The American Revolution, 169 years in the making, was a long and hard struggle that created a constitutional republic with the greatest large-scale freedom ever seen in human history. The war was partially fought under the declaration “no taxation without representation,” which embodied the Revolutionaries rejection of the British idea of virtual representation in Parliament. Virtual representation meant that English members could effectively represent the colonies in Parliament. The colonies did not agree with this view, and declared that this violated the social contract that gave a government its legitimacy via the consent of the governed. The British boasted the largest and most powerful military force in the world. The Americans had yet to even form an organized military force, and most of the fighting was done local militias. In addition, the American colonies were not experienced in the art of working together as a cohesive unit. If that were not enough, most of the colonists actually opposed the war when it began in Lexington and Concord in 1775. Early in the war, the British continued to reign supreme with military victories. However, the Americans were running on moral successes, which increasingly frustrated the British. In October of 1778, The Battle of Saratoga proved to be a crucial turning point, when the British surrendered while trying to capture the Hudson River Valley. This critical win was what convinced the French to become a much needed ally for
Between 1770 and 1776, resistance to imperial change turned into a full-on revolution. The American Revolution, also known as the Revolutionary War, was a time of revolting and political uprising, in which the 13 colonies separated from the British Empire, forming the independent nation known as the United States of America. Though the American Revolution began because the colonies wanted independence from Britain, many important historical events and revolts also lead to the tensions and resistance to what resulted in freedom and independence for the colonies from British rule. Events such as the Stamp and Sugar Acts, the Boston Massacre, Boston Tea Party, Intolerable Acts, and the Continental Congress led to expanding tensions and soon to the outbreak of the American Revolution.
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.
The 18th century can be marked as a period of internal and external struggle for the American colonists. From improper representation, to unfair taxes, such as the Stamp Act, to being overall abused by Britain, the colonists were justifiably angry. From this anger, the slogan “No taxation without representation” was born and quickly began to emerge from the lips of almost every colonist all across America. The demand from colonists everywhere for no taxation without representation weighed heavily as a symbol for democracy, as it revealed the mindset of many – Britain was using the hardworking colonists and took their money without even giving them a say – and laid the foundation for the American revolutionary war, allowing more arguments and
The Patriots were successful in their bid for Independence with the help of good leadership, adaptive strategy and good weapons. All three of these things led to America winning the Revolutionary War.
The American Revolution is typically looked at as a conservative movement, but it seems most of the actions taken were very radical. They were fighting to defend their rights, governed and natural. The American Revolution was as radical as any other revolution, in a special 18th century way, and this seems to hold true while looking at the new waves of thinking. It involves the Whigs and Tories, and while they are at opposite sides of the spectrum, they consecutively agreed to not address and higher-law principles so they would not have to rework their entire system.. The Revolution worked against this, and the parties chose to pretend it was not a serious movement and act, as they believed it would not take any effect. More people got involved and all aspects of life began to be questioned and revolutionized. The Revolution seems to be radical in a more definitive way as it caused segregation of beliefs, the Declaration of independence, and
The southerners felt that it was a glorious destiny to be freed from the Union just as their forefathers had wanted to be free from England, the southerners were inspired by the American Revolution of 1776. The Confederacy was now a country, it was the southerners country; “they felt a sense of duty to this country that had called on them to defend its very existence” (McPherson, p, 11).
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 British began plodding up a hill with their soldiers in two by two columns, when suddenly the patriots appear with their bloody guerilla war tactics. Unbeknownst to the British this war isn’t going to be just another piece of land conquered. This war isn’t going to be easy.
The events that led up to the American Revolution war were not big events but a series of small events when compounded together each created the catalyst to launch the colonists into revolt. The first of the events to create the spiral effect was the seven year war or the French and Indian War. That war was fought by British soldiers on several different continents. The biggest location was fought in the British colonies of North America. The British government wanted to expand their territory. They wanted to continue to grow the colonies from the original thirteen by conquering more land further west. The British government felt as if they were fighting this war against the Indians and the French to expand the land specifically for the
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.
Furthermore, Great Britain had commanded new payment methods which created a ruckus with the Americans causeing great anger. Rebellion and discontent were rampant. The colonies started rebelling against ‘Mother England’ because of taxes issued to the colonies, in as much, England’s power did not allow them to have representation. The Revenue Act of 1764 made the Constitutional issue of whether or not the king had the right to tax the people who are living in his kingdom or the thirteen colonies. Eventually, this "became an entering wedge in the great dispute that was finally to wrest the American colonies from England" (Carey 48). "It was the phrase "taxation without representation" (Montgomery 138) that was to draw many to the cause of the American patriots against the mother country. That has royal authority to be able to term public opinions into a revolutionary battle.
The American Revolution was revolutionary by definition because it was successful in bringing about political, economic, and social reform. The colonies fought to be free of the British monarchy and replace it with self-government and with representatives elected by the citizens to govern to the will of the people. This was a radical change in the political stage where the people were ruled by a distant king that had no interest in the welfare of the colonies beyond its enrichment to the crown. The colonies gained an economic benefit from their detachment from England as well. All of the revenue created by the colonies was now their own. The trade restrictions created by the idea of mercantilism were no longer in place. All of the raw materials and natural resources that the colonies supplied England with such as indigo, cotton, tobacco, and rice were now owned by the colonies solely. The new political structure also brought about major changes to the social norms. People of all classes had a role in their own government. The differences between the social classes became a little less prominent since all had a say in the government. The colonies’ revolt from England politicized women and African Americans and even though the major changes for these classes came later in history it is important to recognize that the Revolution was the beginning of these changes. The new government, through the powerful new constitution, opened the door for individual roles to continue
In regards to the American Revolution, the point that armed rebellion became inevitable arrived when after nearly five constant years of American colonist protesting. American 's had enough and needed to take a stand for the numerous inequalities they were forced to deal with. It was foreseeable that the American Revolution took place due to the unfair taxes that the British were giving Americans. Also, England was not allowing Americans their freedom, along with violence and the political dominance by the Parliament over the colonies by announcing the Stamp Act in 1765, which happened to nearly affect all Americans tremendously.
The American Revolution is known as the war fought between American and Great Britain, for Americans freedom. The American Revolution is also commonly known as the American Revolutionary War, or the U.S War of Independence. The War itself only last a short eight years, it began in 1775 and ended in 1783, but tensions had been building up for centuries between the Great Britain and the colonies at the given time period.
There are quite a few historical factors that contributed to the outbreak of the American Revolution. The American Revolution began in the mid 1700’s and ended in the late 1700’s and took place in the thirteen American colonies. It was all caused by many different wars and conflicts between the British and the American Colonists. There were many contributions to the outbreak such as, the Boston Massacre, Boston Tea Party, the French and Indian War, the Battle of Bunker Hill and many other conflictions. All of these fights and protests greatly contributed to the outbreak of the American Revolution in their own way.