Ap Us History Dbq (sample)

DBQ, AP US HISTORY

“Throughout the colonial period, economic concerns had more to do with the settlement of British North America than did religious concerns.”

The 13 colonies were created for two main reasons, religioin and economic gain. Religion was a very important issue to the British colonies. Nevertheless, it was not the main reason the British were so eager to colonize America. Their main concern was glorifying the British Empire through economic gain.

The British were very concerned about making money off the colonies. The primary reason for Roanoke was to earn money. The foremost goal for the British of settling the Americas was to grow crops, hunt animals, and find precious metals. These products, once obtained by the colonies, would promptly be shipped to Britain. They would then transform these raw materials into manufactured goods, which would then be sold back to America for a hearty profit. They also imposed many taxes and rules specifically designed to earn a profit. They also placed several trade blocks to prevent the American colonies from trading with anyone else. Another law set in place to economically benefit the British was the Stamp Act. This was a law imposed by the British on the American colonies that set a tax on all legal documents. Taxes were set on items ranging from land contracts and playing cards. Basically, the British had set up a very economically beneficial system for themselves. When the Americans tried boycotting the English goods, Britain took military action. This is the cause of the Boston Tea Party. The gist of this action was that American colonists were trying to show Britain that they didn’t want to buy their goods at an inflated price. In response to this and several other boycotts, the British actually attacked and killed many rowdy civilians. Another good example of how focused the British were on making money can be seen in the American Revolution. The Americans had originally boycotted British goods in an effort to lower the tariffs set on them. However, the British were so fixated on the prospect of making money that they actually attacked two American cities, Lexington and Concord.

In conclusion, religion was an important issue concerning the founding of the colonies. However, economic gain was foremost on the minds of the British. This is evidenced