Prior to the Revolutionary War, during the 1760s, the contradicting opinions among the colonists living in England’s thirteen colonies separated them into two major groups, those loyal to the king and to Great Britain and those patriotic to colonial America. While the loyalists were content to be English subjects and wanted to remain under the protection of England, the patriots felt that it was essential that the colonies obtain their liberty from England. Some colonists were strongly opinionated, while others were undecided. However, a series of events, including the Proclamation of 1763, the Stamp Acts, the Townshend Duties, the Quartering Acts, the Boston Massacre, and the Intolerable Acts, caused the majority of colonists to desire more from England. Their motherland’s king, government and citizens conversely thought and felt that the colonists had taken advantage for a time period that was longer than necessary. In order to equally tax all citizens of Great Britain began to place taxes and levies on the colonists. The colonists were in disagreement of the placement of the many acts and duties. Soon, colonial Americans developed a desire that called for change and sovereignty, in order that they may keep their freedoms and rights. When the England-colonial America allied armed forces won the 7 Years War against the French, Indians and Spanish, the colonists gained French, Indian and Spanish territory including Canada, Florida, and the lands west of the Mississippi River. Colonial Americans were elated by the removal of unspoken barriers and the new opportunities the victory of the Seven Years War had gained them, however, their excitement was short lived because soon afterward English King George III and his Parliament issu... ... middle of paper ... ...immediately resulted as the British moved onward searching for the colonies’ military base. The Revolutionary War had begun. Because the English crown and Parliament created the preceding incidents of the Revolutionary War, I believe that the English are liable for the Revolutionary War. The colonists had few ways of communicating the English because of the physical distance between them. They felt that without representation in the Parliament, taxation acts and duties had no right to be passed for the colonies. As the number of deaths amounted, the colonial Americans knew there were few choices, and so, declared their independence and committed themselves to their fight for liberty. Though the English routinely recognized compromise, the colonists were no longer satisfied. With no other alternative, the Revolutionary War began. The English are to be held liable.
In 1745, the French, Spanish and British Empires began competing over international trade networks and natural resources. Subsequently, each empire began maneuvers to maintain and expand possession of their territory in North America. In 1750, England and France each concluded that “Ohio country” the land west of the Appalachians was vital to their interests. (Davidson p.102) This battle of over Ohio country led the British and the French into the Seven Years’ War.
There is a common misconception that the sole cause of the American Revolutionary War was the taxes imposed on the colonies by Britain. If a closer look is taken at the history of the Americas, however, it is easy to see that idea of freedom had been pulsing through the colonies for years. Just how did His Majesty King George III lose his American colonies? The answer is a chain of events stringing from the French and Indian war to the day George Washington handed over his troops to the Continental Congress, officially ending the War for Independence.
The American Revolution was caused by a series of attempts from the British to tax American colonists. After a war against France, Britain ruled an enormous overseas empire. Britain however faced war debt and was in need of money to administer the overseas empire. The crown decided that since the colonists were the primary beneficiaries of this empire, it was time to have them contribute to the empire’s revenue by paying taxes.
Some say that the Revolution was destined to happen ever since Settlers set foot on this continent, others argue that it would not have happened if it weren't for a set of issues that finally drove the colonists to revolt. Ultimately, Britain lost control in 1765 when they gave in to the Stamp Act Congress’s boycotts against parliamentary taxation and gave them the idea that they had the power to run a country. To a lesser degree, Salutary Neglect led to the conception of a legacy of colonial religious and political ideals which set in motion an eminent conflict. During this period, England “forgot” about the colonies and gave them colonists a taste of independence and suspicions of individual political theories. Through Parliament's ruthless taxation without representation and a near opposite religious and political mindset, Britain and the colonists were heaved into a revolutionary war.
The British policies having to do with the American colonies that passed between 1763 and 1776 were an attempt by Britain to have the colonists pay for the French and Indian War and an attempt to keep the colonies subservient to British rule. However these policies backfired and cause the colonist’s to resist British authority and strengthened their commitment to republican values in government. The policies implemented new taxes in order to raise funds and caused what the colonists believed to be injustices to go unchecked by the government, as well as causing the colonists to turn to republican ways of self-governing. The colonists felt as if they were not being properly represented in the British parliament, which led to them turning towards
In the years leading up to the Seven Years War, there were already many skirmishes in the thirteen colonies between the British and the Native American tribes in the area.1 The first official year of fighting also led to many decisive defeats to the overextended British Empire. Many small battles for dominance between the British and the French also occurred along the Indian coast. In response to the acts of expansion by the French, the British decided to defend its own territory in North America and India.2 There were many battles scattered across the world, with significant naval battles in the Indian theatre and the Mediterranean. At first, the French won many decisive battles with the aid of its allies against the British Empire. Both countries however, were relatively equal in size and power at the time, but that would soon change. The British began to turn the tide as they made significant lead...
By the time the colonists had settled into their new land they had established some order such as small governments to keep the colonies in line. The ocean separating England and the colonies made it difficult though for England to guide the colonists successfully the way they had wanted. The main thing the British tried was implementing taxes, but they also went so far as letting the colonies on their own for awhile and using military to keep them in place. On the other hand, the colonists saw that the British were stalling their attempts at self-governing so they worked together to disregard any British policies. By the eve of the Revolution, colonists had developed a sense of their identity and unity as Americans that was brought about by the British parliament. Exasperated by British efforts to hinder their growing self-reliance, colonists began pushing them away by doing various things such as rioting, boycotting, or voicing their opinions on paper.
...Sugar and Stamp Acts). Before the era of Enlightenment, colonists were angered by the British interfering with their new country, but never thought to rebel against their homeland. However, with their newfound knowledge of Enlightenment principles like freedom and reason, many colonists began to see the taxes as unfair. Knowing that political power was in their hands, they stood up against the British government stating that they were an independent country. Additionally, as the British government continued to try to interfere with American government, many colonists began to want a new government that was based on Enlightenment principles instead. This led to the American Revolution because the colonists with their gained knowledge of the world and society yearned for a government that guaranteed everyone natural rights under the law.
The connection between Britain and the English colonies was that of the ruling of the colonies by the king of Britain, King George III and his parliament. The king’s ruling was very unfavorable for the colonists because of his tyrannic dictatorship and unjustly taxations. The mere thought of an island ruling an entire continent thousands of miles away with poor communication and lack of supervision of the colonies by the king, did not work in favor of the colonies nor for Britain. Three contributing factors for the outbreak of the American Revolution were (1) the king’s taxes, (2) neglect of the 13 colonies and (3) England’s mercantilism policy. King George III and his decisions were one of the major causes that had the English colonists fumed with anger towards Britain and this eventually led to the American Revolution.
The American Revolution was a war fought between Great Britain and the American colonies over independence from 1775 to 1783 which resulted in a fundamental change in American politics, society, and economics. The American Revolution began as a result of Great Britain taxing the colonies to cover the debts accumulated through the French and Indian War. While the majority of the colonies stayed loyal to their ‘Mother Land’, some of the colonist felt resentment toward England. Some colonist felt that England had no right to tax the colonies, while they had no representation in parliament. This created a divide within in the colonies between those who were in favor of independence-Patriots, and those who were still loyal to the Crown- Loyalist (or Tories). Even though the majority of the colonist considered themselves to be Loyalist, there was a bitter resentment toward the ‘Tories’ by the ‘Patriots’, as seen in Document B. In the Document it states that the colonist should ‘Instantly banish every Tory from among you’, and to ‘Let America be sacred alone to freemen.’
There were many causes leading up to the Revolutionary War. Great Britain helped the American colonies during the French and Indian War. The French and Indian War resulted in a large debt the British needed to repay. In order to produce enough money to repay the debt, Great Britain placed The Sugar Act, The Stamp Act, and The Townshend Act on American colonists. “Parliament said it had
Most of the colonizers of America came from Britain and France whereby they fought for territory and power. Reasons why the colonizers wanted America were for self-government, religious sufferance, cheap land, and economic opportunity. Due to this, the Native American Indians sided with the French against the British for the strong colonies including North America. The war lasted for seven years where the British troops captured North America (Canada). A peace treaty was signed in Paris which led the French to lose everything, resulting in the American Indians not being able to trade. Moreover, the British government lost a lot of expenses due to the funding of war, and the colonialists had experience with long warfare with the ‘mentorship’ of the Britain troops. Since the colonists gained
Both the British and the American colonists contributed to causing the American Revolution. The war grew out of contempt: England’s contempt for the colonies and colonial contempt for British policies. A series of actions by the British eventually pushed the colonists over the edge and towards independence. The results of the war gave many citizens a new role in society while others, like slaves, felt no change at all. This paper will examine the specific causes and effects of the American Revolution.
...rader. Committees operating under rules set by the newly created Continental Association enforced a boycott on good from British. The Congress pledged to support Massachusetts if an attack were to happen; meaning all of the colonies would become involved. The American Revolutionary War began at Lexington and Concord a year after congress gave Massachusetts this pledge." it was not immediately clear to British, and even to many Americans, that the skirmishes at Lexington and Concord were the first battles of war." (Brinkley, 128) Colonists prepared a militia, organizing small, armed groups ready for quick action as Minute Men, ready for an open rebellion. At the same time the military governor of Massachusetts began fortifying Boston, despite the discussions underway in Parliament, the Massachusetts military, marched on Concord, where militia supplies were stored.
In 1776 Thomas Paine wrote ‘there is something very absurd, in supposing a continent to be perpetually governed by an island’. This Enlightenment thinking is what made the Revolution revolutionary. Colonists rejected the ideas of imperial monarchy and made a bold statement in deciding to have a non-monarchical government. In the 1680s John Locke’s writings of a social contract, showed the colonists that the British lacked the legitimacy to impose taxes on them, in his writings Locke wrote that if the people are dissatisfied with the government then they have a right to rebel – this is what the Americans did in 1775. By the time the fighting had started most of the colonists were already self-governing and saw themselves as a different entity to Britain. This can be seen in the term ‘Patriots’, which was used for the colonists who rejected the Acts passed by Britain.