Appeal To The Patriots Of Quebec Summary
CRITICAL ANALYSIS ON
“APPEAL TO THE INHABITANTS
OF QUEBEC, 1774”
HI 105
CPT Hann
September 20, 2013
The era of late 1700’s was a period of great change in North America. After the French and Indian war ended in 1963, Great Britain’s control of North America’s east coast caused more interaction between the American colonies and Canada, which was a French colony prior to the war. In 1774, the Continental Congress wrote to the inhabitants of Quebec in an appeal which was entitled, “Appeal to the Inhabitants of Quebec.” In this appeal, the American colonists expressed their great joy that Quebec was now a part of the English colonies, and the main thesis of this appeal was that the inhabitants of Quebec had earned the right to have the same rights as the colonies under a just form of government, and that the best way for them to achieve that was by joining the American colonies. These ideas that the colonists had were very persuasive, and they provided a …show more content…
great deal of evidence to support their stance on why Quebec should join the American colonies.
The way the Continental Congress supported their argument was by providing evidence that they lived under an exemplary form of a fair and just government, and listed five specific rights that this form of government must provide; this just form of government, according to the Continental Congress, must be a representative government, give its subjects a fair trial by jury, the right of Habeus Corpus, easy rents on property ownership, and freedom of press.
This listing of rights was very effective in attempting to sway the inhabitants of Quebec to join the colonies, as it provides illicit examples of why the colonies have a great form of government. Upon providing examples of why the colonists felt that their own government would be successful in bettering the province of Quebec, the appeal went on to provide further evidence of why Quebec should join the colonies by addressing the problems with the government that was in control of Quebec at the
time.
One very effective piece of evidence that this appeal provided was the unfavorable nature of the government that the inhabitants of Quebec were being subjected to. The power of the government, although it seemed to have somewhat separated power, still derived all its power from the governor and council, who were still both controlled by the power of the Minister. The appeal strongly emphasized the importance of the separation of powers in government by stating that, “When the power of making laws, and the power of executing them, are united in the same person… There can be no liberty.”
In the concluding sections of this appeal, the Continental Congress tried to sway the inhabitants of Quebec with one last statement that the colonists had already addressed their grievances to his Majesty of the violation of the rights of the inhabitants of Quebec. This last piece was also one of the successful pieces in the appeal’s argument to support the colonists’ stance because it showed that the colonists did truly have the best interest of the inhabitants in mind. With the presentation of examples of why the colonies had a fair and just government, as well as examples that highlighted the flaws of the inhabitants of Quebec’s current government, the Continental Congress effectively wrote a very persuasive piece in attempt to get Quebec to join the American colonies.
WORKS CITED
First Continental Congress. “Appeal to the Inhabitants of Quebec, 1774.” In HI 105 Course Notebook: History of the United States, 301-307. West Point, NY: Department of History, 2013
Wikipedia. S.v. “Letters to the Inhabitants of Canada.” Last modified March 11, 2013. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Letters_to_the_inhabitants_of_Canada.
“APPEAL TO THE INHABITANTS
OF QUEBEC, 1774”
HI 105
CPT Hann
September 20, 2013
The era of late 1700’s was a period of great change in North America. After the French and Indian war ended in 1963, Great Britain’s control of North America’s east coast caused more interaction between the American colonies and Canada, which was a French colony prior to the war. In 1774, the Continental Congress wrote to the inhabitants of Quebec in an appeal which was entitled, “Appeal to the Inhabitants of Quebec.” In this appeal, the American colonists expressed their great joy that Quebec was now a part of the English colonies, and the main thesis of this appeal was that the inhabitants of Quebec had earned the right to have the same rights as the colonies under a just form of government, and that the best way for them to achieve that was by joining the American colonies. These ideas that the colonists had were very persuasive, and they provided a …show more content…
great deal of evidence to support their stance on why Quebec should join the American colonies.
The way the Continental Congress supported their argument was by providing evidence that they lived under an exemplary form of a fair and just government, and listed five specific rights that this form of government must provide; this just form of government, according to the Continental Congress, must be a representative government, give its subjects a fair trial by jury, the right of Habeus Corpus, easy rents on property ownership, and freedom of press.
This listing of rights was very effective in attempting to sway the inhabitants of Quebec to join the colonies, as it provides illicit examples of why the colonies have a great form of government. Upon providing examples of why the colonists felt that their own government would be successful in bettering the province of Quebec, the appeal went on to provide further evidence of why Quebec should join the colonies by addressing the problems with the government that was in control of Quebec at the
time.
One very effective piece of evidence that this appeal provided was the unfavorable nature of the government that the inhabitants of Quebec were being subjected to. The power of the government, although it seemed to have somewhat separated power, still derived all its power from the governor and council, who were still both controlled by the power of the Minister. The appeal strongly emphasized the importance of the separation of powers in government by stating that, “When the power of making laws, and the power of executing them, are united in the same person… There can be no liberty.”
In the concluding sections of this appeal, the Continental Congress tried to sway the inhabitants of Quebec with one last statement that the colonists had already addressed their grievances to his Majesty of the violation of the rights of the inhabitants of Quebec. This last piece was also one of the successful pieces in the appeal’s argument to support the colonists’ stance because it showed that the colonists did truly have the best interest of the inhabitants in mind. With the presentation of examples of why the colonies had a fair and just government, as well as examples that highlighted the flaws of the inhabitants of Quebec’s current government, the Continental Congress effectively wrote a very persuasive piece in attempt to get Quebec to join the American colonies.
WORKS CITED
First Continental Congress. “Appeal to the Inhabitants of Quebec, 1774.” In HI 105 Course Notebook: History of the United States, 301-307. West Point, NY: Department of History, 2013
Wikipedia. S.v. “Letters to the Inhabitants of Canada.” Last modified March 11, 2013. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Letters_to_the_inhabitants_of_Canada.