Week 2 Discussion 1: The American Revolution
What were the causes of the American Revolution? How did the British colonists evolve from good citizens to
... [Show More] revolutionaries and back something as unique as the Declaration of Independence?
What were the causes of the American Revolution?
There were many factors that lead up to the American Revolution that lasted from 1775-1783 between the Thirteen Colonies and Great Britain. I believe one of the main causes of the American Revolution was due to financial issues that Great Britain faced after a very expensive French and Indian War (Keene, Cornell, & O’Donnell, 2012). The French and Indian war of 1754-1763 was known as the “Seven Years’ War” between England and France which also included “Austria, Russia, Prussia, Spain, and numerous Indian tribes” (Chamberlain College of Nursing, 2019, Week 1 Timelines). This war left Great Britain in debt, and in order to increase their revenue to pay off this debt, they started “levying taxes on the American colonies” (“Events Leading to the American Revolution”, n.d., para. 2).
Another issue with the French and Indian war was the Proclamation of 1763 where King George III prohibited colonist from expanding west of the Appalachian Mountains as a means to lessen the likelihood of another expensive war. According to Keene, Cornell, and O’Donnell (2012), the consequences of this is that it “intensifies problems of land scarcity in colonies” (p. 105).
In 1774, the new British prime minister George Grenville created the Revenue Act, which was also known as the Sugar Act. This act increased taxes on sugar and other products imported by the colonies. Keen, Cornell, and O’Donnell (2012) state that:
For some Americans, the Sugar act violated two long held beliefs: the idea that colonist could not be taxed without their consent and the equally sacred notion that Englishmen were entitled to a trial by a jury of their peers.” (p. 98)
This led to the term we know as “taxation without representation.” According to Frazier (2015):
“Many Americans had been evading a number of the import and export taxes, such as the molasses tax, by smuggling; but they could not evade the stamp tax, so the colonists responded with mob violence – threatening, beating and pouring hot tar on colonial tax collectors. (p. 37)
Due to the actions of the colonist in regards to the Sugar Act, Britain imposed harsher taxes including the Stamp Act in 1765. This required that documents/printed material such as newspapers and playing cards be printed on paper made in Britain and stamped with a revenue stamp (“Events Leading to the American Revolution”, n.d., para. 4). As opposition from American colonist increased, so did the laws and taxes that were imposed upon them.
To briefly summarize, here are a list of other acts that lead to the American Revolution:
• 1765 Quartering Act- colonist had to supply British troops with shelter and food (Keene, Cornell, & O’Donnell, 2012).
• 1767 Townshend Acts- placed new duties on paper, paint, glass, and lead (Keene, Cornell, & O’Donnell, 2012).
• 1773 Tea Act- this lowered the price on tea, but kept the tax on tea. This resulted in the Boston Tea Party where 90,000 pounds of tea was tossed overboard a British ship into the Boston Harbor (Keene, Cornell, & O’Donnell, 2012).
Things continued to progress as Britain passed the Coercive Acts (Intolerable Acts) in 1774 that aimed to punish the colonies responsible for the Boston Tea Party. According to Keen, Cornell, and O’Donnell (2012), “The most important consequence of the Intolerable Acts was the decision by the colonies to convene a Continental Congress in Philadelphia in late 1774” (p. 104). Representative from the all the colonies except Georgia. By 1775, the Prohibitory Act passed by Britain cut off all trade between the colonies and England. This leads to Continental Congress adopting “a Declaration of Rights asserting American rights” (Keen, Cornell, & O’Donnell, 2012, p. 105).
In 1775, "The shot heard "round the world" and the Battle of Bunker Hill, June 17th, near Boston Harbor” (Chamberlain College of Nursing, 2019, Week 1 Timelines) was the first battle of the Revolutionary War.
How did the British colonists evolve from good citizens to revolutionaries and back something as unique as the Declaration of Independence?
The British colonist evolved from good citizens to revolutionaries due to the changes in laws that were imposed upon them from Great Britain as discussed above. The more Britain retaliated with harsher punishments, the angrier and resistant the colonist became which sparked the American Revolution. Oppression in the form of these acts, ultimately led to the approval of Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776 in which the colonies declared their independence from Britain (Keen, Cornell, & O’Donnell, 2012). As said by Keen, Cornell, and O’Donnell (2012), “George III’s misdeeds, not monarchy itself, were to blame for America’s demand for independence” (p. 111).
References
Chamberlain College of Nursing (2019). HIST405N Untied States History: Week 1 Timelines. Downers Grove, IL: Online Publication.
Events Leading to the American Revolution. (n.d.). Retrieved March 10, 2019, from https://www.american-revolutionary-war-facts.com/Events-Leading-To-American-Revolution/Events-Leading-to-American-Revolution.shtml
Frazer, G. (2015). The American Revolution: Not a Just War. Journal of Military Ethics, 14(1), 35–56. https://doi- org.chamberlainuniversity.idm.oclc.org/10.1080/15027570.2015.1035947
Keene, J. D., Cornell, S., & O'Donnell, E. T. (2012). Visions of America: A History of the United States (2nd ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson. [Show Less]