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American Revolution Causes

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The road to the American Revolution was long and complex, with no single cause. Instead, it was the result of a long series of events that built upon each other, resulting in the belief that the colonies did not belong with Great Britain. The Revolution was caused by the impacts of the French and Indian war, Parliament’s continuous taxation without representation, the events that occurred as a result of the acts, Parliament’s retaliation to the colonists’ protests, and most importantly, the development of a sense of independence by the colonists. The French and Indian War was a major cause of the American Revolution with several factors stemming from it. The war was fought between the French and British over land in North America and spread …show more content…

Aiming to stop the violence, King George III issued the Proclamation of 1763, prohibiting colonists from moving west of the Appalachian Mountains. This was viewed as a violation of the colonists’ basic rights by many who had fought for the very land that was being banned. Furthermore, British forts were placed along the frontier to protect against Indian aggression as well as to enforce the proclamation. To pay for these soldiers, George III followed the proclamation with the Revenue Act of 1764. Also known as the Sugar Act, it essentially made it more difficult to avoid customs laws and angered many American merchants. Another major cause of the revolution was the taxation of the colonies by Parliament. Soon after the Sugar Act, Parliament passed the Quartering Act in 1765, intending to get colonists to bear more of the cost of keeping soldiers in America. This act required the colonies to provide shelter, food, and drink to the soldiers. This often was the colonists’ own homes and supplies that the soldiers used. While the act did not affect a large portion of the population, it was extremely unpopular and was viewed as another violation of the colonies’ …show more content…

These arguments helped others to understand the situation and take a stand. Some were not so peaceful in their protest of the act including the Sons of Liberty. These radical patriots led by Samuel Adams destroyed the special paper, attacked tax collectors until they resigned, and enforced a boycott on British trade. Any who attempted to trade with the British were beaten, had their property destroyed, and were tarred and feathered: a medieval form of torture. Realizing the Stamp Act could not be enforced, Parliament repealed the act on March 18, 1766 and the boycott was lifted. Not to be beaten, they also passed the Declaratory Act at the same time which stated that Parliament had the right to impose laws on the colonies. The following year, Parliament passed the Townshend Acts, placing a duty on British imports of glass, lead, paint, tea, and paper. Knowing the taxes would be even more difficult to enforce, Parliament hired Royal Customs Commissioners to collect the taxes and gave them the power to search homes for smuggled goods as well as seize any goods assumed to be

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1037 Words | 5 Pages

This resulted in larger taxes on the colonists, as well as laws to force them to pay the new taxes. One of the first laws was the Currency Act of 1764 to make sure colonists would not pay in paper money, as it was not actual currency to them. The Sugar Act renewed an old law that states that sugar and rum from anyone except Britain would have a tax. The difference between the old law and the new one was that the new one was reinforced, and the tax on the sugar was lower. This tax was fueled by the Sugar Interest.

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611 Words | 3 Pages

These beliefs led to the enactment Navigation laws, which restricted the colonies to trade solely England. Following the French and Indian war, the British Parliament passed a series of acts that were designed to make the colonies pay off one-third of the costs of the war with France. Some of these acts included the Sugar Act of 1764, which added a tax to sugar imports, the Stamp Act of 1765, which added a tax to many printed materials, and the Townshend Act of 1767, which were designed to pay the salaries of the royal governors. Later when the colonies started to become increasingly defiant, parliament passed the Repressive Acts of 1774, which were designed to punish the colonist for their rebelious behavior. These various acts demonstrated how the British Parliament exercised their control over the colonies.

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The Sugar Act of 1764 raised taxes on sugar while lowering tax on molasses. It also enabled sympathetic local juries for smugglers by establishing new vice-admiralty courts in America. The Currency Act was also passed in 1764 and it required the colonial assemblies to stop issuing paper money. The colonist tried their best to resist these unpopular new laws, which was difficult at first. This difficulty came from the harbor of many grievances from one another just as they did against the authorities of London.

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“A little rebellion now and then is a good thing” is an important quote from Thomas Jefferson about the American Revolution. From the Townshend and Stamp acts to the Battle of Bunker Hill, there were three main causes of the American Revolution: The Proclamation of 1763, Townshend and Stamp Acts, and the Battle of Bunker Hill. The first main cause of the American Revolution was the Proclamation of 1763. It created a line that kept the colonist east of the Appalachian Mountains.

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The act, which imposed a tax on all paper documents in the colonies, came at a time when the British Empire was deep in debt from the Seven Years’ War (1756-63) and looking to its North American colonies as a revenue source. Arguing that only their own representative assemblies could tax them, the colonists insisted that the act was unconstitutional, and they resorted to mob violence to intimidate stamp collectors into resigning. The Boston Massacre occurred on March 5, 1770. A squad of British soldiers, come to support a sentry who was being pressed by a heckling, snowballing crowd, let loose a volley of shots.

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The French and Indian war, also known as the Seven Years’ war, was fought between France and Great Britain. It started because of French expansion into the Ohio Valley. This expansion created conflict

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Pontiac’s Rebellion, which was a rebellion against the westward spread of colonists, resulted in the British signing the Proclamation of 1763. This did not allow colonists to migrate west of the Appalachians. Additionally the Quartering Act was established, which it obligated colonists to shelter and feed the British soldiers in their own homes. This irritated colonists because it was invading the privacy and comfort of their home. In 1767, people’s privacy was even lessen when the court issued the writs of assistance, to help British officials search for smuggled goods.

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The acts limited and controlled what the colonies could do. The taxes made the colonies lose money, making it harder for them to establish a military. The Proclamation act of 1763, Sugar act of 1764, Stamp act of 1765, Quartering act of 1765, Declaratory act of 1766, and Tea act of 1773 limited the actions of the colonies. These acts may helped gaining control over the colonies, but these act were only benefits for England itself, not for the colonies. This showed that the England was very greedy, showing that England did

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Britain needed a way to fix this. They came up with the Sugar Act, a set of taxes to help Britain raise money. Taxes were not a new thing for the colonists, but these new taxes caused big issues. The Sugar Act was suggested by Prime Minister George Greenville.

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The causes of the revolutionary war were more economical than political mainly, because of one factor which was taxes. The British imposed a number of taxes on the American colonists to pay off their war debts and also for the cost of protecting the colonists from the local Native Americans. By imposing these taxes, this caused great tension between the British and the colonists and eventually led to war.

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to the Indians. The Sugar Act OF 1764 was a British law passed by the parliament of Great Britain on April 5, 1764 , that was designed to raise revenue from the American colonists in the 13 colonies. This act set a tax on sugar and molasses imported into the colonies which impacted the manufactured was mainly about the manufacture of rum which was a highly lacerative product, that favored England by controlling trade epically in respect of the import of sugarcane from the west Indians constitution issue impact as well as the American revenue act or the American duties act. The English policies of the salutary neglect that was in effect from 1607-1763 encouraged the colonists to violate the law by bribing customs officials and smuggling.

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The early Americans were pushed to seek liberty through a revolution because of the constant mistreatment caused by the British, unfair taxation and lack of governmental representation. As the population of the thirteen British colonies in America grew, colonial settlements expanded westward. This expansion caused many conflicts between the British colonists, other European colonists and Native Americans. After the French and Indian war, the British king along with Parliament had thought it best to tighten their control on their colonies in America. Once Britain control became more prevalent in America, so did the desire for revolution.

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191 Words | 1 Pages

American Revolution There were many actions that led up to the conflict of the Revolutionary War. The war was mainly caused by the many acts King George III employed during the colonial era, which were, the Intolerable Acts, the Sugar Act, the Townshend Act, the Proclamation of 1763, the Stamp Act, the Quartering Act, and the Tea Act. Many of these acts were torture to the colonists for the taxation was heavy and the Quartering act drove people into the ground, but King George III didn’t bother listening to their claims and let them suffer. Some of the most well known acts from the American Revolution were The Sugar Act, The Quartering Act, and The Stamp Act. Parliament made the Sugar Act to keep a tax on molasses and rum, it also only

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345 Words | 2 Pages

The American Revolution was a very important event. The more the colonists rebelled the more they got closer to independence. Some of the causes of the American Revolution were the Acts, the Boston Tea Party, and the Second Continental Congress. To begin with, the Tax Acts were a very important cause to the American Revolution.

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The American Revolution had many causes, including political, economic, and social factors. One of the primary political causes of the American Revolution was the colonists' desire for greater autonomy. The colonists believed that they should have a say in the laws and regulations that affected their lives; however, the British government was unwilling to grant them the level of autonomy they desired. The British government believed that the colonists were part of the British Empire and should therefore be subject to British law. This led to tension between the colonists and the British government, which ultimately culminated in the revolution.

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