Steps that Lead to the Revolutionary War

Parliament decided that the colonies should help pay towards the cost of the recent war debt and for future defense. The first step towards this was the Revenue Act of 1764, generally referred to as the Sugar Act. The Sugar Act was also known as “an Act with Teeth,”(Mass Historical Society) symbolizing that it was an act with depth or of importance. The Act itself was divided into two sections. First, it was intended to raise money from trade between the British colonies in America. It levied import duties on a list of raw materials including: sugar, coffee, indigo, wine, rum, lumber, and various cloths. The Sugar Act made the Molasses Act of 1733 perpetual. Although it cut the tax on molasses in half, from sixpence to threepence per gallon, to discourage smuggling and to make the tax attractive. Second, the Act revamped and reinvigorated the customs service, which managed the collection of these import duties. For the first time, colonists argued that Parliament was depriving them of a fundamental constitutional right to have these goods duty free.

The problem with the Plan was that the leadership community of the American colonies was more conservative and it was a small government, as well as the fact that the British were not ready to give up such control during a time of war to their own colonists. The British began to tighten their grip on the American colonists with the Proclamation of 1763 and the increase in troops that were present in the colonies. The Proclamation of 1763 dealt with the “Indian” problem, essentially ignoring the native people and restricting colonial ventures to all territory east of the Appalachian Mountains.

The British had sent more than 10,000 troops to North America by the end of the French and Indian War. The British felt like they had spent a great deal of money in protecting the American colonists. They were in debt around 140 million pounds. To pay off all of their debt the British decided to increase the enforcement of existing taxes on the Colonists and impose additional taxes. The British issued The Proclamation of 1763 which meant the colonists couldn’t cheat the Indians out of land. They also establish a border in where they could not buy land. This made the colonist mad because it made them feel like the British were interfering and trying to limit their economic growth.

In 1761 the British began to reinforce writs of assistance, laws that granted customs officials the authority to conduct random searches of property to seek out goods on which required duties had not been paid, not only in public establishments but in private homes. The next step was the Sugar Act of 1764, and it quickly became apparent that the purpose of the act was to extract revenue from America.  The Molasses Act of 1733 had placed a tax of six pence per gallon on sugar and molasses imported into the colonies.  In 1764 the British lowered the tax to three pence but now eventually decided to enforce it.  In addition, taxes were to be placed on other items such as wines, coffee, and textile products, and other restrictions were applied, this upset the colonists.  Madaras L, SoRelle J (2011) & Wood S. G. (2003)

This made the colonists get very angry that they had to take care of more people that they didn't even know! This was madness. The proclamation line came into play in 1763 right after the French and Indian War ended. The British had to repay the Native Americans who helped them during the war. So, the Proclamation of 1763 gave the land between the Mississippi River and the Appalachian Mountains to the Native Americans that helped the English during the war (doc 5). The Proclamation Line was the western border of the English colonies. Unfortunately, some colonists already lived past the proclamation line and the colonists didn't want to go back to the squished colonies. Also, the border was so long that it was very hard for the English to enforce. That's why Great Britain passed the quartering act. This made the colonists feel like they were being spied on by the British.

This enraged the colonist and made them rethink their political views. The Proclamation of 1763 also had a significant effect on the attitudes of the colonials towards the British. After the war and the Treaty of Paris, the Proclamation of 1763 was one of the first documents issued to govern the colonies. This proclamation simply stated that no further settlement beyond the Appalachian Mountains would be allowed. The colonists looked at the proclamation as putting an off limits sign on the Ohio River Valley which the whole war had started over. The Proclamation was actually misinterpreted by the colonist and Britain’s failure to clearly identify its intentions began the chain of events that led to the American Revolution. Each political step taken by the British after the French and Indian War drew Americans closer and closer to revolution.

Due to their victory in the Seven Years War, Great Britain was granted an opportunity to have more North American land, as well as more authority over the colonists. Because of the Treaty of Paris (1763), the French lost much of its North American holdings to the victorious Great Britain. Great Britain quickly asserted their new power by issuing the Proclamation of 1763, which denied anyone the right to settle anywhere beyond the Appalachians. Disregarding the new document, many colonists went westward to settle, showing the early signs of defiance. Following this, the

Beginning in 1764, Great Britain began passing acts to exert greater control over the American colonies. The Sugar Act was passed to increase duties on foreign sugar imported from the West Indies. A Currency Act was also passed to ban the colonies from issuing paper bills or bills of credit because of the belief that the colonial currency had devalued the British money. Further, in order to continue to support the British soldiers left in America after the war, Great Britain passed the Quartering Act in 1765. This ordered colonists to house and feed British soldiers if there was not enough room for them in the colonist’s homes. An important piece of legislation that really upset the colonists was the Stamp Act passed in 1765. This required stamps to be purchased or included on many different items and documents such as playing cards, legal papers, newspapers, and more. This was the first direct tax that Britain had imposed on the colonists. Events began to escalate with passage of the Townshend Acts in 1767. These taxes were created to help colonial officials become independent of the colonists by providing them with a source of income. This act led to clashes between British troops and colonists, causing the infamous Boston Massacre. These unjust requests and increasing tensions all led up to the colonist’s declaration as well as the Revolutionary War.

The revolutionary war was a war fought for freedom. Many events led up to the war. The Lexington and Concord was the tipping point of the war, and if maybe this event didn’t happen, maybe the Revolutionary War would’ve happened later or had gone differently (Lexington).

On April 5, 1764, the Sugar Act was the first of many taxes to be placed upon the American colonies to help pay off Britain’s debt from the American Revolution. In the Sugar Act, products imported into the colonies were being taxed, such as coffee, textiles, and, of course, sugar. The colonists did not take too kindly to this, as the number of places that they could sell to was lowered, which led to the amount of money for them to buy things was decreasing, so their economy became weaker. And as they had less money to support themselves, the taxes were affecting them more than ever. In this way, the colonists became much more aware about how the British were treating them.

King George III promulgated the Proclamation of 1763 to maintain peace with the Indians and to follow the regulations of an agreement called the Treaty of Easton. This Proclamation drew an imaginary line along the Appalachian Mountains from South Canada to Georgia. Conflict between Indians and settlers were reduced by the British government by separating them apart. The Proclamation of 1763 also restricted settlers from buying any land from the Indians. Private deals between settlers and the Indians had been a great conflict in the past and could easily turn gruesome. Instead, the act required that all land deals with Indians be made with only the governor officials. All of this was to prevent any mistrust or for the settlers to abuse and take advantage of the Indians. So, for the Indians to gain trust towards the British and not want any violence with them.The Proclamation of 1763 also awarded the soldiers with land, the ones who fought in the French and Indian War. It also restricted settlers from buying land or trading with Indians. Only government officials could buy land and trade with Indians. The reason for only government to do the trading and the buying was to help prevent the settlers and Indians from a bad disagreement.

b. After the French and Indian War, the Proclamation of 1763 was created because of King George III's fear of disputes between the Natives and the English people. The Proclamation had set a line drawn along the Appalachian Mountains; it limited colonial settlements, and this allowed the English government to

Around 200 years ago in 1763, the infamous French and Indian war ended. Colonist thought that after this long lasting war the people would have no worries of war for a while. Until King George, king of Britain, declared the Proclamation of 1763. It declared that the colonist were not to move west of the Appalachian Mountains. It was a rule that the king made to ensure peace and prevent war with the Indians once more. Though the king thought he was ensuring peace, he unknowingly started a revolution that would last eight years and separate the colonies from Great Britain's rule forever.

In 1763, the British and the colonists emerged victorious from the Seven Years’ War after the signing of peace terms at Paris, granting Britain a colonial empire in North America and an end to control of North American lands by the French and groups of Native Americans. These similarities did not last long, however. On October 7, 1763, Parliament passed the Proclamation of 1763, prohibiting colonial settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains, a frontier which the colonists believed they could explore after defending and securing a New World empire. This angered the colonists, and their bitterness toward their mother country would become significantly stronger over the following twelve years leading up to the inception of war with Britain.

There were many events that took place in the 1760’s and 1770’s that led to the Revolutionary war. During these years the British did many things that upset the colonists. These upset colonists would eventually get sick of all the British ways and fight for their freedom.