Causes of the American Revolution The American Revolution, under deep analysis, reveals the various causes that are factored into the breakout of the war. These causes include the tax acts, Boston Tea Party and Massacre, and lack of respect towards the colonists. There isn't just one reason that caused the revolution it was a bundle of things that built up tension between the British and colonists. First of all, the British believed it was the Americans duty to pay taxes because their soldiers were fighting in war to protect them. As referenced in document 1 an excerpt from The Works of John Adams it states "This tax is unconstitutional" showing how disrespected the …show more content…
The Boston Massacre was a horrific event that was held on March 5, 1770. A crowd of angry colonists assembled and shortly after British soldiers came to see what was happening, and a fight broke out. As referenced in Document 4, "They killed five Americans and wounded others" showing it wasn't really a massacre, but a patriot by the name of Paul Revere made a famous picture of that massacre favoring the colonists side and making them look like victims. Even though the colonists started the scuffle by throwing sticks, snowballs, and cobblestones at the soldiers. Now to the eyes of the Americans they felt that they were in danger so they took action, and rebelled. Shortly following the Massacre was the Boston Tea party. There was a group of patriots called The Sons of Liberty, they executed the Boston Tea Party. Which was when tea shipments came in on cargo ships they dumped 300 cases of tea into the Boston Harbor. Back then their water was bad and caused severe illness so one of their main beverages was tea, because when you get water hot enough it kills off bacteria. Resulting from the Boston Tea Party was the intolerable acts, and act in which the British parliament meant to punish the colonists for the Tea Party. As stated in document 5, the Intolerable Acts "closed the port of Boston and banned town meetings throughout
The American Revolution was the most important event to ever take place in this country. This war took place from 1765-1783 and involved Great Britain and the United States of America. Without this revolution, the colonies would have never gained independence from Great Britain and the United States could still be under their control. However, this revolution did not occur without a cause, early Americans fought for independence because of unfair treatment from England. There were many causes to the Revolution including high taxes, unfair laws, and even colonists being killed.
The Boston Massacre took place on March 5th, 1770. This historic event was caused because of an ongoing conflict between the British soldiers and the people of Boston. According to George Hewes account, “Crowds of artisans and laborers joined the elite in protesting British policies, although their differing points of view revealed the divisions within colonial society.” People were upset over the British passing the Towsend Act, which was a surplus of unpopular taxes. The people of Boston also resented the British troops, who were also looking for jobs.
The best explanation for the causes of the Revolution were “A Democratic Movement” written by Robert Brown. “A Democratic Movement” claims that the main cause of the American Revolution was to protect the liberties of the colonies that were there before the British
The American Revolutionary War was caused by the political disagreements between Great Britain and the American colonies. Most of the Americans initially didn’t want to completely separate from England but wanted to regain the rights that Parliament had taken away from them. England made war unavoidable with its unwillingness to negotiate, heavy taxation of the colonists that violated their rights, and strict trading policies.
The causes of the American Revolution go back to the beginning of salutary neglect and the French and Indian War, as well as changes in the thinking of society. The effects of these events and other factors led to pressure within the colonies, ultimately resulting in rebellion.
Once again, the colonists were angry that they were being taxed on basic needs. This anger only grew through the Boston Massacre incident, where five colonists were killed, and the Boston Tea Party, where enraged colonists dumped tea into the Boston Harbor. The last straw for the colonists seemed to be the passing of the Coercive Acts, otherwise known as the Intolerable Acts. These acts were created to regulate and basically restrict the colonists to make them realize that Parliament was in control. Colonists did not agree with this act, specifically the Quartering Act which required them to house British soldiers, as well as feed and clothe them. These acts and taxations, along with the violent incidents that occurred in Boston, and a lack of colonial representation in the Parliament caused the colonists to
The Boston Massacre was said to be the event that brought the colonies closer to unite against the British Government and these conflicts between the colonists and the British army were rising because of how the British Government was trying to gain more control over the American colonies while also trying to raise the American taxes. The Massacre was used to encourage colonists to fight harder for their freedom and independence but also was known as a zero hour in the American Revolution. This point had allowed groups like the Groups like the Sons of Liberty to use it to show the corruption of British rule.
The Boston Massacre occurred in the evening of The Boston Massacre began with a few colonists throwing snowballs at a soldier outside the Custom House in Boston, Massachusetts. (Text, 155) The argument began to escalate as more colonists gathered. Captain Thomas Preston arrived with a number of soldiers to maintain order. (Text, 155) Captain Preston tried to get the crowd to disperse; however, the crowd continued to throw snowballs, stones, and sticks at the British soldiers. Then one of the soldiers fired into the crowd and soon after, a number of other soldiers fired into the crowd as well. Four colonists died immediately. March 5, 1770 when British soldiers opened fire on a group of American colonists. (Text, 155) One cause of the
The Boston Massacre occurred on March 5th, 1770. It was a street fight between American colonists and British soldiers. American colonists were outraged about the Townshend Acts of 1767, which was an act that allowed the British to tax the Americans on paper, led, and tea. The British wanted to keep a tight control over the Americans, so they passed the Quartering Act, which stated that American colonists had to house British soldiers. Around two hundred colonists surrounded the British soldiers before the fight occurred. After taunting from the colonists, a British soldier fired into the crowd. An African American sailor, named Crispus Attackus, was killed first. Samuel Gray, James Cauldwell, Samuel Maverick, and Patrick Carr were shot and died later. The Revolution of armed rebellion rose throughout colonies, afterwards.
The Boston Massacre destroyed the peaceful life of the colonists. The British attacked the colonists leaving many wounded and several of them dead. Colonists were just throwing snowballs at them but the soldiers’ reacted way out of place. A massacre for a minor action
The Boston Massacre took place after British soldiers were antagonized and became fed up. The soldiers opened fire and in the end eleven men were hit and five of them died. This stoked the flames of fury in the British colonies. One colonist said, “The fatal fifth of March, 1770, can never be forgotten. The horrors of that fateful night are but too deeply impressed on our hearts” (Document 6-2). People could not accept this terrible treatment from Britain any longer. Colonists took the opportunity to protest when news of the Tea Tax spread throughout the colonies. It was seen as “an insidious plot to trick Americans into buying the duties tea” (Roark 142). On the last day to pay the duties for British tea, around 150 men dressed as indigenous people dumped every last ounce of tea into the Boston Harbor. It was a political demonstration that showed the British that their taxes would not be tolerated. The protestors “rowed them [the boats] into those parts of the harbor wherever the tea was visible, and by beating it with oars and paddles, so thoroughly drenched it, as to render its entire destruction inevitable…” (Document 6-3). The goal to make a point was successful, but it came with intense repercussion, which the colonists also rebelled against. In summary, tensions between the British and their colonists were caused by Britain’s unsavory actions, primarily
The massacre happened in 1770, in the middle of Boston. A mob of colonists attacked some British soldiers and the soldiers shot and killed five colonists all together. This sparked a lot of fury in the colonies. This was a perfect example of the British forces abusing their authority. Samuel Adams, a leading patriot, in The Rights of the Colonists in 1772 believed that, “The natural liberty of man is to be free from any superior power on earth, and not to be under the will or legislative authority of man, but to have the law of nature for his rule.”
The American Revolution is a vital part in U.S history, but what caused it? To begin, Britain, like most countries at the time, were sending men to live and colonized the unexplored Americas. Long story short, after fighting the French-Indian War with Britain, the colonists wanted the British to back off, but the British wanted more control over them after all the money they invested in the colonies. As a result, this tension between the British and colonists would spark the beginning of a revolution. This revolution began at the Battle of Lexington and Concord; Thomas Gage, governor of Massachusetts, sent troops to try to arrest John Hancock and Samuel Adams, who at the time were setting up a provisional government around Gage and were also
With anger and hatred growing in the colonists, no one expected the following event to occur, the Boston Massacre. In early colonial times, people wanted freedom and they fought for it hard. They put everything on the line, even their lives. When the colonists thought they didn't get what they deserved, they took to the streets to protest, but this time it ended up in a bloody occurrence. Most people believe that the event started with British soldiers firing into the mob, which ended up wounding many and killing five people. This raised anger and eventually led to a famous trial where John Adams took a brave patriotic stance; he defended the soldiers who took 5 of the colonist's lives. Below is a timeline event of what happened during these times, which illustrates the many reasons why the colonies were upset with England.
Boston Massacre- The Boston Massacre was a street fight between an American protest group and some British soldiers. The Americans threw stones and clubs at the soldiers which caused the soldier to fire and shoot multiple people, including Crispus Attuck. Paul Revere created a cartoon that displayed the soldiers attacking the unarmed Americans. This was significant because it further irritated and deepened the hate between the colonists and the crown.