American Revolution Dbq

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 French and

Indian War occurred form 1756 through 1763. Based on its name, most would infer that this was a war between the French and the Natives, but it was actually a war between the English and the American colonists against the French and Native Americans. This was a war that lasted 7 years and was fought over custody of land and trade west of the Appalachian Mountains. The war ended with the Treaty of Paris, which meant that the British received all lands East of the Mississippi River except for New Orleans and no colonist was to settle further west. The Colonists were angry towards the English Parliament because these laws forbade further trade and economic expansion for the colonies, but taxed American colonists to pay for the cost of the war. American colonists decided that since they had no say in the negotiations with England, that they didn’t have to follow their agreement. This was the beginning of the American Revolution because American colonists felt they were governed without representation.
The next major event that caused American colonists to separate form England was the Boston Massacre, which was a demonstration of how little the colonies mattered to the king and Parliament. On March 5th, 1770, American “Patriots” were protesting against the Quartering Act, which forced American colonists to provide home and any general necessities to British soldiers. The British soldiers then set open fire against the “Patriots,” killing five men, one of which was an african american man. The British soldiers were then sent to court for a trial and were proved innocent after claiming self defense. The American colonists felt betrayed and anger towards King George III, and they claimed revenge against England. This was an important step towards the American Revolution because it united all colonists in a common cause and encouraged the idea of America becoming and independent country with a new kind of government.
The Intolerable Acts of 1774 were a set of laws that furthermore proved to American colonists that an independent nation was necessary.

The Intolerable Acts were a set of laws passed by Parliament as punishment for the Boston Tea Party and consisted of the Boston Port Act and the Massachusetts Government Act. The Boston Port Act closed trade and ports in all of Boston, which was a big downfall for the colony of Massachusetts because it was one of the most famous and richest colonies for its diversity in trade. The Massachusetts Government Act declared colonies to be under full control of Parliament and that no government meetings be held without the permission of the king or British officials. This act was similar to an act that had already been passed by Parliament after the Stamp Act was abolished, which also stated that England had full control of the 13 colonies. This angered the colonists because it proved once again, that the 13 colonies had no control or voice in the decisions of how the colonies were to be ruled. After the Intolerable Acts were enforced on the colonies, the Second Continental Congress meeting was held in which the Declaration of Independence was written and the delegates declared the American Revolutionary war had

begun.
In conclusion, there were many major events that helped shape the American Revolution. Among them was the French and Indian War, which showed to American colonists for the first time that they had no representation in the lawmaking of the colonies. The Boston Massacre united American colonists in a common cause and demonstrated more than ever that an independent nation was needed with a new way of government. In addition, the Intolerable Acts was the final step before the colonies came together in the Second Continental Congress meeting in which they declared that the American Revolution had begun. As you can now see, these three events were important in the development of the American Revolution and inspired many other countries to become independent and for society to grow into what is seen all around the world.