The Causes of American Revolution Essay

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.

Shortly following the French and Indian War, the American Colonies were issued many taxes and laws, which were passed by Great Britain. The colonists believed that King George III was becoming more of a tyrant, and less like a king of England. These taxes and laws were believed to be very unfair in the eyes of the colonists, causing great conflict between Great Britain and the American Colonists. This conflict would ultimately lead to the American Revolution. The American Revolution was caused by numerous British taxes like the Tea Act, the Intolerable Acts, the Stamp Act, and the Quartering Act, resulting in resistance from the colonists.

Soon the Quartering Act was passed, directing the colonies to provide quarters for British soldiers. Americans found this oppressive because it meant that soldiers were placed in colonial homes. In 1764 Parliament passed the Stamp Act, putting a duty on most printed materials. This was a normal tax for the British as it had been going on in Britain for a long time, and it made sense that the rest of their empire would pay the same tax. This placed a burden on merchants and the colonial elite who did most legal transactions and read the newspapers. Also passed in the same year was the Declaratory Act, which stated that the colonies were subject to the will of Parliament. This made a lot of sense to the British, as Parliament was their ruling body, but, to the colonies who had become used to their own government during the years of salutory neglect, this was a direct threat to their way of life.

The Act of 1764, also known as The Sugar Act, lowered the taxes on molasses but also it had more ways to enforce the tax. In addition to the tax on molasses they taxed things such as silks, wines, and potash. The Americans were outraged with this new law. The colonists did whatever they could to ignore this new law. The British passed the Quartering Act which basically said that the American colonists have to house and feed British forces who were serving in North America. This inflamed the

Both the British and the American colonists contributed to causing the American Revolution. The war grew out of contempt: England’s contempt for the colonies and colonial contempt for British policies. A series of actions by the British eventually pushed the colonists over the edge and towards independence. The results of the war gave many citizens a new role in society while others, like slaves, felt no change at all. This paper will examine the specific causes and effects of the American Revolution.

This is about the American revolution and the taxes the King of England put on the American colonists and how the American colonists thought that King George was a tyrant. The reason that writing this is to show how the American colonists reacted to the Acts that the King put on them. One of the laws was the sugar act of 1764 and the imports from Britain. There was also the stamp act of 1765 that made the colonists real mad . The result of the Tea act was the Boston tea party lead by the Sons of Liberty. The quartering act was the direct cause of the Boston massacre where eleven people were shot and five of them died.

They were able to place pass such laws because Parliament had approved the decision to collect them, and fair because the money was spent in the colonies. (pg.536) What started as a protest to the new higher taxes and restrictions, during the night, a group of colonist dumped a whole shipload of tea into the Harbor in protest, otherwise known as the “Boston Tea Party”. “In, response Parliament in 1774, they passed a series of Laws now known as the Intolerable Acts. This closed port of Boston, reorganized the government of Massachusetts, allowed troops to be quartered in their homes, and removed the trials of royal customs officials to England. In September 1774, committees were organized who were critical of the British policy, in hope to

     The English hardly every interfered with colonial business. During the period of salutary neglect, the colonists started to think and act independently of England. They lived far away from Britain and had grown self-reliant. Laws, such as the Navigation Acts, were not strictly enforced,

The causes of the American Revolution don’t just start at the acts that were passed, they go way back. Starting in 1763, the end of the French and Indian war. Wars are costly, so after this war Britain was in great debt, so as always they put that on the colonists, raising their taxes. Next is the Treaty of Paris 1763 when British gained land because of their win in the French and Indian War. From this gain of land, settlers began to move west making the Natives very unhappy. To save Britain from another all out war, they decided to pass the Proclamation of 1763 which stated that settlers were permitted to settle west of the Appalachian Mountains. This made the Natives happy, but us colonists felt differently. Britain should have fought for our land and our rights, instead they just gave it up to the Natives. Shows how much they care about us, right!

Some of the main causes of the American Revolution are British import taxes, tea act, Boston massacre, and no taxation without representation. The American colonist thought it was unfair for them to be taxed by the British if they did not have a role in parliament. Through many acts and taxed the colonist got more and more angry with the tyrant of a king. A tyrant is similar to a dictator which is unfair and cruel to their people. This all led up to the American Revolution and the colonists freedom from the British king.

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.

On July 4th 1776, a committee, formed to draft a letter to the King of England, formally signed a document containing a list of demands and statements of position that ultimately started the Revolutionary War. This action was not popular with all the citizens of the colonies but the majority of the people were in favor of it and the cause prevailed. This declaration was a poke in the eye of England and forced them to try to put the colonies in their place and reestablish the Empire.

The British had control of the thirteen colonies for many years prior to the French and Indian War. After the war Britain took sole possession of the thirteen colonies. The French and Indian War had put Britain in debt so they began taxing the colonists. Britain also began to enforce laws made by the King of England. This led to the phrase "no taxation without representation". The colonists had no other choices but to try and settle their differences with Britain or attempt to break away.

The irregular and disorganized British rule of the American colonies in the previous years led to the outbreak of the Revolutionary War. Most Americans did not originally want to separate from mother England. They wanted to stay loyal to the crown. England’s unwillingness to compromise, mismanagement of the colonies, heavy taxation of the colonists that violated their rights, the distractions of foreign affairs and politics in England and the strict trading policies that England tried to enforce together made the revolution inevitable. The British were definitely expected to win the dispute because they significantly over powered the Colonists in most areas. They had more money, weapons, people, etc. However the American’s prevailed with

In theory the colonists accepted the principle that natural laws rather than royal decrees should govern the economy. In practice only the southern colonies were bound to England by the tobacco trade. The New England and Middle Colonies, unable to find markets in Britain, found prosperity by trading outside the empire. Any attempt