The First Agent Of The American Revolution

The arduous effects of Great Britain’s actions provided Colonists with many reasons to fighting for independence and breaking away from the threatening state. Under British rule, Colonists faced unconstitutional abuses directed at colonial liberty, in the form of harsh taxes causing their justifiable mutiny. One of the earliest orders the British enacted on the colonies, was the Stamp Act. The 1785 Stamp Act, created by the British Parliament, imposed a tax on all printed paper in the colonies.

The townshend act was taxation without representation. The British placed a tax on glass, paint, paper, and tea, all items imported from Britain. Patriots took matter into their own hands and boycotted

By suddenly ending “salutary neglect”, the British Parliament had, unknowing, prompted the beginnings of the Americans' grievances. Though not much protest occurred in response to the Proclamation (most colonists moved West anyways), the Act itself would set a precedent for Americans' sense of anxiety. The first direct tax on the American colonies, the Stamp act, contributed significantly to the beginnings of pre-Revolutionary unity. With the rallying battle cry, “No taxation without representation”, the American colonists proceeded to call together the Stamp Act Congress. Not only was this event significant due to the fact that it was another group meeting, automatically signifying at least some unity, but major proponents of Revolution, such as Samuel Adams, started new efforts towards uniting colonists against Britain, such as the Sons of Liberty. The following several years, though not marked with tremendous amounts of unification, definitely contributed to a growing sense of anxiety and oppression amongst the American colonists. With more direct taxes such as the Tea Acts, Coercive Acts, and Quartering Acts. Grievance after grievance, the number of “unreasonable” British actions inevitably forced the Americans into a dilemma. While some colonists, such as Richmond Henry Lee, equated such acts to the British desire to “ruin” the colonies, others, such as Mather Byles, believed that a radical

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.

There were many events that led up to the American Revolution. After the British defeated France and the Treaty of Paris was signed in 1763, Parliament began enforcing colonists to help pay for debts that were accrued during the war. George Grenville, Britain’s chief minister, constructed laws such as the Stamp Act, Sugar Act and Quartering Act. These new policies that set in place tariffs on imports, exports, and regulations on trade, infuriated colonists (Tindall & Shi, pg. 121). Colonist did not want to allow such imposed taxes because the people themselves were not represented as equal British subjects. “The issue of taxation became a question of the colonist’ place in the imperial system” (Calloway, pg. 14). Also, after the British victory in the Seven Year war settlers were eager to expand west. British government wanted the colonist to stay east where trade was a major profit, and to navigate to the north or south. The Royal Proclamation of 1763 establishes the Appalachian Mountains as the boundary line between British and Indian lands. This was in part to keep Indian alliances and to keep control on the settler’s expansion. Henry Ellis, Governor of Georgia, spoke of

In the chapter Kings, Parliament, and Inherited Rights, starts off with the quote about the revolution. The revolution was in the mind and the hearts of people, a change in their religious sentiments of their duties and obligations. The evolution of the revolution began was an argument over rights that changed into struggle for power of each party to assert their rights as it understood them, then afterward struggle for empire as Americans began to conceive a more ambitious and independent course for themselves. Americans believe that legally of all parliamentary statutes was measured against the constitution; on that basis, being unrepresented in Parliament, they denied the rights of the body to tax them directly according to the principles of constitutional law. A particular act focused on in the chapter is the Stamp Act, which imposed a stamp tax ranging from one shilling to six on various commercial and legal documents such as wills, mortgages, and college degrees, as well as on newspapers, almanacs, calendars, pamphlets, playing cards and dice. Also the Trade and Navigation Acts was a parliamentary revenue raised in America would make England governors and their appointees independent of local pressure and more faithful enforcing British statutes. These made the colonies more united. Colonies wanted to distance

All the documents had to be formally printed in England and were distinguished by a special stamp. Then these pieces of paper had to be bought from a special agent at a price. This meant that the colonists had to pay taxes on every thing they bought from the British government. It was expected that this tax would raise 60,000 pounds annually. The colonists despised this and tried to buy as little as they could from England. After this act the colonists realised that the British government was revenue-raising. The colonists felt that the British Government should be helping to protect ones property not to take it. The colonists argued that they had no say or representation in the government and that is when the outcry started, “No taxation without representation!”

“We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal.” (The Declaration of Independence, U.S. 1776, para. 2). The Declaration of Independence is one of the most important documents in American history. The colonists said that Parliament and the king, George III, were violating the people’s natural rights. The colonies were on their own for such a long time that they got used to handling stuff their own way. Out of nowhere, the king and Parliament started giving the colonists taxes. From this taxing we got the saying “No taxation without representation.” Some of the taxes they gave the colonists were the Stamp Act, Sugar Act, and the Quartering Act. The Stamp Act was tax on every piece of paper and book published or used. The Sugar Act was a tax on sugar being imported and any food containing sugar. The Quartering Act was when the colonists were forced to house british soldiers, the soldiers were there to enforce the taxes being placed. All of these problems started the American Revolution.

The primary causes of the American Revolution were because of the unjust treatment of the colonists. The French and Indian War was extremely expensive for Britain, so to pay off the debt they decided to tax the American colonies. Several taxes were created, one of them was the Stamp Act. This act required the colonists to pay taxes on every piece of paper that was used, such as legal documents, licenses, newspapers, ship’s papers, etc.

The American Revolution was precipitated by the irritation of the wealthy due to tax acts imposed by Britain on the colonies. The rich did not like the taxes because of the negative effect the tax acts had on personal financial interests, but the Colonial masses were convinced by men like John Dickinson and Patrick Henry; Dickinson wrote extensively on how the British collection of taxes on the Colonies was illegal and Henry believed taxation shouldn’t be allowed unless the Colonies were properly represented. The writings of John Locke were also influential in creating interest for breaking away from Great Britain.

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 taxes passed by Parliament angered the colonists because they were unconstitutional, and did not give Americans representation in the courts. In a resolution, the text states “... This tax… [is] unconstitutional. We have always understood it to be a grand and fundamental principle.. That no … man should be subject to any tax to which he has not given consent… In the … courts one judge presides alone! No juries [are allowed]” ( Document 1). Here, John Adams is informing his peers of his negative opinion on the first of Parliament’s taxes, the Stamp Act, which was passed on November 1, 1765. This act required Colonists to pay unreasonable fees on almost all printed documents. It is an

In an excerpt from the Second Continental Congress, the colonists questioned, “What is to defend us against so enormous, so unlimited a power?” (Document 5). They felt as though they were unprotected under British rule. King George of England acted as a tyrant, freely taxing the colonies for no good reason. John Dickinson, a leader who served in the Stamp Act Congress, stated, “Never did the British parliament, (until the passage of the Stamp Act) think of imposing duties in America for the purpose of raising revenue” (Document 2). After the Stamp Act, none of the taxes were justified; the colonies were being taxed simply to create income for Britain. With the unlimited control and absurd taxes, the colonists were bound to start a

The first Act was the Stamp Act. The Stamp Act was passed March 22, 1765. This Act made it so that colonists had to pay tax on all types of printed paper(playing cards, newspapers, licences, etc.) and also needed a stamp on them to prove they payed it. The colonists were definitely mad, but they weren't mad about the price, they were mad about the standard it set. For example, before, the colonists only had to pay tax for commerce, now they were paying it to raise money for all the debts that Great

This rebellion was dubbed as, The American Revolution. The catalyst of the American Revolution cannot be credited to one single event. The French and Indian War was the start of open conflicts between the colonies and Great Britain (Butler). After this war, the British were in a massive amount of debt (“Parliament Debates”). In early 1765, The British Parliament was struggling to meet the cost of defending its empire in North America. The only logical way that the British thought to relieve this problem was through the colonies, thus the passing of The Stamp Act was born (“Parliament Debates”). The British saw the thirteen colonies as a direct investment and extension of Great Britain, meanwhile the colonists were striving towards independence. “(The) once harmonious relations between Britain and the colonies became increasingly conflict- riven” (“Colonists Responds”). At this point, the