George III: The King Who Lost the Colonies

In 1770, a giant statue of King George III was erected in the colony of New York. Just six years later, that statue was torn off its pedestal. So how did George III - once celebrated by the people - go from hero to villain in such a short space of time? George William Frederick was born in 1738. The grandson of King George II, young George was just 22 when he became King. He inherited a world class army that would go on to win the French and Indian War in 1763. But another, even bloodier war, was on the horizon. Most American colonists did not see the King as their enemy. The focus of their anger was aimed at the British Parliament. They believed George III would exercise his sovereign powers to protect them from the restrictive policies and high taxes Parliament had introduced to organize the expanded empire. But those colonists were wrong. What they failed to understand was that a British monarch rarely overruled the government and usually did as his ministers advised. Now something serious was brewing in the colonies - ideas of a revolt were close to boiling point, and the British government was determined to stamp out the fires of revolution. In August 1775, George III addressed Parliament. By now, the first shots had been fired at Lexington and Concord, and even more blood had been spilled at Bunker Hill. The King had had enough of these troublesome rebels and declared them to be in <i>"open and avowed</i> <i>rebellion".</i> Shocked by his hard-lined response, the colonists toughened their resolve to break free from British rule. A year later Thomas Jefferson wrote a proclamation to the King, which became known as the Declaration of Independence. In it, he laid blame for the Revolution squarely at the feet of George III. Read aloud to a crowd gathered in New York City, the people were so moved that they destroyed anything that symbolized the King - including the giant statue which was melted down to make more than 40,000 musket balls, ready to be fired at the Red Coats. George III's stubbornness and determination to regain control of the colonies kept the war raging for seven years. But peace finally came in 1783. In an ironic twist, the founders of the new country gave the President of the United States greater powers than those George III had had as king. Including a Presidential veto - still used to this day, much like the one the colonists had hoped George III would use to support them. If he had, perhaps his statue would still be standing...

Channel: American Battlefield Trust

Views: 31,634

Keywords: American Battlefield Trust, Civil War Trust, America, The United States of America, Revolutionary War, American Independence, British Army, George Washington, Redcoats, Continental Army, President, Constitutional Convention, Congress, Founding Fathers, King George III, Thomas Jefferson, Parliament, Politics, Royal Veto, New York City, Lexington, Bunker Hill, Royal Family, Sovereign, Uprising, Revolt, Monarch, Colonists, Empire, British Empire

Id: fqo-4BAIsD8

Length: 3min 8sec (188 seconds)

Published: Thu Nov 17 2022