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Commencement of the American Revolution

Decent Essays

Commencement of Revolution Historians have stated that the American colonist “were never so British” after the French and Indian War in 1763, but in 1775 the first shots of the American Revolution were fired. There must have been many different events or beliefs that changed the American colonist views to declare their independence. A period of the “Salutary Neglect” was a policy that kept the colonists separate from Britain. This meant that the British could not impose on the rights of the colonies. When the French and Indian war (seven years of war) ended, so did the “Salutary Neglect” Policy. The British had accumulated a copious amount of debt. The neglected colonies could be of great benefit to the British. Many of the taxes were being avoided in the colonies. The British need to combat the inefficient collection of taxes. In order minimize smuggling and collect more taxes, Britain had done some imperial reform. This reform first started with the Sugar Act in 1764. The Sugar Act was a modified form of the Molasses Act. The Molasses Act was unsuccessful do to evasion of taxes. The Sugar Act taxed products with sugar in them. This had outraged the colonist. The sugar act was eventually repealed. The Sugar Act led to the Stamp Act. The Stamp Act was a tax on material goods like licenses, paper, stamp and many other materials. This had impacted nearly everyone. Colonists were frustrated because the taxes did not seem to be for regulating commerce.

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