American Revolution Dbq

The American Revolution was fought by the thirteen British colonies in America in 1775 through 1783. The thirteen colonies fought to become independent from Great Britain and the result was the birth of our nation the United States of America. After the French and Indian War the British Parliament try to find a way to restore its treasury to how it was before the war. The Parliament decided that the colonies should take part of the responsibility in paying war debts. Parliament decided to enact a series of tax measures throughout the next ten years which angered the colonies. The colonists felt that since they have no representation in Parliament there was no reason for them to pay taxes to Great Britain. “Parliament attempted to control colonial

The colonies began to unite in resentment towards the actions of the British Parliament. The colonists were particularly angry with an act that affected everyone, The Stamp Act. “Printers were among those most affected, however, and they aroused public opposition through the publication of newspapers, editorials, and pamphlets”(Benson). Merchants and laborers created a military like club named the Sons of Liberty. Average colonists harassed tax collectors, were present at public protest meetings, and contributed in boycotts of British merchandise. “In protest, colonists dumped loads of tea into the Boston Harbor in December 1773, an event called the Boston Tea Party”(Benson). Since there was an increase in colonial resistance it led the British Parliament to enact the Coercion Acts in 1774 which restricted the power of local governments. After the British got rid of the legislature of Massachusetts, shut down the Boston Harbor, shut down colonial courts, and allowed for British troops to be housed in anyone’s home, this inspired the colonists and many Americans to consider military

In 1774 representatives from the colonies got together at the First Continental Congress to calculate the amount of dissatisfaction among all the colonies. Congress directed a petition to the British government seeking to resolve the complaints they had. Historians have said that before the outbreak of the Revolution there was only one-third of colonists who supported military action and independence. The other two-thirds were loyalist to the British rule or they were just uninterested in what was happening throughout the colonies. Tension was starting to build between the British and the colonists which later turned hostile on April 19, 1775. Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts is where British troops were sent to retrieve weapons and capture rebels. The American Revolutionary War began once the British met citizen militias who were equipped with weapons which started violent conflicts between them. The colonies were uniting to vote for independence at the Second Continental Congress in the summer of 1775. Colonial representatives tried to create an independent government under the Articles of Confederation. The document provided a uniting government but it was too weak when it came to providing funds, supplies and a greater military that could have made the war go by more rapidly. General George Washington had great leadership and strong command which gives him a great amount of credit when speaking of the