The Causes of the American Revolution

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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

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