The American Revolution began in 1765 and was one of the most pivotal events in American history. As many know, the Revolutionary War that followed ten years after the revolution began with the “shot heard round the world”. The first battle of the Revolutionary War took place in the towns of Lexington and Concord, with over 200 British casualties. The events of the American Revolution were gradually building toward those first shots. There were a plethora of causes that spurred the war into motion, and there is no single answer to what caused the American Revolution, but two major factors were Britain’s constrictive economic policies and trouble in the city of Boston. The economic policies that Britain put in place for the colonies ranged from …show more content…
The fact that the British were making laws on the other side of the ocean without any representatives from the colonies led to colonials feeling overcontrolled and that their opinions didn’t matter. It negatively impacted businesses and caused people to lose their livelihoods. For example, in Document 3b, William Bradford says, “The Publisher of this Paper, unable to bear the tax burden, has thought it expedient to stop publishing this paper awhile, to think about whether any methods can be found to break the taxing chains put on us, and escape the insupportable economic slavery." This was another method that shop owners and civilians used to protest in their way against the British Government. Another economic policy that enraged the colonists was the Navigation Act. The Navigation Acts were laws enforced to protect British trade with the Colonies, meaning the British could be their only trading
In concern to the American Revolution, there are two sides debating its primary cause. One set of historians believe the cause to be ideals and principles. The other set of historians and scholars credit economic and social interests as the primary cause of the Revolutionary War. Historians Jesse Lemisch and Dirk Hoerder used the mobs in colonial cities as evidence of the social concerns of Americans at that time. Another Historian, Arthur M. Schlesinger argued in a 1917 study “that it was the colonial merchants who were chiefly responsible for arousing American resistance to the British; and that although they spoke of principles and ideals, their real motives were economic self-interest: freedom from the restrictive policies of British mercantilism.” This argument is very concrete and is supported by the different legislation that the British Parliament passed after the Seven Years’ War. In fact, an act was passed in 1764 by the Parliament that was instrumental in specifically angering the merchants that played a major role in leading the Americans to independence. That piece of legislation was the Sugar Act which placed a tax on sugar being brought into the colonies. This tax was a significantly less than the one that was logged in the book previously; however, that tax had been ignored for years. The initial response of the merchants to this piece of legislation was anger because this new law cut off their highly profitable smuggling organizations which greatly affected their earnings. Soon after tha...
During the War for American Independence, 78 men were commissioned as general officers into the Continental Army by the Continental Congress. Many of these generals commanded troops with differing levels of competence and success. George Washington is typically seen as most important general, however throughout the war a number of his subordinates were able to distinguish themselves amongst their peers. One such general was Nathanael Greene. At the end of the Revolutionary War, Greene would become Washington’s most important subordinate, as demonstrated by Edward Lengel’s assessment of Greene as “the youngest and most capable of Washington’s generals.” Washington and Greene developed a strong, positive and close relationship between themselves. Greene began his life in the military after having been raised a Quaker. With limited access to literature and knowledge in his younger years, Greene became an avid reader which equipped him with the knowledge necessary to excel as a general during the war. Through his devoted study of military operations, firsthand experience and natural abilities as a soldier, Greene became an excellent military commander. He would become known for his successful southern campaign, during which, he loosened British control of the South and helped lead the war to its climax at Yorktown. Throughout the war, he was involved in a number high profile battles where he built a reputation of being an elite strategist who also understood unconventional warfare, logistics, and the importance of military-civil affairs and had a natural political/social acumen. The thesis of this paper is that Greene’s proven reputation of being a soldier, strategist and statesman would cause him to become the second greates...
The British had control of America. The colonists living there did not have very much
The Introduction In 1607 through 1776 was leading up to the revolutionary war during this time colonists and settlers came from Europe for religious freedom and land.It was a hard and harsh time but it help form todays America.
It is likely John Locke would become an exponent of classical liberalism because he insisted that English politics depend on “rights of Englishmen” and representative government throughout Parliament. Also, he insisted that if a government doesn’t protect natural human rights, the government becomes a tyranny.
America was first settled by the europeans, Spanish, and the french. They all settled for land and power, and battled for land in the North American continent, dividing the Continent into 3different territories. The europeans were the first to have bring slaves to the Americas. Europeans began to settle in the new world and gain dominance over the 13 original British colonies. These states were divided by the reason they were settled. New England- Connecticut, new Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island was settled for Religious freedom. The middle states- Delaware, New York, Pennsylvania and New jersey were settled for trade. The southern states -Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, South Carolina was settled for farming,The French and Indian war pushed more division in the states because after the British had
In a time of war, who isn’t affected? This a question we ask ourselves today. The American revolution affected multiple groups of people and it is hard to determine which group was affected more than another. Although this war was created to ultimately earn freedom from Great Britain, it was also created for the colonies to fight to keep slavery alive. African Americans were not treated as the human beings they were born to be. Families were ripped away from one another and made to leave their values behind as men and women were bought and sold to serve the white man.
Before the American revolution began, people were unhappy about how Great Britain, has acted towards them, and a lot spoke out such as Thomas Paine, Thomas Jefferson, and Patrick Henry. These men were influential orators or writers in the 1700s. These writers opened the people’s eyes to how Britain was treating them, inspiring people to have a revolution. They made the war a necessity for the colonists to have. Thomas Paine, Thomas Jefferson, and Patrick Henry made the American Revolution morally justifiable because the colonists were being unfairly treated, they tried everything in their power to make peace, and they were constantly being ignored by Great Britain; a war was the last resort.
The American revolution took place during the years 1775-1778. During this time, America claimed their independence towards Britain. Britain’s was colonist and government explanation more territory the United States of America In April 1775 the American and British soldiers when a conflict in the colonist. The British want to have a power and control the all states with the government laws. The Continental Congress Declaration of Independence, which proclaims the independence of the United States of America from Great Britain. The first major American opposition to British policy came in 1765 after Parliament passed the Stamp Act, a taxation measure to raise revenues for a standing British army in America. The Continental Congress in July 1776 Richard Henry had been the Proclamation Act and the Quebec. The British do it the monarchy told who to do in America, but America civil don’t want
The American Revolution was a political upheaval that greatly influenced the society we have today. A series of events that lasted from 1765 through 1783 affected how and why the American Revolution occurred. American colonists had been living under English control, which was the greatest and most powerful nation at the time, but after a while the colonist’s opinions on the English's way of government and ruling changed. Even though all of these events affected the colonists and their opinions, there were three main occurrences that caused colonists to decide to separate from England. These events were the Boston Massacre of 1770, The Intolerable Acts of 1774, and the French and Indian War that lasted from 1756 through 1763.
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...
To date, the American Revolution occupies a special place in the history of Western civilization. Occurring between 1765 and 1783, it was a political revolt of American colonies against the British imperialist tendencies around the world. The ultimate results of the rebellion led to the defeat of the United Kingdom in America. Most importantly, the United States of America attained its independence. It marked a serious attempt to portray a fight over ideas of enlightenment. After the revolution, the U.S. through its constitution became the first nation on earth to practice progressive ideas. Subsequently, many European nations were inspired to implement reforms in their respective countries. Therefore, this explains the emergence of similar revolutions such as the French revolution (1789-1803) and the Russian (Bolshevik) Revolution (1917-22). Many historians have argued that the
The Black American Revolutionary Era in the late 1700’s is a big part of what makes the American culture today. There were petitions for liberty and heroic African slaves that played roles in the revolution to get to the newly independent America. African American slaves who participated in this era were revolutionary heroes who fought for their freedom that they believed to so strongly deserved.
The American Revolution was the first time in US history that the people stood side by side to defeat a common enemy. It caused a dramatic shift in the American Society. The pre-colonists looked towards the king when problems arose, but now had to find solutions to their own problems. After the revolution, the US was faced with the pressures of setting up a government, shifts in the social society, and an independent economy.
“If there is no struggle, there is no progress” - Frederick Douglass. In history struggle often looks like a revolution. A revolution is often pictured as violent, aggressive and uncivilized, but there's so much more, revolutions allow us to take power over the injustices in our society. Moreover, the French and Mexican Revolutions are great examples of what revolutions allow us to succeed. The French Revolution was a period of time where the people overthrew the absolute monarchy, took over the government and the third estate (lower class) rose to power by gaining civil and social rights. Furthermore, the Mexican Revolution was similar in one way or another. During the Mexican Revolution, the people wanted to overthrow the government dictatorship