America looks inevitable today, 250 years after the Declaration of Independence. But in the 15 years leading up to the Revolution, independence was anything but inevitable. In fact, our founders had worked hard to maintain a good relationship with the crown. The idea of a break with England developed quickly.
What changed? How did the shift happen? Why do some ideas move quickly from radical to realistic?
A story involving Benjamin Franklin shows how the idea of independence developed in the American colonies.
On Feb. 13, 1766, Franklin appeared before the British House of Commons. He was there to address political unrest that was boiling over in America. The French and Indian War had concluded in 1763, and the British decided to raise new revenue from the colonies to pay for their defense. Parliament passed the Stamp Act of 1765, which taxed most printed materials — newspapers, legal documents and even playing cards.
The Stamp Act set off a wave of fierce protests in the colonies, in part because it was the first direct tax imposed by Great Britain. This helped popularize the slogan, “No taxation without representation.”
And so, in 1766, the House of Commons asked Benjamin Franklin to explain the rowdy and resentful Americans. Franklin was a good choice. He was serving a decade-long role as ambassador for the Pennsylvania Assembly in London. Franklin enjoyed the respect of Englishmen and the affection of his own countrymen.
Franklin answered dozens of questions about the colonies and their thoughts about Great Britain. One moment illuminates the mood of the day.
A member of Parliament asked Franklin, “What was the temper of America towards Great Britain before the year 1763?”
“The best in the world,” replied Franklin. “They submitted willingly to the government of the Crown, and paid, in all their courts, obedience to acts of parliament.”
“They had not only a respect,” elaborated Franklin, “but an affection, for Great Britain, for its laws, its customs and manners, and even a fondness for its fashions, that greatly increased the commerce.”
Even so, warned Franklin, the new tax harmed America’s view of Great Britain. His testimony must have resonated, because Parliament repealed the Stamp Act a month later.
But just ten years after Franklin praised the goodwill between Great Britain and the American colonies, Franklin signed the Declaration of Independence, pledging his life, fortune and sacred honor to the cause of independence.
The Overton Window of Political Possibility helps us understand the rapid shift toward American independence. With any important issue, there is a range of policy options. The Overton Window represents what is politically possible now. Some ideas fall outside the window, making them politically infeasible. Importantly, the window can be shifted through persuasion or events.
The Overton Window has its origins right here in Michigan. Joseph P. Overton was a senior executive at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. He devised a model to explain how persuasion can shift ideas over time. After his death in 2003, Overton’s colleagues named the model after him.
Great Britain continued to oppress the colonists and ignore their basic rights. Those overreaches helped galvanize and shift American opinion. Arguments for independence were distributed through pamphlets like “Common Sense,” by Thomas Paine, and “Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania,” by John Dickinson. Our founders argued with each other in taverns, public hearings, newspapers and even from the pulpit. We know how the story ended.
The window that shifted in 1776 enabled liberty and prosperity around the world. But the window can also shift away from freedom. It’s our duty to preserve this experiment in self-government, and that work is never over.
Michael J. Reitz is executive vice president of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy.
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: American independence and the Overton Window | Opinion
Reporting by Michael J. Reitz, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Michael J. Reitz, The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
