Britain : The Glorious Revolution

The Glorious Revolution of 1688 was the peaceful overthrow of King James II by William of Orange. The event was sparked by tensions between Catholics and Protestants since James II wanted to end Protestantism in England. Protestants looked to William of Orange to save Protestantism in England. “[The tensions] brought people to so desperate a pass,

Glorious Revolution- In 1688, William of Orange lead a quick and bloodless coup and overthrew James II in order to prevent having a Catholic heir to the English throne.

The American Revolution was one of the most important battles in history. It led to the Declaration of Independence and the freedom of America from the British. No one can really say what the exact cause of the Revolution was, but there were many important social, cultural, political and economic causes that led up to the war.

It was the first revolution to majorly succeed and change how people saw their countries, it was the American Revolution. The American Revolution was the first successful revolution against a European empire that provided a model for many other colonial peoples who realized that they too could break away and become self-governing nations (New world Encyclopedia, 1).The American Revolution was vital to history because ideas seen by other countries started a chain reaction. Many ideas were taken into account when the Americans revolted against Europe and all of these played important factors throughout history. Ideas about liberty, equality, representation, and natural rights were first seen as properly put into action to change old systems in the American Revolution. As the American Revolution was the first to succeed and earn freedom, it greatly affected countries all around the world on how they made freedom and equality a part of their government

spanned around the globe. Britain’s colonial empire, in the making since the early 1700’s, still

On April 19, 1775, the citizens of the british colonies of america started a revolution against Great Britain by signing the Declaration of Independence. The decision to do so was supported by what the american people felt was a severe lack of freedom from the British government. the beginning of the American Revolution, the british colonies in America were very harsh on their citizens in terms of freedom. Citizens of these colonies were not allowed to verbally disparage the government and were forced to share religious beliefs with the Church of England. In rebellion, the american people took a stand against Great Britain, and declared themselves as the United States of America.

The American Revolution was undeniably the most pivotal time period in respect to United States History, but who was really to blame for initiating the conflict? While both the British politicians and American colonists shared the blame for the kindling of the revolution, one party was certainly more at fault than the other: the British. Through short-term causes of taxation and incommodious trade acts, and long-term causes of salutary neglect and involvement in the burdensome French & Indian War, the British politicians proved to ultimately be the most responsible for igniting the Revolutionary War.

The American Revolution was triggered, by many laws that were passed between 1763 and 1775 that controlled trade and taxes. This legislation caused pressure between colonists and imperial officers, who had made it clear that the British Parliament would not address American complaints relating that the new laws were “too difficult”. The British unwilling participation to react to American demands for modification allowed colonists to argue that they were part of an increasingly corrupt and oppressive empire in which traditional liberties were threatened.

Back in England, life was full of economic struggles. There were so many that were unemployed and

The American Revolution was preceded in part by a series of British Parliament laws that regulated trade and taxes. Rumors from England that more taxes might follow encouraged some colonists to begin thinking about whether they really consented to taxes passed by a Parliament to which they elected no representatives. (1) This particular legislation of taxation caused tensions between colonists and local imperial officials, who readdressed the colonists concerns that the British Parliament would not address American complaints concerning the new laws. The unwillingness to respond to American demands for change by the British opened the doors to colonial argument that they were part of a corrupt and tyrannical empire in which their traditional liberties were at stake! This position eventually served as the foundation for the Declaration of Independence.

“When the Revolution began the Americans were already in a weak position. They had scramble to put together an army (albeit not well trained) and a tiny, ineffective navy. While strengths were hard to find , their weaknesses were obvious.” (The American Revolution) This is exactly why the British were much a better fighting force. Great Britain had the more money, due to this they were so much more power.

The Daughters of the American Revolution was founded with the intent to preserve American history. However what was the rationale behind the need for an organization of this kind? Because the Daughters of the American Revolution (D.A.R.) limited its membership to only descendants of participants in the war and created a focus on the importance of ancestry, leads the belief that there were another motivating factor behind an organization of this type. Influencing the founders of the D.A.R. was both the Civil War and the rising immigration to the United States. The Civil War ended with slaves becoming freemen and citizens, affecting the definition of citizenship. Also the war increase patriotic drive in the citizens which directly lead the forming of the patriotic group, The D.A.R. Immigration boomed during the nineteenth century and like the situation with freedmen changed the makeup of American citizenship. The D.A.R. was created as a reaction to theses social changes.

The topic of the American Revolution is a topic that has been discussed on multiple levels and is extremely well-known, especially within the United States. The details are a little on the generic and basic side but it is at least understood on some level. Most people are aware of the American standpoint, the what, why, how, and when, but there is much more depth to what occurred. The war was obviously between the Americas and the Mother country of Britain, but there were more than just those two parties involved in the war. More people had a stake in the matter. They had many things to gain and just as many, or possible even more to lose. The French played a role in helping the colonists win the revolution but another underrated group of people in the war were the Indians. Another well-known fact is the land issue between the Americans and the Natives. The Americans were constantly butting heads with the Indians and pushing for more land. During the revolution the Natives chose the side of the British for the most part, and as all know, were on the losing side. Would it have mattered in the land issues if they had chosen differently, or would the same outcome have eventually happened? In all honesty, maybe over a longer time frame, the land would have eventually still ended up in the hands of the Americans.

Although the relationship between Britain and her colonies were enhanced by the Glorious Revolution, it soon weakened after the French and Indian War due to taxation without representation, strict economic regulation, and differing political views, and failed diplomatic efforts avert a crisis. The total cost of the French And Indian war was the equivalent of 10 Trillion dollars in today’s US Dollar. As a comparison World War 2 cost the US an equivalent of 3.5 Trillion of today’s dollars. This put Britain into a serious financial deficit.

Perhaps the most revolutionary part of the Glorious Revolution was that the throne had been taken over without a shot fired. But what this truly meant was the ending of absolute monarchy in England. Now rulers had to abide by the laws of their country as well as its people.