Thesis: The contributions of the Government of Virginia led to the uprising of Bacon's Rebellion

The contributions of the Government of Virginia led to the Uprising of Bacon's Rebellion.


Background: Bacon's Rebellion was a revolt in 1676 led by a man by the name of Nathaniel Bacon.


I. William Berkeley showed poor leadership as the Governor.

----A. William Berkeley was disliked by the lower class, and the frontiersmen.

--------1. Historians say that Berkeley treated the frontiersmen and lower class in an unfair manner. The encyclopedia states that: "He made taxes high, the prices for tobacco low, resentment against special privileges given to those close to the governor," and Berkeley did not defend the frontier against attacks by Native Americans.

--------2. Howard Zinn's book," A young Peoples History of the United States," notes that the Government let the frontiersmen down. The Native Americans and the frontiersmen had problems, and the frontiersmen wanted to resolve the problem by fighting. Berkeley wouldn't allow them to.

II. The Virginian Government had no attempts in helping the colonists in their times of need.

----A. Instead of creating a better living environment the government made it a worse environment, especially for the colonists living in poverty.

--------1. Number 1 of The Declaration by Nathaniel Bacon states that the Government "raised great unjust taxes," created private favorites, and did not " in any measure advance this hopeful colony either by fortifications, towns, or trade."

----B. The Declaration by Nathaniel Bacon also states in number 4, that the government favored and protected the Native Americans over their own people after Berkeley got taken out of office.

--------1. Berkeley and his fellow representatives never appointed any crimes the Native Americans took place in, therefore the Native Americans got away with their crimes.

III. Nathaniel Bacon ran the government in a more effective way than William Berkeley and his men.

----A. Nathaniel Bacon made attempts to help the mistreated lower class, and succeeded.

--------1. The textbook refers to Nathaniel Bacon as a great leader. He changed laws to better the colony. Those laws were: " the laws gave local settlers a voice in setting tax levies, forbade officeholders from demanding bribes or other extra fees for carrying out their duties, placed limits on holding multiple offices, and restored the vote to all freemen."

Discussion: Many people say that Nathaniel Bacon was and his choices were the cause of the Rebellion. In my view, I think the Government and William Berkeley's choices led to the cause of the Rebellion. Although not all sources are always credible, the sources used to show my reasoning were very logical and also used sources to support their information. Along the line of sources, in eventually would end up to a reliable source such as a primary document. Sources can not always be trusted or used due to biased points of view, but their are unbiased sources that influenced this paper.


Citations:

- "Bacon's Rebellion." The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia.© 1994, 2000-2006, on Infoplease.© 2000–2007 Pearson Education, publishing as Infoplease.15 Oct. 2008 .