Americas True Independence Was by 1760

      By 1760 America had not fought for their freedom, but they were still very independent. The English and the Americans had very different ways of thinking. Even the schools themselves were extremely different. The Americans set up colleges at the time. The English only had two universities. The Universities in England, which were Oxford and Cambridge, had to have a charter in order to give out degrees. This charter was granted by the king/queen who was in power. Since England controlled America as one of its colonies, any universities they created had to have a charter from the king to give out degrees. America formed an education center. This educational center was not defined as a college or university since it did not have a charter from King Charles to give out degrees at the school. America’s first place of education was Harvard. Harvard did not really have a technical name back then, and so the President, Henry Dunster, took advantage of that and started doing what he wanted. At Harvard the first President gave away degrees, even without a charter. That was like a massive jab in the eye of the English government. America was made up of 13 colonies that England controlled, and they did not even mind going against England’s rules. In “The Americans” by Daniel Boorstin, Boorstin says that Samuel Eliot Morison explains it as, “almost a declaration of independence from King Charles.” (Boorstin 175) The giving away of degrees is just the surface of the separation process in their education that America was beginning. England and America had much different definitions of what freedom was, taught very differently, had different experiences and different ways of education the people outside of schooling.

      England seemed bound by old ways. They had rather strict and defined social class systems. On the other hand, America had a rather loose ways of life. Boorstin talked about how people in early America had multiple jobs. How a lawyer might be a teacher as well as multiple other professions. He also talked about how almost everyone was a doctor. How Boorstin determines people as a doctor could be a bit of a hazy definition. He might call treating a cut as being a bit of a doctor, in which case everyone in America still is a bit of a doctor. England had very set professions, and almost like a daily routine. If you get hurt, call the physician. If you want to sue someone, call up your lawyer. In America you could make one call and kill two birds with one stone as the saying goes. England’s strict ways did not work so well. Boorstin explained it as thus, “The traditional list of ‘liberal’ arts, already beginning to break down in Europe, would no longer liberate man in America.” (Boorstin 186) The quote is saying how the non-specific degree may have worked in Europe, but in America it did not. England was about traveling a set course, and doing what you are supposed to do. America was more about improvisation in reality. Americans are described as the “Jacks-of-all-trades” in Boorstin (Boorstin 187). Americans were all-around useful and very easily adapted to situations. The English people are certainly not like the Americans, but are almost comparable to a bee hive. Without the Queen Bee the hive is chaos, and can barely function if at all. Americans were hard workers, and were known for seeing a task to the finish. The American people were even extremely different from the English after the original colony founders had children. The real difference is the children of the original colony founders, because the founders still had English thoughts in their head.