What Was The American Revolution Dbq

Imagination is built on history that passes down from generation to generation. Whether it’s written, shared verbally, or physically present. But are those stories really true? How do the people of this world know what is true based on a written textbook or a person’s voice describing the events that happened prior to the newer generation? Just like the confusion in what is true or not, there is confusion in whether the American Revolution was in fact revolutionary. This was also known as, the War for Independence. It was between the British 13 colonies and England, which at the time was the most powerful country in the world, but was short lived when the 13 colonies took victory in between 1775 and 1783. They are now known

In response to the events of the Boston Tea Party, the British parliament passed a series of laws called the Intolerable (Coercive) Acts in 1774. These Acts were: the ‘Boston Port Act’, closing down all trade of Massachusetts; the ‘Massachusetts Government Act’, Massachusetts was no longer allowed to govern themselves; the ‘Administration of Justice Act’, any person charged with murder while trying to enforce the law would be tried in England; and the ‘Quartering Act’, allowing British troops to be housed in

The Revolution was very Revolutionary. It allowed the first government that could be changed to the people's liking and made a land where all men are created equal as said in document 2. Also it was one of the first times a colony broke away from their motherland. Although the colonies had a much smaller army they proved to be a great fighting force being capable of breaking away from one of the biggest powers in the world that was shown on paragraph one of the background essay. Also the people of the newly formed US felt more equal to the other social classes as said in paragraph 5 of the Background Essay. The newly formed country also allowed more opportunity to the people. Because of the fact that in earlier governments generally the poor

When thinking to oneself was the American Revolution revolutionary, it may seem the answer is an obvious yes, but it is not. The name of the event is a contradiction to itself. So, how Revolutionary was the American Revolution? What is Revolutionary? Something that is revolutionary is a great sustained change over a measured period of time. The American Revolution was not revolutionary for both the African Americans, and Native Americans. Most Native Americans fought with the British, but that did not stop the king from harming them. African Americans were promised freedom in Great Britain if they fought with them, but many did still fight with the colonists; they faced discrimination and no progression either way.

The Boston Massacre was a direct consequence to the British when they thought they can get away with segregating the English colonies from Britain itself and enacting outlandish taxes and orders. Before Boston, the British first enacted the Stamp Act. The Stamp Act enforced the colonists to pay duties on coffee and sugar. This Act required that the colonists carry an official stamp that the colonists had to purchase and all the money that was made went straight to the British treasury. Many colonists were opposed to the taxes and a rebellious group was formed called “The Sons of Liberty”. In late 1765, hundreds of residents were parading through the streets shouting “Liberty!” nearly every night which was organized by the “Sons of Liberty”. The British Parliament then passed the Townshend Acts that required duties to be paid on many other imported items and hired many royal officials to enforce the laws. The protests enlarged into violent acts that the crowds began to fight the officials. The British leaders then decided to send in the British troops to restore order.

To begin with, the colonists used protests and riots to show their disapproval of the Stamp Act. This Act was exclusive to colonists, affected vocal groups, and undermined traditionalist authority. The protests were orchestrated by the Sons of Liberty, while demonstrations were given in Boston. In addition, the colonists would intimidate tax collectors by showing up at their houses. In the end, all collectors resigned, leaving no one to enforce the

There were many tedious laws passed that angered the colonists beyond belief. They decided that it was reasonable to have the colonies help pay back the debt they owed to the banks and individual investors, they borrowed money from to fight the Seven Years’ War (Foner, p. 141). An example of this would be the Sugar, Stamp, and Tea Acts which raised colonial taxes and lowered English taxes. The sugar Act was less of a conflict due to the fact that it mainly affected the colonists at the ports as it was used to lessen smuggling. The Stamp Act though, was what caused great drama and marked the definite split of the colonists and Great Britain over the meaning of freedom (Foner, p. 142). This act affected all of the free colonists, especially those who wrote, published, and read books, newspapers, and followed political affairs. The colonists claimed that Britain had no right to tax them since they were not represented. This gave way to the famous expression “no taxation without representation”. As this was law was repealed, colonists thought the same would occur with the Townshend Acts. Unfortunately, a rift happened one night giving way to what we call the Boston Massacre from this. Lastly, The Boston Tea Party was an effect of the Tea Act. This famous rebellion resulted in more British enforcement, reducing colonist’s liberty only supplying them more reason to go to

Parliament repealed (1766) the Stamp Act but passed an act formally declaring its right to tax the colonies.” Although the Stamp Act was repealed, many politicians suggested that taxation without a role in the British parliament was not equitable for the colonists, this set a foundation for colonists to stand up against unfair taxation. “Colonial political theorists—not only radicals such as Samuel Adams … but also moderates such as … John Adams, and Benjamin Franklin—asserted that taxation without representation was tyranny.” As colonists had already shown aversion towards the British’s taxation, any more acts of it would cause the colonists to rebel against the British’s abuse of power, thus forming a revolution.

Meanwhile the rumors of more taxes to follow the Sugar Act put the colonists in a state of un-ease. They began to question the power of the Parliament to which they elected no representatives and grew weary of taxes which they did not consent to. Meanwhile, colonists sent delegates to attend the Stamp Act Congress, to devise a rebuttal against what they deemed unfair taxation without representation. This led to the creation of the Declaration of Rights and Grievances, which included their worry about taxation. Consequently, the British reacted negatively and viewed it as an abhorrent document. How dare the colonists question the power of Parliament’s authority? They refused the Colonists’ Declaration and preemptively refused any further declarations that they may or may not have planned to make. However, peace was somehow struck, as if like fool’s gold, the colonists saw that their voices were heard in the fact that the British were repealing the Stamp Act. They were being beguiled by this repeal as the British worked to maintain their power and seem strong in the English’s eyes, and further affirming that Parliament had the right to legislate for the colonies through the Declaratory Act, but this seemed to be largely ignored along with the Revenue Act because of the joy caused by the repeal of the Stamp Act. This relative peace continued until about March

This imposed a tax on all imported goods. The colonists were more angry about the fact that they had no representation in parliament. They wanted to be represented in government if they were going to be paying taxes. To make matters worse in 1765 The Stamp Act was passed which required almost all papers to have a stamp on them as proof that the tax was paid. This included legal documents, playing cards and even newspapers. Again the colonists were resentful of the fact that they were being taxed without representation in parliament. Eventually The Stamp Act was repealed, however the colonists remained

The British Parliament passed The Stamp Act on March 22, 1765. It was a new tax that forced all American Colonists to pay a tax on every piece of paper they used. “The actual cost of the Stamp Act was relatively small. What made the law so offensive to the colonists was not so much its immediate cost but the standard it seemed to set” (History.org). “The total amount intended to be raised by the new tax was £60,000 per year, this is not even 20% of the total amount of £350,000 per year required to maintain the troops” (Stampacthistory.com). The colonists protested this act immediately. This law ended up uniting the colonists against the British Government. It also led to the formation of the Sons of Liberty. They organized boycotts and terrorized and tormented tax collectors.

    Due to the Colonists not having a say in this tax, they would proclaim “No taxation without representation.” Colonists infinitely wanted to be able to vocalize their opposition to the taxing. As a result, most Colonists decided to boycott buying British goods. Some even organized attacks at placed like the Custom House, and homes of the tax collectors. With all of these protests in the Colonies, Parliament decided to repeal the Stamp Act in March, 1776.

Boycotts were held against taxed goods when the laws were first out into order, and there was minimal violence until the Stamp Act was imposed. Rebels would assault those who sold goods that were taxed by the Stamp Act and even go so far as to burn down their homes. The Stamp Act was repealed to reduce the crime running rampant in the colonies, although Parliament stated they were still in control of any and all laws in the colonies (“The American Revolutionary War from The British Perspective.”). The colonists reacted as if the taxes imposed on them were robbing them blind even though they still paid less than those living in Britain. Helping pay for their country’s debt was not of importance to them, only their greed and war mongering held significance. Money only made matters more tense as time went on. The Boston Tea Party played a crucial role in starting the war. Crates of tea dumped into the Boston Harbor, Money sinking to the bottom of the ocean, and the result of this “patriotic” act: The Coercive Acts. Deemed the Intolerable Acts by American colonists, they were intended to stop the lawlessness in the colonies by

There was also many laws and acts established by Britain that created tension between Britain and the Colonies. There were acts such as the Sugar Act and the Quartering Act that infuriated the people and also led up to the events of the Boston Tea Party. (The Boston Tea Party of 1773) “The constant, and ever-increasing, demands from the British infuriated the American patriots especially those who belonged to the Sons of Liberty organization. The Boston Massacre arose from the resentment of Boston colonists towards the British which had been fuelled by protest activities of the Sons of Liberty patriots. This violent incident resulted in the death of 5 colonists and the branding of 2 of the soldiers who were found guilty of manslaughter. The Tea Act stirred up all of the old feelings of resentment towards the British. Although various taxes had been repealed the Tea Tax was not.” With the Tea Act laws still intact, the Sons of liberty believed they had to something about it right then.

Years prior to the rebellion of the colonists against the British, there was uncertainty and agitation in their relationship. There was a build up of grievances before the war, due to the actions that Parliament passed and took upon as a way to take advantage of the colonists. Unfortunately, this included limiting how the colonists lived their lives. From act to act, this consequently led to a sudden act of bravery, a start of a revolution. The American Revolution was an ongoing fight for the colonists’ freedom and independence from the British rule. However, although that we understand the basics of what was the American Revolution, we  must go in depth as to why there was a revolution. To be more exact, why a war in the first place? What