For over a century Great Britain had ruled the colonies in America. Since the founding of the Chesapeake Bay colony in the south in 1607, and the Massachusetts Bay colony in the north in 1630, the colonies had relied on the crown for many of their needs. Over time the colonists established a social and economical system that was almost independent of the British Empire. In April of 1775, after many transgressions on both sides, the colonists decided that they no longer needed, or wanted the support, protection, and leadership of the country that founded them. There were many factors, both immediate, and longstanding that lead to the decision to fight for freedom from British rule. The American Revolution had some of its beginnings in the French and Indian war. For seven years, Britain battled the French and Indian nations in the colonies. Where the colonies militia fought beside the troops of the British army and learned war first hand. After winning the war, Britain had a large debt 140 million pounds. To pay these expenses, it was reasoned that taxing the colonies should pay the debt. The war had been fought to protect the land of the Ohio River Valley, land that was part of the colonies. Even before the French and Indian War, political harmony between the colonies and the British was already being breaking down, due to all of the new acts that were passed in accordance with the mercantile theory of economics. This theory of economics believed that the goal of the individual should be to increase the total wealth of the country, and that the world wealth was finite. The British believed that the colonies only existed to increase the wealth of Britain. The belief in mercantilism and a large war debt lead to Britain's... ... middle of paper ... ...elped to bring on the Revolutionary War like the Stamp and Sugar Act, and the Boston massacre, the roots of the war may lie in the first colonists to settle in the new world. Colonists were forced to rely on themselves for much of their existence while support from their home country was across this ocean. This forced independence in the early days of the colonies helped to inspire a strength that ultimately lead to belief that the colonists were best ruling themselves, something they felt that they'd been doing all along. Bibliography Brinkley, Alan American History A Survey, Volume I: To 1877, New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 2003. pg. 101-122, 209-213. Taylor, Alan American Colonies: The Settling of North America, New York, NY: Penguin Group, 2001. pg. 1685-1730 "American Revolution"(ONLINE) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Revolution, October 23, 2003
The relationship between Britain and her Americans colonies slowly deteriorated between the 1750s and the beginning of the American Revolution. When the first British immigrants settled in America, the relationship of the colonies and their mother country was somewhat peaceful. In the following generations, however, their relationship became tenser as Britain imposed policies and taxes on unrepresented American colonists. The British believed they were right in doing so because they had large debts to pay from ongoing wars with France. These taxes caused uprisings among colonists which contributed to British occupation in America, leading to more rebellions. Eventually, the rift in the relationship between the colonists and the British led to the Revolutionary War and the formation of a new country.
When the colonies were being formed, many colonists came from England to escape the restrictions placed upon them by the crown. Britain had laws for regulating trade and collecting taxes, but they were generally not enforced. The colonists had gotten used to being able to govern themselves. However, Britain sooned changed it’s colonial policy because of the piling debt due to four wars the British got into with the French and the Spanish. The most notable of these, the French and Indian War (or the Seven Years’ War), had immediate effects on the relationship between the colonies and Great Britain, leading to the concept of no taxation without representation becoming the motivating force for the American revolutionary movement and a great symbol for democracy amongst the colonies, as Britain tried to tighten their hold on the colonies through various acts and measures.
Edward, Rebecca and Henretta, James and Self, Robert. America A Concise History. 5th ed. Boston: Bedford/ St. Martin’s, 2012.
The American Revolution (1775-1783) was a war between England and the colonies which were settled earlier by the English. There were many factors and events that led to the American Revolution. The Revolution was mainly an economic rebellion that was fueled by taxation without representation following the French and Indian War. The English Parliament was more often than not considered cruel and unfair by the colonists. With conflicts over trade, taxes and government representation, the colonies were at a starting line of a revolution that would later transform into the basis of the United States of America.
Walens, Susann. A. United States History Since 1877. Western Connecticut State University, Danbury, CT. September 2007.
There are four major reasons that the rebellion of the colonists accumulated into a full scale revolution. The most indistinct of these four reasons is the old societal legacies of the colonies, namely: social, political, religious, and economic values. These deeply rooted values were ingrained and inherited from the generations of colonists, and once the British began upsetting those values, resentment set in and began to undermine the British authority. For example, many of those who came to America were of British decent; they loved being English and fancied that, as colonists, they were taking part in the building of a bigger and stronger British Empire. But to those in England, the Americans were no better than barbarians. The English did not view A...
The colonies did not initially desire to succeed and become independent from the British, at first they were very proud of being British. Throughout the years of being a British Colony, The mother country of Britain committed actions that the colonists could not stand much longer. From taxation without representation to quartering British soldiers unwillingly, the tension built up until the colonists eventually rebelled. Some colonists remained loyal to the crown, while others joined the rebellion. These rebellious forces grew in strength and number, when the rebellion grew too big, the Revolution sparked. No longer would the colonist be forced to the British law, the colonists were willing to fight and die for their freedom. This event was
The American Revolution began due to problems within the British economy. The most prevalent issue of the time was "taxation without
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 started when The King of Britain lost an immense amount of money. He bought high priced equipment and supplies for the army that basically costed an arm and a leg. Which led him to decide they would regain their money by taxing the colonist. His poor decisions of taxing the people without their agreement outraged them and sent them into a state of revolt.
Lefler, Hugh T., and William S. Powell. Colonial North America. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1973.
3. Divine, Breen, Fredrickson, Williams, eds., America Past and Present Volume II: since 1865 sixth edition (New York: Longman 2002).
There were many factors that led up to the American Revolutionary War, one of these factors were the laws and acts being passed at the time. The British Parliament attempted to limit the power the American Colonist had at the time by taking away from their income. How they did this one may ask? The simple answer is taxes. One of the many taxes imposed was the stamp act. During this time the American colonies were being oppressed by the British one of the first signs of this was the Stamp Act. The act stated that almost anything written had to be stamped and tax...
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
Wars affect a country one way another, either for best or for the worst. The outcome of the war can change a country and the citizens of the country. The American Revolutionary was a war where the affect was tremendous. The American Revolution began in 1775 till 1783. The American Revolution is also known as the United States War of Independence. As soon as people left England to come to United States there was smell of revolution in the air. The revolutionary war was a way for the United States to make a statement and move forward as a country that wasn’t underneath the British rule. John Adams, the second prime minister of the United States explains how the American Revolution began when he says, “The Revolution was affected before the war commenced. The Revolution was in the minds and hearts of the people” . Adam basically means that everyone was thinking about the revolution and in their minds they were already there, wanting to break free from the British rule. Once everyone was against England the people were ready for war. The American Revolution started for many reasons, some of the few are; social, economic, and political changes. These changes provided America to be an independent country with its own government. The increase in strict laws and violent events made many Americans angry and that’s why the revolution began. The French and Indian war, taxes without representation, as well as the first continental congress. These are just some of the reasons that Americans wanted the revolution; there are many more causes that can be justified for this major event. Americans did not want to be ruled by the British who were thousands of miles away from them, they wanted to have control of their country and have their own laws....