What Led To The American Revolution Essay

The taxation of the colonists was very important to what would eventually be the American Revolution. The people of the colonies were finally united, though they have not called for an army to be made or haven’t talked about independence, they are starting to come together, and make their differences blur.

There was no one event that started the American Revolution. This paper will address the problems that lead to the start to the American Revolution. The colonists believed that they should live democratically. Britain felt that they owned the American colonies and they could use their resources in any way that they wished. The colonists did not want to live being ruled by another country. The major events that led to the American Revolution were the French and Indian War, Stamp Act, Boston Massacre, Boston Tea Party and Lexington Concord.

Huge debts were owed to Great Britain for supplying the colonists with military support and supplies. To pay the dues, there was the establishment of the Stamp Act, the taxation on domestic goods and services. A tax on domestic merchandise brought even more anger to the colonists. The Sugar Act, the Townshed Duties and the Tea Act were also all introduced with the same fundamentals: applying tax on goods whether it be directly or indirectly, domestic or international. “British commercial regulations imposed a paltry economic burden on Americans, who enjoyed a rapid economic growth and a standard of living higher than their European counterparts” (McGaughy). Each act resulted in irritated colonists. Some even retaliated by tarring and feathering certain English tax enforcers living in the colonies.

Many people have the misconception that the American Revolution occurred because British colonists did not want to be British citizens any longer. This may have been the case for a select few, but many British colonists desired to maintain their status as British colonists and citizens. The foremost reason that the colonists began protests, boycotts, and petitions against the British was because they believed their innate rights as British citizens were being violated. The American Revolution occurred due to a chain of events and a complex set of intertwined reasons.

The French and Indian war, fought from 1754 to 1763, negatively altered political, economic, and ideological relations between Britain and its American Colonies. Most of these issues can be connected to the large influx of land in North America, nearly everything to the East of the Mississippi River ( as seen in the maps of North America in 1754 and 1763 found in Document A), conquered by Britain and the Colonies by the end of the war. With the colonies rapidly increasing in size, it became more and more difficult for Britain to control them an entire ocean away. North American began to take on a life of its own as in became increasingly apparent to both sides that they had conflicting goals. Further complications ensued with Britain’s attempts to properly

Following its war with France, Britain decided that to generate income to pay off its war debt, it would levy taxes on the American Colonies. To raise revenue for the crown many taxes were imposed on the American colonies. The Sugar, Stamp, and the Townshend Acts, were imposed on the colonies in 1763. These taxes or Tariffs would contribute greatly to the American Revolution.

Did you know that the Boston Tea Party resulted to the Parliament Act? The Boston Tea Party was the night of December 17, 1773 when the colonists dumped Tea into the harbor. The Boston Tea Party occurred because the Colonists were upset about the British parliament putting taxes on the tea. The result of the Boston Tea Party was that Parliament passed the Coercive Acts.

America was born thanks to a tyrant. In fact, many of the laws that the King of England made were highly frowned upon by the colonists, and were resisted, as well as boycotted by many in the 1760s and 70s. After the French and Indian War, the British Parliament had passed a series of laws and taxes to the colonists. These very laws and taxes would bring conflict both sides. Two laws that resulted in the colonists to take action and request independence from England would be the Townshend Acts and the Intolerable Acts.

By 1765, at a Stamp Act Congress, all but four colonies were represented as the “Declaration of Rights and Grievances” was passed. They were determined to let Parliament know that they were equal to British citizens, that there would be no “taxation without representation,” and all efforts to stop tax on colonists would continue (Kennedy, etal 2011.) Although Lord Rockingham, the predecessor of Grenville, sought to repeal of the Stamp Act, this in no way meant Parliament was conceding their control. In fact, while the Stamp Act was repealed, another called the “Declaratory Act of 1766,” gave Parliament the authority to make laws binding the American Colonies, “in all cases whatsoever.” In 1767, George III passed the Townshend Acts to collect tax on glass, lead, paints, paper and, tea. Recognizing that tea was a favorite among the Americans, it ensured greater revenue the British government. Again, the colonists’ rights for representation were ignored and they started to boycott British goods and ultimately, smuggle tea. When the Quartering Act was passed, which specified that colonists were to give room and board to British troops, tension began to rise. For two years, the colonists tolerated British troops on their soil and their dissatisfaction with the British Parliament and King George III became evident through many violent riots, abusiveness of tax collectors and destruction of property. According to Kennedy, etal (2011), Parliament, continually met with

Consequently, the British Parliament imposed taxation on the colonists in the 1760’s. The colonists resented this intrusion, for they felt they were not truly represented in the British government. Taxation without representation became the rallying cry of the colonists.

Many different factors led to the colonists revolt against the British. The most prominent reason being taxes and what rights the Crown had to over the colonies. The first taxes put into effect were the Sugar, Quartering, and Stamp Acts. The Stamp Act angered to colonists the most because it was the first direct tax against the colonies. The colonists protested these new taxes and argued that it was “taxation without representation.”

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 American Revolution took place during 1765 and 1783 and is what gave us the country that we now know today. The thirteen colonies cut all political ties with Great Britain and became their own independent states, known as the United States of America. As conflicts with Great Britain increased the need for Independence grew.

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