The American Revolution Was NOT Justified Essay

As Benjamin Franklin once said, “No gains without pain.” This could not be more of a true statement when speaking of the American Revolution. There are so many factors that are said to have caused it, that it's hard to determine what never needed to happen. Because of the French and Indian War, the British were suffering from debt. They needed the find a way out; therefore, new laws and acts were established. If the British would have treated the colonists as friends instead of their instant way out of dept, we could have never seen independence. Another reason that the American Revolution couldn’t have been avoided; because the colonists had already learned to fight, were tired of British

Throughout 1764 to 1774, the British imposed a series of new acts on the colonist which only created stronger unification and brought the colonies closer to rebellion (Schultz, 2010). The first act was known as the Sugar Act of 1764. Although this act decreased the taxed amount on molasses and sugar imported from non-British colonies in the West Indies, it was problematic for the colonists as it strengthened the enforcement of collecting taxes. Next, the British imposed the Quartering Act of 1765. The Quartering Act was disrupted the homes of the colonists because it required the colonies to provide food and shelter to British troops that were stationed in their territories.

The act was to set to try to stop the smuggling of goods so they required captains of colonial ships to post a bond that they would deliver enumerated goods to England or pay the "plantation duty" that would be owned in England. Similar to this Act was the Woolens Act of 1699, that Forbade export of woolen cloth made in the colonies, to prevent competition with English producers. In response, they wore their own products and refused to buy from British. Become desperate they even pass the Hat Act of 1732, which prohibited exports of colonial hats. This shows how well the colonies are to adapt to the changes. There is more like the Molasses Act of 1733, which was quite simply a tax on sugar from foreign sources. Their ideology was simple to tax and regulate what they can to maximize profit and minimize the influences the colonies had to other foreign countries. By taking away their rights to sell who they want to and what they could sell. The King and Parliament believed they had the right to tax the colonies. They decided to require several kinds of taxes from the colonists to help pay for the French and Indian War. These taxes included the Stamp Act, passed in 1765, which required the use of special paper bearing an embossed tax stamp for all legal documents. Other laws, such as the Townshend Acts, passed in 1767, required the colonists to pay taxes on imported goods like tea. Similar to a monopoly. British begin the main company and the colonies the company affected by

These acts then led to the long string of others given out by King. In 1765, Parliament passed the Quartering Act, which required colonists to provide barracks and supplies to British soldier and also the Stamp Act that required stamps to be placed on paper products such as playing cards, pamphlets, almanacs, and newspapers. Unlike the acts before it, the Stamp Act was a direct tax on the colonies and made many believe "the passage of it was not merely an impolitic and unjust law that threatened the priceless right of the individual to retain possession of his property until he or his chosen representative voluntarily gave it up to another; it was to many, also, a danger signal indicating that a more general threat existed" [3]

As tension escalated between the British colonies in the New World and the British, many individuals began to reach their breaking point. Much of this tension created violence and unjustified actions. However, the colonists’ fight for independence was condoned as the colonies shifted from outbreaks and riots to a serious Britain-free government ideal post the American Revolution. Such acts of the Americans were justified because the colonists only wanted freedom and independence. Instead of giving them what the colonists wanted, Britain took advantage of them using taxes and controlled them with a leader on the other side of the earth.

The Townshend Acts were a series of acts named after Charles Townshend, that were passed by the British in 1767. The act placed a tax on all goods that the colonies imported from Britain. Some of these taxed goods were glass, paint, paper and tea. Charles Townshend believed that the bad behavior of the colonists made it more important to keep an army in the colonies. Because of that, he proposed the Townshend Acts to the Parliament.

One of the acts was the stamp act. This was a way to force the colonies to help pay off the war debt. The British pushed the Stamp Act through Parliament in March 1765. This act required Americans to buy paper, newspapers, playing cards, and legal documents such as wills and a marriage license strictly from

A series of laws created by the English Parliament and by Chancellor of the Exchequer Charles Townshend. The Townshend Acts added responsibilities on glass, lead, paints, paper and tea imported to colonies. Townshend imagined the acts would provide more money for expenses in the colonies. But many Colonists viewed the Act as a sign of power. Ending in limits for the imports from Britain. In 1770, Parliament repealed all the Townshend acts except the tax on tea.

Huge debts were owed to Great Britain for supplying the colonists with military support and supplies. To pay the dues, there was the establishment of the Stamp Act, the taxation on domestic goods and services. A tax on domestic merchandise brought even more anger to the colonists. The Sugar Act, the Townshed Duties and the Tea Act were also all introduced with the same fundamentals: applying tax on goods whether it be directly or indirectly, domestic or international. “British commercial regulations imposed a paltry economic burden on Americans, who enjoyed a rapid economic growth and a standard of living higher than their European counterparts” (McGaughy). Each act resulted in irritated colonists. Some even retaliated by tarring and feathering certain English tax enforcers living in the colonies.

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 British government’s legislation to increase revenue continued beyond the Revenue and Currency Acts. In 1765 the Quartering Act and Stamp Act were enacted. The Quartering Act required colonists to house troops who were stationed in their vicinity. The British reasoned that this would help with the cost of keeping British troops in America. To further boost England’s suffering economy, the Stamp Act was made effective putting tax on paper goods such as legal documents, newspapers, almanacs, playing cards, college diplomas, etc. Violators of the Stamp Act, like the Revenue Act, were tried in admiralty courts.

As the colonies and England grew further apart the resentment of additional taxes and tariffs increased the distance between the two. England came up with the Tea Act, Sugar Act, and Stamp Act, all of which were designed to regain the money England felt was due. All tea imported to the colonies was hit with an additional tax covered by the Tea Act. The Sugar Act allowed British troops to enter, search, and seize any items that they desired without probably cause, this supposedly allowed them to control the flow of illegal and untaxed goods. The Stamp Act was a tax placed on all paper goods including those materials that could possibly be made into paper. These three taxes were collectively known as the Intolerable or Coercive Acts. Probably the tax that hit

By 1765, at a Stamp Act Congress, all but four colonies were represented as the “Declaration of Rights and Grievances” was passed. They were determined to let Parliament know that they were equal to British citizens, that there would be no “taxation without representation,” and all efforts to stop tax on colonists would continue (Kennedy, etal 2011.) Although Lord Rockingham, the predecessor of Grenville, sought to repeal of the Stamp Act, this in no way meant Parliament was conceding their control. In fact, while the Stamp Act was repealed, another called the “Declaratory Act of 1766,” gave Parliament the authority to make laws binding the American Colonies, “in all cases whatsoever.” In 1767, George III passed the Townshend Acts to collect tax on glass, lead, paints, paper and, tea. Recognizing that tea was a favorite among the Americans, it ensured greater revenue the British government. Again, the colonists’ rights for representation were ignored and they started to boycott British goods and ultimately, smuggle tea. When the Quartering Act was passed, which specified that colonists were to give room and board to British troops, tension began to rise. For two years, the colonists tolerated British troops on their soil and their dissatisfaction with the British Parliament and King George III became evident through many violent riots, abusiveness of tax collectors and destruction of property. According to Kennedy, etal (2011), Parliament, continually met with

The American Revolution was justified because the colonists were not being treaty fairy and equally by the British. And according to Jefferson, “people being oppressed have a moral obligation to rebel against their oppressors”. From the beginning, the colonists were not given the full rights as British men, just because they were not living in that country. The Navigation Acts passed by the Parliament to restrict colonial trade, and all of colonial trade with Europe had to go through England, overall they wanted to keep colonies in a position of economic dependency on Britain. And that was a serious damage in the colonial economies and people’s aspirations, it makes many colonists unhappy and smuggle goods to other country. And British

These acts had been around for a long time and caused little problems. They often benefited from these acts because although they had to buy from England, it was the most advanced industrial country and could often offer the best prices. The first tax to cause trouble in the colonies was the Sugar Act followed closely by the Stamp Act. The Sugar Act was truly just a restatement of old customs laws in an effort to raise money. The Stamp Act was a tax in which anything formally written or printed would have to be on specially stamped paper which was shipped from London. The colonists would soon pay taxes "at every stage of a lawsuit, that diplomas and deeds, almanacs and advertisements, bills and bonds, customs papers and newspapers, even dice and cards, would all be charged," (Morgan 19). The colonists reacted very violently to these taxes. They protested and boycotted throughout the nation and the British Parliament soon repealed the tax. Radicals began to proclaim the fact that there should be no taxation without representation. This meant that colonists should be represented in Parliament if they were going to be taxed by them. The British stated that every member of the Parliament was there to represent the whole Empire, not just the electors he represented. Therefore, the Americans would have no representation in Parliament. In 1773 the British decided to tax tea. They granted the British East India Company to ship their goods