This paper analyzes Edmund Burke's 1775 speech to the British Parliament, "Conciliation with America," examining his rhetorical strategy and underlying political philosophy. Rather than championing colonial independence as an intrinsic good, Burke argues pragmatically that granting the colonies greater liberty within the British Empire would strengthen imperial cohesion, ensure continued economic prosperity, and avert a costly war. The paper explores how Burke appeals to national pride, Enlightenment ideals, and commercial self-interest, while treating the colonies much like adolescent children requiring measured autonomy. It also considers the historical implications of Parliament's failure to adopt Burke's recommendations.
Edmund Burke's speech urges Parliament to adopt a more sensible approach to the colonies in order to ensure not only peace but political and economic obedience. At times, Burke's address borders on the Machiavellian in tone: "The more they multiply, the more friends you will have; the more ardently they love liberty, the more perfect will be their obedience." Burke champions the rights of the colonies not as ends in themselves but as a means to strengthen the Empire. A pragmatist, Burke believed that conciliation with the colonies would help Britain prosper and continue its dominion on both sides of the Atlantic.
Burke sensed the imminent potential of war with the colonies; in the speech he devotes an entire paragraph to the pursuit of a "simple peace" based on compromise, negotiation, and quid pro quo. What made Burke's argument tenable and logical was his understanding of the American obsession with liberty, which he references extensively throughout the speech. Had Parliament adopted the political approach Burke recommended, it is possible that the United States would have remained a Commonwealth nation for as long as Canada.
Burke asserts that the American call for greater recognition in the British Parliament was entirely reasonable: "it had nothing but its reason to recommend it." His appeal is thus grounded in Enlightenment ideals, while simultaneously calibrated to the tenor of Parliament's conservative policies toward its colonies. Burke seems concerned mainly with using the colonies as a means to achieve British economic and political hegemony. He does not advocate colonial independence, nor does he argue that freedom and liberty are in themselves worthwhile ideals.
Burke claims that if the colonies were granted freedom within the confines of British rule, they would remain politically and economically obedient and loyal to the Crown: "As long as you have the wisdom to keep the sovereign authority of this country as the sanctuary of liberty… wherever the chosen race and sons of England worship freedom, they will turn their faces towards you." The colonies are therefore treated by Burke like adolescent children: the idea is to offer them greater freedom and independence while simultaneously maintaining political control and dominion. Burke even suggests that a conciliatory tone will cultivate greater respect for the Crown: "The more they multiply, the more friends you will have; the more ardently they love liberty, the more perfect will be their obedience."
Burke points out that disputes with the colonies are causing Britain to become "distracted" from its political and economic goals — goals that include not only peace, order, and "repose" but also imperial strength and integrity. Burke appeals to the British desire for colonial expansion and all the political and economic benefits derived from it. His concern for the well-being of the colonies themselves is rooted solely in the view that the colonies were British by birth and should remain British in character and loyalty.
The British colonies were pushing for greater liberty, manifest in self-governance and independence from the Crown. Burke argues that avowing greater colonial autonomy would lead to deeper trust and further political cohesion between the New and Old Worlds. He criticizes "the labyrinth of intricate and endless negotiations" that Parliament had been engaging in with the colonies. The author hopes to restore what he calls "the former unsuspecting confidence of the Colonies in the Mother Country, to give permanent satisfaction to your people." The phrase "unsuspecting confidence" is revealing of the colonial mentality Burke sought to cultivate.
"Burke's case for relaxed taxation and free trade"
"Enlightenment appeals and conservative parliamentary rhetoric"
"Let us get an American revenue as we have got an American empire. English privileges have made it all that it is; English privileges alone will make it all it can be." Edmund Burke's speech to Parliament on "Conciliation with America" was delivered in advance of the Revolutionary War. Based on its tone and content, Burke clearly sensed the impending struggle. The orator believed that by adopting a more conciliatory tone, Britain could retain the colonies within its dominion, reaping continued profits and avoiding a costly war.
However, by the time Burke delivered his speech, it is likely that the colonial governments and their citizens were already determined to achieve self-rule and complete independence from the Crown. Burke's pragmatic vision, compelling as it was, may simply have arrived too late.
Burke, E. (1775). Speech on conciliation with America. Retrieved April 14, 2007, from
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