“To restore order and repose to an empire so great and so distracted as ours is...” (American History) Unfortunately, Edmund Burke gave the Conciliation with the Colonies speech on March 22, 1775, and by that time it was too late to restore order. On February 9th, the British Parliament declared Massachusetts in rebellion.
“The proposition is peace. Not peace through the medium of war; not peace to be hunted through the labyrinth of intricate and endless negotiations; not peace to arise out of universal discord, fomented from principle, in all parts of the empire; not peace to depend on the juridical determination of perplexing questions, or the precise marking the shadowy boundaries of a complex government...” (American History)
For two hundred years Britain had been governed by Parliament, and Parliament was controlled by a few wealthy Whig families. The territorial distribution of seats in the House of Commons remained the same although the population had shifted because of trade and new industries. Therefore towns with a higher population were without representation, while small boroughs without a single voter had a seat in Parliament, and these districts were owned and controlled by landowners, generally great Whig families. The Old Whigs, who had retained their power by buying seats in the Commons, were losing the confidence of the people. (Brown & Carp, 2014)
“...Magnanimity in politics is not seldom the truest wisdom; and a great empire and little minds go ill together...” (American History) The Tories were those who wanted to see absolute monarchy in place and the Party was gaining ground. While the king headed the Tories, he played the two opposing groups, one against the other, and ultimately succeeded in forming a ministry of his friends who were obedient to him, seats that were purchased in the Commons for his favorites. (Brown & Carp, 2014) The previous kings had little to do in the management of the empire, but King George III was...