind him all his ancient prejudices and manners, receives new ones from the new mode of life he has embraced…" Hector St. John Crèvecoeur (Doc H)

i. Hector St. John Crèvecoeur believes that one who is mixed in blood is American, who is different from his originally ethnic background, and has a different life compared to one that he might have lived if he were in Europe.

d. America later became the "Melting Pot" of the world, home to a very diverse people.

e. American vocabulary (and political vocabulary) began to differ from the British, Noah Webster wrote the American dictionary.

f. The colonists liked written law, or documents, rather than a "word of law' as the British had. The American wrote their constitution and had their laws written on documents.

g. Colonists began calling themselves Americans, and felt that they were superior to the British. Those who had visited Great Britain came back to America with many stories of the "bad" of the British.

h. After the French and Indian War, the Americans felt that they were different, and weren't the same as the British.

i. The colonists against Great Britain (and who were for Revolution) called themselves Patriots.

j. Colonists abolished primogeniture and entail, making them more and more different from the British.

k. There were colonists known as frontiersmen that Great Britain didn't have, and were a new kind of citizen.

III. Unity: Before the Revolution, the colonists were becoming