The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-05-25
THE PRIZE ESSAY.
WRITTEN BY FLORENCE HALL, OF
THE HIGH SCHOOL.
Winner in the Competition InauSu-
rated By the Utah Society, Sons OF
the American Revolution.

was awarded the $2a prize offered py
the Utah society, Sons of the American
Revolution. The judges were Profess
sor g. r. Matthews, Major II. c. Hill
and Rev. a. L. Hudson. Twenty-three
essays We're offered in competition:
THE REAL CAUSES OF THE AMER
ICAN REVOLUTION.
America-What a wild and uncivil-
lied wilderness that name meant 10
England at the commencement OF the
eighteenth century. A wilderness IN
deed it was, where blowing wildly
down the deep canyons moaned free
oom, and rue forests re-ecnoed the
murmur.
WIG and mystic though this land of
the Tar west seemed, yet thirteen colo
MES now thrived therein. Tney were
colonies established ana settled Tor the
most part by Engiisnmen VINO sought
nay GAINED as an inherent rlgnt-
the very thing which was herdIded
from its every ShOre--llberly
Yes, these men mad crossed the peril I
GUS waters. seeking what they felt was |
justly their own and mas been Tor ages |
past. They were brave, true-hearted, /
loyal subjects of the British crown, IN
Wnom the love and claim OF seIf-goV- |
eminent, so long repressed by the Tu-
dor sovereigns, mad been renewed and
was now t1ourlsing at it's height Beng
devoted to religious freedom of thought
and worship they naturally longed Tor
civil freedom. For without civil liber-
ty religious liberty cannot exist Ihey
brought with them the principles OF
| self-government, deeD-rooted in their
very hearts. 1t is not strange, there
fore, that they firmly and ou1aDly es-
tablished these principles on the new
| soil.
They built this new home with the
idea that they were founding another
portion of the kings domlnIons, which
should bear the same relation to the
! throne as England did, and which
| should dwell in peace under the same
! flag; and cause the king to be king
not only of the British isles, but also
of thirteen new kingdoms beyond the
seas.
For this reason we find that they had
established here the same institutions
which they had formerly employed.
Each colony had its own assembly and
held that it would be as legitimate tor
these assemblies to legislate for Eng
land, as for the British parliament to
legislate for them.
The colonies also maintained their
right to the habeas corpus act and all
the privileges of the magma charta, as
inherent in them as EngliShmen. And
as EngliShmen they claimed, that, ac-
cording to the foundation of their con-
Stitution and government as maintain
ed through principles, traditions. and
usage, the king could not take a sub
ject's goods without his consent. There
fore they could only be. taxed by a body
in which they were represented.
If the king wanted money from the
colonies, he should demand it through
the governors, and the colonial legisla-
lures would then grant it to him. Com
pelling the colonies to pay taxes with
out their consent, was treating them
as an hostile and conquered people;
and they would resist such an action
as an infringement upon their Unborn
rights and dearest privileges"
And it was not long before they had
a chance to resist, for neither England
nor any other of the European coun-
tries regarded her colonies in such a
light. The English theory was, that
the colonies were not political govern
mentS, but civil CORPORATIONS, and as
such, under the control of the king
through parliament. They were sim
ply settlements made in another part
of the world as feeders for her COM
nerce, markets for her produce, and,
in short, means for increasing her
wealth.
England was to have entire CONNER
cial monopoly over these dependencies
of hers No other country could supply
its wants. No other country could ap-
propriate its exports, and for the bene-
TT of her manufactures, all materials
were to be sent manufactured Thus
when the colonies began to grow pros
porous themselves and cease to in
crease the riches of the parent state,
they were failing in the very purpose
and aim for which they were founded.
During the early settlement Of Ame1-
lea, and while they were establishing
themselves in self-government, through
the quite liberal charters which had
been given them, England, being occu-
pied in continental wars. paid very lit
tie attention to them. And the naviga-
ton laws which had been passed for
the purpose of curtailing the commerce
OF the colonies, were' not enforced to
any annoying degree. For it was
plainly TO England's advantage, during
her war with France, to pursue con
cilhstory policy" towards her colonies
without whose aid she might never
have succeeded.
But when by the peace of Paris at
the close of the war, the only reason
for the colonists needing the protection
of England had been removed; and
when they no longer stood in awe of
Great Britain since they had gained a
knowledge of their own strength by
fighting side by side with the English
soldiers; England had now a chance to
turn her attention to the colonies. She
found they were becoming far too
strong and determined to check their
progress.
Perhaps this determination would
never have been carried out if Just at
that time George III, the stubbornest
and most bigoted of kings, had not
come to the throne resolved to be king
and assert his supremacy over Ameri-
ca. His courtiers. ministers and adj
Vlsers, too, were, as rockingham says:
Men of low views of human nature,
high-toned principles of government,
unsound doctrines of political econ
omy, and disposition to stretch the
prerogative and crafty the pride Of
dominion" With few exceptions they
had base and selfish ideas, and one
; of them vowed he could never acqui-
eSce in the absurd opinion that all
men are equal.
But such men were in power and urg-
ed on by merchants, who saw their
commerce slipping from their hands.
they began strictly to enforce the navi-
cation acts, in order to effectually
check American progress.
This was only the beginning of a Sc
ries of aggressions which could net
help bringing on the final collision The
stamp act was then passed under the
excuse that America should help bear
the burden of the debt incurred by the
, late war. Next came the duties laid
by Townshend, and finally the intol-
cradle acts brought things to climax
Surely the colonists had sufficient
reason for revolt; they had been tried
beyond human endurance. In these in
creasingly stubborn steps of England