Causes Of The American Revolution

The American Revolution was not just a spontaneous revolt over taxes some may think . There were many things that led up to the outbreak of the American Revolution, such as the Navigation Act, the Enlightenment, the Great Awakening, the French and Indian War, the Boston Massacre, and the Coercive Acts. It took many years for it to take place. This all started previously before 1775 with the first major event being the Navigation Acts of 1651.

The causes of the American Revolution go back to the beginning of salutary neglect and the French and Indian War, as well as changes in the thinking of society. The effects of these events and other factors led to pressure within the colonies, ultimately resulting in rebellion.

The political views of the British colonies in America were different from Britain’s views. Britain emerged from the French and Indian War with a huge amount of debt. Britain wanted to maintain its control over the British colonies in America and also wanted the colonies to help pay the debt from the War. Parliament passed several acts, one being the Stamp Act, levying taxes on the colonies. The colonists felt they had no representation in Britain and should not be taxed without representation. The colonists did not want the Stamp Act to be a precedence for future tax acts. The Virginia legislature passed resolutions against the act. Riots broke out throughout the colonies, including Virginia. Effigies of George Mercer, the stamp distributor in Virginia, were hanged and burned. In Williamsburg, Mercer was greeted by an angry mob. The Virginia legislature in Williamsburg passed resolutions against the Stamp Act. Eventually, Parliament repealed the act. Actions by both the colonists and the British demonstrated their philosophical differences. The colonists boycotted British goods in an effort to avoid paying import taxes. Interestingly, there was

There were multiple causes for the American Revolution, but the most important was the violation and deprivation of rights from the American People. The American people were faced with multiple acts and taxes that violated and took away their rights. Americans were continuously being taxed after the French and Indian War by acts like the sugar act, the stamp act, the Townshend acts,the tea act, and many more(Hedtke, et al., The American Saga). Despite all the taxes being placed on the Americans and the things they would buy, they still were not being represented in the British government. The British government claimed that the Americans had virtual representation, and that British parliament represents citizens of England anywhere they

The Colonists were very upset with the British for putting unfair taxes on them. These taxes were called the stamp act. For example, the Stamp Act taxed Playing cards,dice, newspapers,and even a lawyer's license(Doc. 3). The colonists responded by boycotting the British goods. They also showed their feelings by the Boston Tea Party (Oi.). Patrick Henry stated

One of the major causes was the Stamp Act in 1765. This was issued by Parliament to tax every piece of printed paper colonists used. Other documents such as newspapers, playing cards and any form of printed publication were also taxed. Money collected by these taxations were used to pay costs of defending the American frontier. Colonists viewed this act of Parliament as means to raise money without legislative approval. ¨Reactions to the Stamp Act included riots and boycotts of British goods. Crowds calling themselves Sons of Liberty prevented stamped papers from being unloaded from British ships.¨ Another organization called the Daughters of Liberty was formed to promote production of homemade cloth, not imported by the British. Nine colonies met in New York City to create a statement in which the Stamp Act would be repealed.

The Revolutionary War was the colonial struggle for freedom, liberty and independence. There were growing tensions between the colonial militia and the British military after the French and Indian War, which would intensify as a result of strict British legislation. Strict British legislation and unreasonably high taxes led to rebellion and boycotting British goods. The French and Indian war, British legislation and taxation and the ideologies of the Enlightenment altered the American perceptions of Britain, and contributed to the beginning of the Revolutionary War.

Most were outraged and spoke out against the injustice such as in the speech by Patrick Henry when he states, “We can under law be taxed only by our representatives. We have no representatives in the British Parliament...The Stamp Act is against the law. We must not obey it...King George is a tyrant” (Document 1). Speeches like this inspired the patriots to rise up and take action against the law. Many smuggled goods such as newspapers and letters while others made propaganda against the British. Colonists began protesting publicly and called much attention to the problem facing the colonies which the British did not like at all. The colonists showed so much revolt against the tax that the British Parliament repealed it only a year after it was passed. That battle had been won by the colonists but the war was yet to

The Boston Massacre took place after British soldiers were antagonized and became fed up. The soldiers opened fire and in the end eleven men were hit and five of them died. This stoked the flames of fury in the British colonies. One colonist said, “The fatal fifth of March, 1770, can never be forgotten. The horrors of that fateful night are but too deeply impressed on our hearts” (Document 6-2). People could not accept this terrible treatment from Britain any longer. Colonists took the opportunity to protest when news of the Tea Tax spread throughout the colonies. It was seen as “an insidious plot to trick Americans into buying the duties tea” (Roark 142). On the last day to pay the duties for British tea, around 150 men dressed as indigenous people dumped every last ounce of tea into the Boston Harbor. It was a political demonstration that showed the British that their taxes would not be tolerated. The protestors “rowed them [the boats] into those parts of the harbor wherever the tea was visible, and by beating it with oars and paddles, so thoroughly drenched it, as to render its entire destruction inevitable…” (Document 6-3). The goal to make a point was successful, but it came with intense repercussion, which the colonists also rebelled against. In summary, tensions between the British and their colonists were caused by Britain’s unsavory actions, primarily

When the British fought in the French and Indian War it put them in great debt. In order to get out of the enormous debt they taxed the colonies. The reactions of the colonists were sometimes harsh. They argued they had no representation in Parliament so they tarred and feathered, burned effigies, raided tax collectors, and boycotted British goods. Some of the acts they passed were the Sugar and Coercive Acts. They both angered the colonists tremendously. The Acts passed by the British caused tensions and many reactions from the colonists.

Anger grew in the colonies. The Stamp Act made the colonists mad because they had no representation or a debate of the act. Parliament thought it would

The American colonists reacted with a secret organization called the Sons of Liberty who were supposed to intimidate the agents who collected the taxes. The colonists then made the Stamp Act Congress, who passed a document that claimed all American colonists are equal to all other British citizens. They thought it was unfair since they didn’t have a place in the British Parliament and protested “no taxation without representation!”

After the French and Indian War ended in 1763, Britain, in an effort to meet its financial short falls, increased its monetary demands on the colonies. The increase in taxes and laws was a difficult adjustment for the colonists and resulted in the widespread practice of salutary neglect – a lack of enforcement of the laws. In response to this, Britain tightened its control over the colonies by enforcing an increasing amount of royal policies in the colonies. The independent minded colonists, however, resented regulations. In response to England’s increasingly oppressive and heavy restrictions, the colonists’ demonstrations of protest escalated in intensity and violence, growing from respectful appeals to blatantly disrespectful challenge

The colonists would create riots in the streets to scare the tax collectors into not collecting taxes anymore. Ordinary people sometimes used violence to force leaders to do what they believed to be fair.The colonists and the British leaders had different views on the Stamp Act.

How far do you agree that the cause of the American Revolution was the introduction of the Tea Act in 1773?