Read Chapter 4 of “A people’s history of the United States” by Howard Zinn. How would you describe the political environment in this period in the U.S.? Was it a peaceful time? Was there unity? If not, why not? What were the main issues?

It was a time of class anger, where people wanted to participate in policymaking, price controls, fairer taxes, and the election of ordinary people to government posts. This conflict was used by political leaders to mobilize people against England, providing some benefits to the rebellious poor.

As the conflict with Great Britain escalated, the leaders of the independence movement, aware of the poor’s tendency to side with the British in their anger against the rich, adopted policies aimed at attracting inhabitants to their side.

Simultaneously, there were also conservative groups, such as the Loyal Nine, who opposed the fighting against the British. Besides, when the Declaration of Independence was read, it turned out that the rich could avoid conscription by paying for a replacement. Still, the poor did not have this opportunity, which also led to unrest. Thus, this suggests that there was no unity at that time.

The main issues were the growing number of beggars, the concentration of wealth only in Philadelphia and New York, and the British’s imposition of taxes on the colonial population, especially burdensome for the poor.

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Academic.Tips. (2023, March 26). Read Chapter 4 of "A people's history of the United States" by Howard Zinn. How would you describe the political environment in this period in the U.S.? Was it a peaceful time? Was there unity? If not, why not? What were the main issues? https://academic.tips/question/read-chapter-4-of-a-peoples-history-of-the-united-states-by-howard-zinn-how-would-you-describe-the-political-environment-in-this-period-in-the-u-s-was-it-a-peaceful-time-was-there-unity-if/

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Academic.Tips. 2023. "Read Chapter 4 of "A people's history of the United States" by Howard Zinn. How would you describe the political environment in this period in the U.S.? Was it a peaceful time? Was there unity? If not, why not? What were the main issues?" March 26, 2023. https://academic.tips/question/read-chapter-4-of-a-peoples-history-of-the-united-states-by-howard-zinn-how-would-you-describe-the-political-environment-in-this-period-in-the-u-s-was-it-a-peaceful-time-was-there-unity-if/.

1. Academic.Tips. "Read Chapter 4 of "A people's history of the United States" by Howard Zinn. How would you describe the political environment in this period in the U.S.? Was it a peaceful time? Was there unity? If not, why not? What were the main issues?" March 26, 2023. https://academic.tips/question/read-chapter-4-of-a-peoples-history-of-the-united-states-by-howard-zinn-how-would-you-describe-the-political-environment-in-this-period-in-the-u-s-was-it-a-peaceful-time-was-there-unity-if/.


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Academic.Tips. "Read Chapter 4 of "A people's history of the United States" by Howard Zinn. How would you describe the political environment in this period in the U.S.? Was it a peaceful time? Was there unity? If not, why not? What were the main issues?" March 26, 2023. https://academic.tips/question/read-chapter-4-of-a-peoples-history-of-the-united-states-by-howard-zinn-how-would-you-describe-the-political-environment-in-this-period-in-the-u-s-was-it-a-peaceful-time-was-there-unity-if/.

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"Read Chapter 4 of "A people's history of the United States" by Howard Zinn. How would you describe the political environment in this period in the U.S.? Was it a peaceful time? Was there unity? If not, why not? What were the main issues?" Academic.Tips, 26 Mar. 2023, academic.tips/question/read-chapter-4-of-a-peoples-history-of-the-united-states-by-howard-zinn-how-would-you-describe-the-political-environment-in-this-period-in-the-u-s-was-it-a-peaceful-time-was-there-unity-if/.

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