The American Revolution gave the colonies the freedom and independence that they were desperately craving after mistreatment from Great Britain. Some may argue that the colonist had no right to break themselves away from England as they did, but under the circumstances it seemed necessary. Therefore, the American Revolutionaries weren’t guilty of disloyalty to the government of england because the many taxation issues and the lack of representative within the britain government. This means that there was an ethical duty to rebel against a government rather than peacefully protesting.
There were many forceful actions that the England imposed onto the colonist, which included The Quartering Act and The Stamp Act. Each Act irritated
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the colonist which led to them protesting the Acts. The colonist “became known as patriots formed organizations called the sons of liberty and the daughters of liberty to repeal, or remove, the hated tax. Patriotic merchants refused to trade with Great britain. The daughters of liberty organized boycott asking all the colonists to join them in refusing to buy any british goods.” (king 2003) This is the beginning of a long revolutionary war that will give the American colonist the freedom that they deserved. The lack of representative within the British government upset the colonist because they had no voice in approving or disapproving new direct taxes in Parliament. However, the colonist accepted direct taxes from colonial assemblies because they elected representatives to those assemblies. This created the idea of ‘No taxation without representation’ because without a voice the colonist felt as it was unfair to tax goods that they had no control over. The colonist made several boycotts after the The Stamp Act, one of which included a formal petition for a repeal. Delegates from nine colonies went out in October to New York in 1765, seeking to secure their rights in the British government. The purpose was that government should be able to tax with only the approval from representatives that they had elected. From The Proceedings of the Congress October 1765 in the following quotation: That His Majesty’s liege subjects in these colonies are entitled to all inherent rights and liberties of his natural-born subjects within the Kingdom of Great Britain. That it is . . . essential to the freedom of a people, & the undoubted right of Englishmen, that no taxes be imposed on them without their own consent. That the only representatives of the people of these colonies are persons chosen by themselves, and that not taxes ever have been or can be constitutionally imposed on them but by their respective legislature. Soon after, the Parliament rejected The Proceedings of the Congress, in refusal of The Stamp Act, all the other boycotts and petitions were also rejected.
In 1766 Parliament repealed The Stamp Act because British merchants became concerned about the business they were losing. Not long after they passed the Declaratory Act, which stated that the “British Parliament had the right to make laws for the colonies “in all cases whatsoever” (Declaratory Act) whether approved by the colonist’s representatives or not. The American colonist had no voice within the British government which then created a disloyal connection between the two lands. Thus , the American colonist weren’t guilty of disloyalty because by the British enforcing these overcontrolling Acts made the loyalty between them …show more content…
vanish. As the American colonist began to to rebel the tension between the two lands grew higher than ever. The colonist had already tried peacefully protesting by boycotting British goods but after no success, American blood was shed on American soil from the hands of British soldiers. The only way this could ever end was by rebelling and by gaining our independence. The first violent attack against the colonist and the British happened in Boston on March 5, 1770. The historic event known as the “Boston Massacre” can often be confusing with more than one account of the story. John Tudor’s Diary (1770) in the following quotation: On Monday evening the 5th, a few minutes after nine o’clock, a most horrid murder was committed in King Street before the custom house door by eight or nine soldiers under the command of Captain Thomas Preston. This unhappy affair began when some boys and young fellows threw snowballs at the sentry placed at the custom-house door. At this, eight or nine soldiers came to his aid. Soon after, a number of people collected. The Captain commanded the soldiers to fire, which they did, and three men were killed on the spot and several mortally wounded, one of which died the next morning. That was just one account of what happened on that bloody night.
Three years later the Boston Tea Party happened. The Sons of Liberty, a group of colonist protesters, attacked merchant ships in Boston Harbor by taking the tea on the ship and spilling them into the ocean. “Almost immediately, the british responded… Parliament also placed the entire state of Massachusetts under a military governor and limited the power if the government” (Burgan, 2000) The King was infuriated, Parliament passed new laws known as the Coercive Act to punish Boston. This angered the colonist and brought them together ready to fight for their independence from Great Britain. As written in John Adams’s Diary “ This destruction of the tea is so bold, so daring, so firm, intrepid, and inflexible, that I can’t help considering it a turning point in history…” (John Adams,
1773) The only way the colonist could break away from Great Britain was to rebel because after many attempts of peaceful protesting, nothing changed. There is an ethical duty to rebel against a government especially when it has a harmful effect on the people. The Boston Massacre and The Boston Tea Party are just examples of the colonist rebelling against the british that helped lead to the long worthy battle of gaining their independence. By breaking the law, the colonist stepped out and stood up for what they believed in and that all men are made equal and have certain rights that the government should not be allowed to take away. The government is in charge of supporting the rights of men Therefore, after going into detail about the wrongful taxes and acts that the Parliament passed and the zero voice the colonist had within the britain government the American Revolutionaries were not guilty of disloyalty to the government of england because after mistreatment as such there is no such loyal between them to begin with. The only way this could be stopped would to rebel against the government whereas in that point there is an ethical duty to rebel against a government rather than peacefully protesting.
One of the British actions that angered the colonists was the Stamp Act. The Stamp Act was passed in response to colonist's complaints about the Sugar Act. The Stamp Act, according to the chart in document one, forced colonists to buy a stamp and place it on all of their paper products. Colonists boycotted the Stamp Act and and formed the Committees of Correspondence and the Sons of Liberty. The Sons of Liberty, according to document two, tarred and feathered British officials and tax collectors to protest the Stamp A...
Many people believe that the Boston Tea Party arose just because of the Tea Act that came into play in 1773, but in-fact, this major statement arose from two issues surrounding the British Empire in 1765. The first of the issues was that the British East India Company was at risk of going under and the Parliament was finding ways to bring it back. The second issue was that there was a continuing dispute about the extent of the Parliament’s authority. Many colonists believe that the Parliament went overboard with their power and the people were concerned about the future. Attempting to resolve these two major issues, the North Ministry only worsened the problem and produced a showdown that would eventually result in revolution.
The Sons of Liberty answered the call. In an act of defiance, “a few dozen of the Sons of Liberty, opposing new British laws in the colonies, systematically dumped three shiploads of tea into Boston harbor. They acted to prevent the royal authorities from collecting taxes on that import” (Bell). This left Parliament infuriated. They did what they only knew how to do and put a tighter squeeze on the colonists.
Patrick Henry once said, “give me liberty or give me death!” During the revolutionary war. The American revolution had begun in Lexington on April 9, 1775. This was where the first battle of the American revolution occurred. Through all the battles and acts the British had placed on the colonists, they had suffered greatly and decided to break away from Britain. But, were the colonists valid in disuniting from Britain and conducting war? The American colonists were justified in waging war and splitting from Britain because the British were unjust to the colonists , they imposed unnecessary acts against the colonists and the British ignored all requests for change.
Without colonial consent, the British started their bid to raise revenue with the Sugar Act of 1764 which increased duties colonists would have to pay on imports into America. When the Sugar Act failed, the Stamp Act of 1765 which required a stamp to be purchased with colonial products was enacted. This act angered the colonists to no limit and with these acts, the British Empire poked at the up to now very civil colonists. The passing of the oppressive Intolerable Acts that took away the colonists’ right to elected officials and Townshend Acts which taxed imports and allowed British troops without warrants to search colonist ships received a more aggravated response from the colonist that would end in a Revolution.
Instead they passed new acts which were worse than the ones passed before. As a result of the Tea Act, all the taxes except the tax on tea was repealed in order to keep Parliament’s right to tax the colonies, and the colonists did not like this act. As a result of their anger towards the British, the Boston Tea Party occurred: Samuel Adams and the Sons of Liberty boarded three ships in the Boston Harbor and empty 342 chests of tea to the Boston. Still, the British kept on trying to control the Americans, but this time, they passed 4 acts, the Intolerable Acts, in order to punish and control people; The Boston Harbor would be closed, the people of Boston would have a curfew, Massachusetts would lose its self-government/town meetings, royal officers would be allowed to be tried in Britain, and the British troops would use empty buildings. Instead of giving Americans the freedom they wanted, the British punished them. Yet, this did not stop Americans. Instead, they were even angrier to the British for the strict rules the British was passing in order to control the colonists. They knew they had to do something, which resulted in continental congresses, the Articles of Confederation, and the American Revolution. The British was not going to stop trying to hold power over the colonies, and as Patrick Henry started off by saying “Caesar had his Brutus — Charles the first, his Cromwell — and George the third — ” and finished “may profit by their example. If this be treason, make the most of it”(Wolverton, Joe, II). This was no longer of a fight against the British, but a fight to be
The American revolution was a reaction to unfavorable tax policies from the King of England. When the King of England began to infringe on the colonists’ liberties, leaders inspired by the enlightenment grouped together to defend the rights of the American colonies. As Thomas Jefferson writes in the Declaration of Independence, “History of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries ad usurpations,
The imperial tactics of the British Empire were exercised on the colonists through heavy taxes trade restrictions because of their mercantilist economy. The Stamp Act taxed the colonists directly on paper goods ranging from legal documents to newspapers. Colonists were perturbed because they did not receive representation in Parliament to prevent these acts from being passed or to decide where the tax money was spent. The colonists did not support taxation without representation. The Tea Act was also passed by Parliament to help lower the surplus of tea that was created by the financially troubled British East India Company. The colonists responded to this act by executing the Boston Tea Party which tossed all of the tea that was imported into the port of Boston. This precipitated the Boston Port Act which did not permit the colonists to import goods through this port. The colonists protested and refused all of these acts which helped stir the feelings of rebellion among the colonists. The British Mercantilist economy prevented the colonists from coin...
The American Revolution was sparked by a myriad of causes. These causes in themselves could not have sparked such a massive rebellion in the nation, but as the problems of the colonies cumulated, their collective impact spilt over and the American Revolution ensued. Many say that this war could have been easily avoided and was poorly handled by both sides, British and American; but as one will see, the frame of thought of the colonists was poorly suited to accept British measures which sought to “overstep” it’s power in the Americas. Because of this mindset, colonists developed a deep resentment of British rule and policies; and as events culminated, there was no means to avoid revolution and no way to turn back.
The American Revolution should never have happened. The British were not tyrannical, oppressive rulers although the American colonies perceived them to be so. The American colonists misperceptions led to revolution and independence.
Yet soon after it meant that the colonial tea trades were discredited in competing with such an enormous rival, who, besides its treasure, is not obliged to pay taxes. For this reason insulted colonists wage a boycott of British goods and the as a form of a protest the Sons of Liberty dumped 342 chests of tea from Indian company into the harbor; good amounting to $1,000,000 dollars today. Having heard of this, the British Prime Minister Lord North said, "Whatever may be the consequence, we must risk something; if we do not, all is over". The British Parliament responded by a closure of Boston’s harbor and an imposition of Coercive Acts in hope that the acts would cut Boston and the state of New England off from the rest of Americans, which would prevent the British from unified resistance against them. However, the act was viewed as a violation of both; constitution and human or natural rights, leading to a mobilization of the
The Boston tea party was a brief incident among many, composing, economic, and political crisis that ultimately caused a revolution. These events consisted of The French and Indian war, the Stamp Act, the Townshend Revenue Act, the Tea Act, and of course the Boston Tea Party. The incident caused by the colonies infuriated the British government therefore as punishment parliament responded to the abuse with the Coercive Acts of 1774 . When the thirteen colonies once again decided to resist the British troops revolution spread. “We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately.” This act later on lead to the American Revolutionary War, were years later independence was
“Great Britain protected America, rightly making the colonists contribute in taxes to pay for the debt of their protection. The colonist should not have rebelled in violence against the authority and the law.” This is the view that a citizen might have held who remained loyal to the king of Britain. Many respectable arguments stand against the revolution, including accusations against the violence of the colonists. True, both parties ought to have dealt with some situations in a more gentle manner, but the colonists handled Britain in the right way, considering the immoral acts passed without their consent. Because of the evidence from the Boston Massacre, the Boston Tea Party, and the Stamp Act, violating the rights of life, liberty, and property, the citizens revolted was justified.
In 1773, the Tea Act placed taxes on tea, threatening the power of the colonies. The colonies, however, fought back by pouring expensive tea into the Boston harbor in an event now known as the Boston Tea Party. The enraged Parliament quickly passed the Intolerable Acts, shutting down the port of Boston and taking control over the colonies.
Life was prosperous in America. Great Britain, who had a tremendous amount of war debt, needed to find new sources of revenue in the colonies. This was something that sparked the colonies reason for independence. They no longer needed to be obedient to Britain. The British government began to rely on the colonies and their money. The new revenue raising acts that Britain was enforcing hurt the colonies. This gave them more of a reason to rebel. The Stamp Act single handedly hurt the colonies thoughts on Great Britain. William Smith Jr said, “This single stroke has lost Great Britain the affection of all her Colonies.” I like this quote, and agree that at this point, the colonies were completely done caring for Britain. It was obvious they were not going to let their anger go, they wanted to stand up to Britain. Something I really got out of Gordon S. Wood’s writing was how quickly life was changing. His paragraphs went back and forth about the excitement of the emigrants to create a new nation, then the hardships they had to overcome. At first it seemed as if the lives of the emigrants were simple. Like they were taking a vacation to somewhere great. He made sure to prove his