Essay The Evolution of the Word Freedom

The level of resentment between the 13 Colonies and the British was enough to spark a revolutionary war and it did. The outrage over taxation without representation was only intensified when the town of Concord got word that the British were coming to confiscate their weapons and their gunpowder. According to Forsht (2011) author of the Boston Tea Party the British fought several costly war of which they wanted the American Colonies to pay by stamping them for printed materials such as newspaper, magazines and playing cards. Forsht (2011), stated that the American colonies had no representation in parliament yet they were being taxed by a government in which they had no voice. This was all going to change on the night of 19 April 1775.

The American Revolution was the uprising of the existing thirteen American colonies to gain independence from Britain in the mid 1700’s. The American colonists began questioning Britain’s authority as early as the French and Indian War. During the French Indian War, the colonies wanted to defend themselves against the French in North America. They asked King George for permission to raise armies in order defend themselves. Although their reason to raise an army was sincere, George II was suspicious of the intentions of the colonial government and disapproved their petition. After the French Indian War, Britain decided to raise money by taxing the American Colonists for reparations. Taxes such as the Stamp and Tea Acts created controversy

The reasons behind the sudden transition of England and it’s American colonies from allies to enemies is still debated today. When the colonies were first created they had a somewhat dependent relationship with the British. Trade was regulated through the British homeland while the British provided structure for the developing

The American Revolutionary War in 1755 spouted from a conflict between the British government and British people living in the then 13 American colonies. The crown and his legislature passed tax measures, which the people of the thirteen American colonies fiercely opposed. American leaders took action against taxes because the government that created the laws offered no representation for those being taxed which is where taxation without any representation stems from. The crown only allowed upper-class men vote in England and most elections within American colonies, although the American voting class weren’t able to express on the ballots their views of the parliament.

Before the Revolutionary War, the tensions between the colonists and King George of Great Britain were “very high”. The colonists were unhappy over the unfair treatment they were receiving from Britain. They were angry with the taxes and laws that King George had imposed upon them. Despite the taxes being for the French and Indian War, which Britain had fought to keep the colonists safe, they still were angered that they had to pay them. The colonists were unfairly taxed without representation and had a legitimate reason to be angry with King George and Great Britain. The only solution that seemed possible was war, so the colonists decided to declare war. The American colonists were justified for breaking away from the British because they were unfairly taxed and were treated unfairly by the British.

The period between 1763 and 1776 was a time where many areas of disagreement developed between the colonists and the British policy makers. The major areas of disagreement were caused by the British rules imposed on the colonies that prevented expansion, imposed taxation and limited colonial liberty. The first dispute was right after the Seven Years War (1756-1763) with the Proclamation of 1763. According to ushistory.org, the colonists, after the war, felt entitled and excited to begin settling westward, but the Proclamation prohibited such expansion. The war also put a large debt burden on Britain and in attempts to alleviate the debt they imposed many different taxes upon the colonists. The colonists did not believe they should be required

There were many motivations for English colonists to settle in North America, but the main motivation was for freedom. Their main freedoms were from the English church, this includes the Puritans and the Separatists. There were others that wanted the freedom for an adventure and economic gain. Of all the

Have you ever heard of the American Revolutionary War? The Revolutionary War started in the colonies after the Sugar Act (1764), the Stamp Act (1765), the Townshend Acts (1767) and the Tea Act (1773). The revolutionary war started because the colonies were tired of being taxed by the British Government. The colonists were not being represented in Parliament so they told the British Government that they were being taxed without being represented, (“no taxation without representation”), which the colonists did not like.

"The British had the right to tax the colonists because the French and Indian War happend in the colonies." was one of the arguements propsed at a debate I had in class once. That might have been true if the colonists had representation in the Parliment because they would have some say in what the taxes should be. Since they weren't represented, then the taxation was not fair. Another point that came up in that debate is the quartering act that the British had placed on the colonists. Some of the class mates said that it didn't matter if Britain wasn't at war because they need to be ready and have places to stay if they did go to war. A friend of mine said that our country couldn't survive, that's why the British came back in 1812 and declared war on the US.

After the French and Indian War when England was in debt from fighting a war around the world, England just wanted the colonists to pay, not for the war that they had just been through, but for a portion of the protection that they are currently receiving from the British Troops. The amount the colonists were paying wasn't even a fourth of the amount necessary to sustain the protection that they were receiving (Document F). In order for England to receive their money, the British government began to enforce their Navigation Acts which allowed the promising of the American Colonial Economy to support the English Economy. The British were enforcing their Mercantilist policies keeping all the profits from the Colonies within the English Empire allowing England to exercise its control over the colonial economy. The British enforced taxes that the Colonists didn’t appreciate, they didn’t even care if the tax helped them monetarily like the Tea Act of 1773 which made the legal tea cheaper than illegal tea even with the tax. The Colonists believed in “No taxation, without representation,” a saying which ignited a spark within Colonists to stand up to the British government. Benjamin Franklin wrote a letter to put a stop to the Stamp Act which expressed his loyalty and love for England, but also showed that England should repeal their Act for the good of the colonies

Taxation was a big problem and a cause of the Revolutionary War. First, “With the French and Indian War over, many colonists saw no need for soldiers to be stationed in the colonies. Britain also needed money to pay for its war debts. The King and Parliament believed they had the right to tax the colonies. They protested, saying that these taxes violated their rights as British citizens,”(www.historyisfun.org). The Colonist felt they didn't have the same rights as British citizens because they were being taxed for Britain's war dept and taxes. Meaning the Colonist were taxed for Britain's war debts. The French spent 1.3 billion livres on war costs. Britain was wrong for taxing the Colonist for their war dept,

In early 1620, the English Separatists set out to the New World in order to seek religious freedom from the crown. The separatists sailed across the Atlantic on a charter on the Mayflower agreeing that they would ship back goods to England, as a reimbursement for their land. When the “pilgrims” finally landed at Plymouth months later, they were forced to make an agreement with the Native Americans, since they had no right to be upon the Native American’s land. This agreement shortly became the first ever written document in North America, called the Mayflower Compact. These “pilgrims” pledged to free themselves from the English law to be established as a Separatist colony. They recognized that they might not agree with the undertakings of

Once America achieved independence, they needed to put in place laws that would protect the people from future governmental abuse. By doing so, they also needed to protect the people from religious abuse and persecution that was so popular at the time a major factor in the immigration to the United States. Allowing and promoting religious freedom encouraged people of all faiths to travel to America which led to the introduction of differing viewpoints. With the arrival of such denominations as French Huguenots, Catholics, Quakers, and others settling in growing numbers, colonies with established religions had little choice but to express religious tolerance. That is not to say that there no persecution among the settlers. Few colonies’ toleration

Throughout history freedom has had many different meanings and definitions; based on race, gender, and ethnicity. According to the dictionary freedom means the state of being free or at liberty rather than in confinement or under physical restraint (“freedom” def. 1). Freedom may seem like something given to everyone however it was something workers had to fight for. Not everyone believed that workers’ rights needed to be changed, which led to a long battle between workers, employers and the government. To the working class people freedom meant making higher wages, having regulated hours, workable conditions and the right to free speech.

The colonists came to America to escape religious persecution. After they broke free from England, they wanted to make sure that no one in the future in this country would have to be afraid of their government for practicing their own religious beliefs. People are leaving their home countries to come to ours because we have freedom of religion. If we don’t pay attention to violations of the First Amendment, then America will no longer be a free