When the majority of people think of the American independence movement, they envision a monopoly of outraged colonists rising up against an impeding British crown. The ability of the colonists to actually win the revolution as the underdog is quite shocking, but one primary British policy may have led to it, and that was salutary neglect.
Salutary neglect is a term which refers to the British avoiding strict enforcement of laws and policies overseas in the Colonies, which would, in return, keep the Colonies loyal to Britain. After the French and Indian War, the British had a number of problems greater than the issues of the Colonies, and decided to end the policy of salutary neglect.
Once salutary neglect was ended, the British started enacting new ideals into the colonists’ lives, such as the Proclamation of 1763, the Acts of 1764–65, and the Intolerable Acts, which ironically worked to aid the colonists to unite against Britain in an inevitable war for independence.
A number of British actions which occurred after salutary neglect was abandoned played a key role in the Colonies’ eventual fight for independence. Arguably the first of these actions was the Proclamation of 1763.
Following the French and Indian War, which resulted in massive territorial gain for Britain, the British enacted this policy which forbade the colonists from expanding into these newly-gained territories, to limit their contact with the Native Americans who already inhabited those lands.
The colonists were outraged as a result of the Proclamation, due to the fact that they felt the land was their birthright and that they had the God-given right to expand if they wanted to, but the British were not allowing them to. The colonists would be captured and sent overseas to trial or thrown in jail if they were seen in these territories, as that was considered treason.
One year later, the outrage of the colonists grew, due to the acts of 1764–65. Two of the acts were taxes which limited the colonists’ actions, the money going to Britain to pay for their debt — as they were nearly broke after the French and Indian War — not even to the colonies.
The first of these policies was the revised Navigation Acts, which examined all American ships to prevent trading from any other nation, as the colonies could only trade with Britain and each other. The second policy was the Sugar Acts, which taxed all sugar imported from the Caribbean. In 1765, the third policy, the Quartering Act, forced colonists to allow British soldiers to live in their houses on top of any other family members, feed them, clothe them, and care for them. The fourth and final of these four acts was the one that arguably had the most impact: the Stamp Act.
The Stamp Act was a tax on all paper goods in the Colonies, the money going toward the British military. Colonists were forced to purchase stamps for each and every paper document. This act was especially infuriating to the colonists as this was the only tax exclusive to the American Colonies. It was also a tax on their way of life, as paper was everything at the time. Of course, the other acts also infringed on the colonists’ way of life, and this was only fueling the fire for what would eventually be the fight for independence.
As a result of these acts, particularly the Stamp Act, the colonists created the Stamp Act Congress, which agreed to boycott all British goods in the colonies. As a result, Britain lowered taxes in the colonies, but this didn’t last long. The Townshend Acts was a light tax on lead, paper, paint, tea, and glass.
In 1770, the Boston Massacre, in which British soldiers shot and killed eleven colonists in Boston, sparked the Boston Tea Party, which, in 1773, saw colonists disguise as Indians and throw millions of dollars worth of tea into the Boston Harbor, representing their anger towards Britain. In response, Britain enacted four more acts in 1774, which the Americans called the Intolerable Acts.
The first of these four acts was a revised Quartering Act, which brought back the original Quartering Act in greater force. The second act was the Boston Port Act, which completely closed the Port of Boston until damages from the Tea Party were paid off. This devastated the New England colonies as this was their main vein of trading. The third of these acts was the Massachusetts Government Act, which prohibited the election of governors, and allowed only one town meeting per year.
The fourth and final Intolerable Act was the Administration of Justice Act, in which any British official arrested in the Colonies would go to trial in their own home of Britain; many colonists found this unfair, as they would have to trial in Britain and felt the soldiers shouldn’t trial in their own home nation. These acts infringed upon the rights of the colonists, which infuriated them even more.
In the eyes of Britain, all of these acts and policies devastated the colonies, but unknowingly, they managed to unify the colonists who grew tired of Britain’s policies after the practice of salutary neglect was abandoned, as Britain did not care as much when this policy was active, basically letting the colonists do their own thing while keeping them in check.
The colonists did not mind this, but when it ended, the aforementioned series of events, and more, sparked colonial unity and inevitable revolution, resulting in the successful independence of the Colonies, and the epic birth of a new nation, which has grown to become the world’s largest superpower: the United States of America.
Chris is a writer and publisher who travels America, and loves doing it. He also loves pizza, video games, and sports, and can tell you a thing or two about each. Follow him on Medium to be informed of new articles.
