Essay #2 Reflection

Personally, I think I performed abysmally with this essay. The past couple weeks have been the procrastination highlight of my life. I certainly could've done a lot better. We had a lot less time for this essay than we did for essay number one, but I still did a lot worse on this one. The main problem was my extreme procrastination, which was caused by several different things. A mix of emotional problems, physical problems, and lack of discipline.

Final Essay #2

Thoughts of a North Carolinian Patriot

I’m a colonist living in North Carolina. I make a living from farming and most people would identify me as a commoner. In the recent years, I’ve been pretty neutral about Great Britain. However, I’ve recently become outraged by the recent course of events. I personally do not mind having a king who rules from across the ocean, but this king has recently been making some unnecessary power plays. Great Britain has been making decisions that would improve England, but these same choices also infringe upon our rights and livelihood as colonists.

As I’ve said before, I’m not one who cares much for politics. In my opinion, the whole political scene is for boring, old, lazy, and wealthy folk. I am apart of the working class. I know how to work with hands and I’m not afraid of getting a bit dirty. I feel comfortable just doing my own work and go about my own business without conducting a single thought on any political nonsense. With this revolutionary conflict, however, I am no longer privileged with such leisure. I’ve heard numerous stories about fanatical patriots who would destroy private property and kill people. And all of their targets are loyalists, who are also known as Tories (Wood 38). I personally do not want to become one of those victims. Not only am I concerned about myself, but I must also think about the safety of my family and my plantation. Just the other week, the Whig Regime ordered everyone to swear an oath of allegiance to North Carolina or be identified as a Tory (Escott and Crow 385). I’d much rather be identified as a patriot so I won’t have to worry about being victimized. Instead, I can focus on my funds and my trade.

Economically, my family and I are doing very well. I have the adequate funds to provide food, shelter, and a proper living environment for my wife and kids. Most of this success is due to my constant hard work, but I do indeed owe a lot of this prosperity to the few slaves that help work my plantation. Not many people in North Carolina own slaves, so I’ve got quite an advantage over my competition when it comes to producing crops (Escott and Crow 381). I’m afraid, however, that Britain’s campaign of tyrannical rule is also deterring my labor force. Lord Dunmore, governor of Virginia, has declared that any slave that runs away and fights for Great Britain will be freed (Crow 83). Consequently, several of my slaves have already escaped, and it is awfully expensive to replace them. Runaway slaves are nothing new, but I am infuriated by Great Britain’s promise of freedom. For some reason, they think that they can simply give my slaves freedom without my consent. I had paid a great deal of money for my slaves, and they are instrumental to the success of my farm. Great Britain thinking that they can steal away my property is just plain atrocious. What’s scary is that there are similar patterns of Britain’s tyranny in several other colonies also. We colonists can no longer allow Great Britain to treat us as a lesser people.

I’ve been able to live comfortable under British rule for many years. Government is government, and they must make sovereign decisions. With this impending revolution, however, Great Britain has been acting more tyrannical than political. They’ve speak as though the property of the colonists, is their property too. If I could, I’d abstain from all political engagements. But it seems that I must now take sides. And if I must choose any side, I am most definitely an American patriot.

Sources Cited

Escott, Paul D., and Jeffrey J. Crow. "The Social Order and Violent Disorder: An Analysis of North Carolina in the Revolution and the Civil War." The Journal of Southern History 52(1986): 373-402.

Wood, Gordon S.. "A Note on Mobs in the American Revolution." The William and Mary Quarterly 23(1966): 635-642.

Crow, Jeffrey J.. "Slave Rebelliousness and Social Conflict in North Carolina, 1775-1802." The William and Mary Quarterly 37(1980): 79-102.