The Causes of the American Revolution

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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 the help of the French. Their involvement was largely based on the French losing the French and Indian War to the English. The American Revolution was an inevitable conflict. The French and Indian War had major effects on the British and American colonists. This war doubled England’s already existent debt. America’s little financial and military help outraged many British officals during the war, which largely benefited the Americas. They were also bitter about the Colonists trading goods with enemies of the British. Because of this the British increased authority over the colonies after the war. The British began to tax the colonists to meet England’s financial needs. England passed many Acts that were ill conceived and had long-term effects on the relationship between England and the colonies. The crown had never directly taxed the colonists before. This caused problems between the Colonists and the British. A few of the major Acts were the Sugar Act, Currency Act, Stamp Act, and Tea Act. The Sugar Act of 1764 was an effort to try and stop the illegal trade between the Colonists and the French and Spanish. The Currency Act was also passed in 1764. The colonists responded to the Sugar Act and Currency Act by protesting against the use of writs of assistance, or search warrants, which were filled out after the illegal goods were found, violating the Colonists rights. Alleged smugglers would be tried in the Admiralty Courts where the accused had no right to trail by jury and the judge pocketed 1/3 of the fines they imposed. The Stamp Act of 1765 enraged the colonists for this act was a direct... ... middle of paper ... ...looks at how the Revolution affected the minorities and is not interested in any other parts. The true nature of the conflict between the British and the Colonists was that the British had loosely governed the colonies in the beginning. Because of problems at home in England they did not strictly govern the colonies. The colonies formed their own governments around the loose laws of the British. When the British needed money they decided to bring in extra revenue by taxing the colonists. The colonists did not accept their taxation without representation, which caused the Colonists to seek independence from the crown. Even though in the beginning of the Revolution the Colonists did not seem to have a chance they came back in the end with the help of the French and dedication to their cause. The French entering the war was a major turning point. The final settlement turned out to be worth all of the Colonists hardships for they could finally govern themselves freely and could make their own decisions. Historians throughout the years have had many different views about what the Revolution was really about, but half of them feel that the Colonists came together for a good cause.

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