Was the American Revolution Avoidable? The Revolutionary War was avoidable because England could have not upset the colonists, and could have been fair to them, and the colonists could have not rebelled against the British. There is multiple ways either of these could have happened, such as England could have not taxed the colonists so unfairly. On the other side of the argument, the colonists could have not make revolution propaganda against Britain or destroyed Britains trade goods. To summarize, both sides could have done many things differently to avoid war. One reason the American Revolution was avoidable was Britain could have been fair to the colonists. As shown in the Legislation Bank, the colonists were victim to many different …show more content…
After all the taxes and limitations were placed onto the colonists, they were angry and wanted war, this is shown from the tarring and feathering of the British and the disregard of taxes and acts placed on them by the British, many of the colonists used propaganda to support the cause such as Thomas Paine’s book “Common Sense” or Paul Revere’s paining of the Boston Massacre, these were both used as effective propaganda to anger the colonists against the British, but if these were not created, the revolution would not have had as much strength, and might have died down, which would have avoided the war or if people had listened to the colonists that did not want war or loyalists that showed that there was a way to resolve the differences without violence, as shown in James Chalmer’s Pamphlet, “Plain Truth”. Another way the war could have been avoided is if the British had signed the Olive Branch Petition, as shown in the Second Continental Congress meeting, which would give the colonies independence from Britain and there would be no need for the war. However, this did not happen, the British declined the Olive Branch Petition and went to war with the colonies. These sources show that there was many ways other than actions that the Revolutionary War could have been avoided. To sum it all up, there was many ways that the Revolutionary War could have been avoided, such as the British not being unfair to the colonists, or the colonists not rebelling against the British. Some of these ways were show in the Legislation Bank, with all of the taxes or limitations on the colonies. Other ways are shown in the propaganda made by Paul Revere or Thomas Paine, which unified the colonists against the British and made it look like the British were
Hailey Ohl Mr. Snyder American Cultures I period 3 11 December 2017 The Olive Branch Petition could not stop The Revolutionary War If Britain had accepted the Second Continental Congress’s Olive Branch petition the Revolutionary war could not have been avoided. The Olive branch petition is a peace petition sent to king George III by colonial delegates after the battles of Lexington and Concord. There were several reasons based on events that had happened before 1775 that can date back to many things the British have done that would have not stopped the war it was just a matter of time.
There were many goals that the colonists had in waging the Revolutionary War, and an innumerable amount of those goals contributed to America’s political system. A few of their goals were to convert into a country free of a king, become independent, get rid of all loyalists, equal rights between men and women, and slaves wanted to be freed. A great deal of these goals were accomplished, although they were not very easy to carry out. “The nearer any government approaches to a republic the less business there is for a king,” (Document 1). One of the colonists’ main goals was to be free of the king of England.
For starters, the American Revolution was waged as a war of last resort because the colonists could not execute any more plans to make truce with Britain peacefully. The principle of last resort states that a war can only be waged after all the peaceful options are considered and force must be conducted as the last alternative. In the “Olive Branch Petition”, John Dickinson, a representative of the colonists wrote: “We therefore beseech your Majesty, that your royal authority and influence may be graciously interposed to procure us relief from our afflicting fears and jealousies, occasioned by the system before-mentioned, and to settle peace through every part of our Dominions, with all humility submitting to your Majesty’s wise consideration, whether it may not be expedient, for facilitating those important purposes, that your Majesty be pleased to direct some mode, by which the united applications of your faithful Colonists to the Throne, in pursuance of their common counsels, may be improved into a happy and permanent reconciliation; and that, in the mean time, measures may be taken for preventing the further destruction of the lives of your Majesty’s subjects; and that such statutes as more immediately distress any of your Majesty’s Colonies may be repealed.” (Dickinson, John). As inscribed in the “Olive Branch Petition” the colonists’ will was not to detach from Great Britain but to maintain union and peace.
Many of the reasons the American colonies believed they were justified in their rebellion from England lay in trade and taxes. When George III inherited the throne at the end of the Seven Years’ War England’s debt had risen to 145 million pounds and his chief minister believed that the American colonies needed to help shoulder the debt. (Nash, et al., 2007. , p. 134) In attempting to collect these taxes from the colonies to relieve the mounting debt Parliament passed a range of acts, which led to discontent among the colonists as many of them restricted trade, their political maneuverability and left many believing they infringed upon their “right to be taxed only by their own consent.”
Before I really knew anything about the American Revolution, I believed that there was only one overarching reason that sparked the American Revolution; colonists just decided one day to become independent. As I have learned more about the Revolution, I discovered I was completely wrong. There are, in fact, two main viewpoints that commenced the Revolution: British loyalists and conservatives against the radicals. The loyalist and more conservative side was supportive of any of the rules, laws, taxes, or anything of that sort that British Parliament or monarchy put in place. In contrast, the radical’s craved for independence from the British government since they deemed their laws as useless and confining.
The term “Revolutionary” is an instantaneous change or shift that promotes equal rights, liberty, and freedom. So, while some may argue that the revolution was a turning point for America, The American revolution in this case is not revolutionary since slavery was still present, minority groups did not gain rights, and British ideals and tactics were still being used in the new government. One of the crucial pieces of evidence that this “revolution” could not be considered revolutionary is because of the slavery still taking place even after the war ended. Throughout the revolt against British rule in the 16th century, the American people fought under the banner of truth, justice, and liberty for all people, However, the only people that indeed
“The history of present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations [unlawful seizures], all having in direct object the establishments of an absolute Tyranny over these States. ”(Document E). The British taxed just about anything they could; like tea, paper, legal documents, and stamps “Committees are appointed into the characters and conduct of every tradesman, to prevent them selling tea or buying British manufactures. ”(Document I) The British were taxing the American colonists to pay what Britain lost in the French and Indian war.
The British government was not looking for the best of the people. They were only thinking about what they wanted; the government was not interested in what the people wanted so they decided to make decisions on their own, which resulted in changes that form the United States today. Because of this, they were justified in rebelling and declaring independence. One reason why the colonists decided to rebel and declare independence was because of taxation.
During the Colonial Era (1492-1763), colonists were justified in waging war against Great Britain; due to the inequitable Stamp Act, the insufferable British oppression, and the perceived tyranny of King George III, the king of Great Britain, however, the colonists were unjustified in some of their actions. In Colonial America, colonists were justified in waging war against Great Britain, because the Stamp Act was unfair and viewed as punishment. Because of the war, Britain had no other choice but to tax the colonists to pay for the debt. For example, according to document 2, the author states that the act was not only for trade but for “the single purpose of levying money.”
On the other hand the British deprived the colonists of even the most basic of rights. The American Revolution was more about Civil Liberties because there are three main arguments that support it: Taxation without Representation, the Quartering Act, and the Intolerable (Coercive) Acts. These actions that the British did justified the colonists’ revolution. First of all, one civil liberty that was exempt from the colonists reaches was taxation without representation.
The colonists refused to submit to a king that was only interested in their money, causing the colonists to become irate with the British once more. Since Great Britain thought that it was superior to the colonies, Great Britain did not give colonists the opportunity to speak up for what they wanted, which lead the colonists to rebel. The arrogance of Great Britain led to the rebellion of the colonists, which sparked the Revolutionary War through social, economic, and political actions. Furthermore, Great Britain caused a tremendous amount of irritation to develop inside of the colonists. The Revolutionary War showed that it is a necessity for Americans to have their opinions voiced.
There were many disagreements and because of those, many events were the cause of the American Revolution. These events included bloodshed by others, peoples rights weren’t enforced, individuals didn’t receive freedom, and our country was just not yet whole. Despite of the causes of why the road to Revolution took place there were effects afterwards. When American Revolution was over with the The Declaration of Independence came into place, treaties were signed, and the Bill of Rights. Now these effects/events were amazing, it helped our country tremendously.
The colonists were mistreated from the start the British forced them to pay their war debts basically and controlled them harshly this caused the colonists to rise up and take back power. These events eventually led to the American Revolution and colonists
The Revolutionary War was probably one of the most detrimental effects of The Boston Tea Party. The Colonists were talking of uniting and taking action against Great Britain, so they formed the First Continental Congress. The Congress encouraged the people to resist King George and the British Parliament’s attempt at taxing them and the Colonies were beginning to rebel. This proved that the Americans were ready to fight against Great Britain. The Revolutionary War broke out not long after and the Colonists exited the war victorious.
The scope of slavery varied based on how practical and profitable slaves would be in that time period and location. Slavery had many impacts on society as a whole and influenced political, economic, and cultural aspects which all demonstrate the development of slavery in the 17th and 18th century. By the 17th century many Indians had been killed off by diseases and many white indentured servants no longer were willing to work (Foner, pg. 94). At first, the majority of slaves were sent to Brazil and the West Indies with less than 5% sent to the colonies (Foner, pg. 98).