Thomas Baines
2338
Assess the view that the Somerset v Stewart decision was the main cause of the American
Revolution
Assess the view that the Somerset v Stewart decision was the main
cause of the American Revolution
The consequences of the Somerset v Stewart decision – namely, ending
slavery in England and Wales – have been regarded by Blumrosen and Horne as
leading to increased support for the establishment of independent government and
law in colonial America. This interpretation has been based on the widespread
reporting of the case in the Thirteen Colonies and the support for slavery among
influential landowners, particularly in the most powerful colony, Virginia, where most
of the Founding Fathers originated and held slaves. Moreover, the timing of the
decision coincided with British arming of Africans to counter Spanish and French
threats on the continent, thus sparking fears that the mother country would defend
their territory at the expense of leaving planters vulnerable to insurrections from a
resentful and plentiful slave demographic. However, this interpretation has been
dismissed as excessively radical and contradictory to American ideals of freedom
and equality by Whig historians. Ignoring slavery, the Whigs regard British attempts
at taxation without the representation of colonials in Parliament as evidence of
tyranny and despotism and subsequently, a foreign influence that must be ousted.
Taxation is also viewed from an economic perspective by historians of the
Progressive school, who suggest that the seemingly unjustified efforts by the British
to tax Americans were used merely as an excuse to advocate wider economic
sovereignty, mainly through an overthrow of the English system of mercantile
capitalism. Certainly, the profound economic self-interest of settlers can be
considered the cause of the American Revolution, although it must be remembered
that slavery was the largest source of colonial revenue and therefore the Somerset v
2338
Assess the view that the Somerset v Stewart decision was the main cause of the American
Revolution
Assess the view that the Somerset v Stewart decision was the main
cause of the American Revolution
The consequences of the Somerset v Stewart decision – namely, ending
slavery in England and Wales – have been regarded by Blumrosen and Horne as
leading to increased support for the establishment of independent government and
law in colonial America. This interpretation has been based on the widespread
reporting of the case in the Thirteen Colonies and the support for slavery among
influential landowners, particularly in the most powerful colony, Virginia, where most
of the Founding Fathers originated and held slaves. Moreover, the timing of the
decision coincided with British arming of Africans to counter Spanish and French
threats on the continent, thus sparking fears that the mother country would defend
their territory at the expense of leaving planters vulnerable to insurrections from a
resentful and plentiful slave demographic. However, this interpretation has been
dismissed as excessively radical and contradictory to American ideals of freedom
and equality by Whig historians. Ignoring slavery, the Whigs regard British attempts
at taxation without the representation of colonials in Parliament as evidence of
tyranny and despotism and subsequently, a foreign influence that must be ousted.
Taxation is also viewed from an economic perspective by historians of the
Progressive school, who suggest that the seemingly unjustified efforts by the British
to tax Americans were used merely as an excuse to advocate wider economic
sovereignty, mainly through an overthrow of the English system of mercantile
capitalism. Certainly, the profound economic self-interest of settlers can be
considered the cause of the American Revolution, although it must be remembered
that slavery was the largest source of colonial revenue and therefore the Somerset v
