American Revolution Dbq

596 Words3 Pages

In 1783, the Treaty of Paris was signed, granting America its independence. Eight years prior, the American Revolutionary War began and many reasons can be offered as to why it began. The war began in 1775 because of the Shot Heard ‘Round the World. Leading up to the war, Britain employed many taxes on the colonists to pay for the debt the French and Indian War brought. The taxes were outrageous and the colonists responded poorly. The American Revolution was a product of British taxation on the colonists. First, the colonists were very upset with Britain after they passed the Stamp Act. Second, the colonists didn’t react well to the Townshend Act which the British enforced on the colonists. Last, the Tea Party is a good example for the colonists …show more content…

It was a tax that required the American colonists to pay a tax on every single piece of printed paper they used. The costs of the stamps were low but it added over time, costing the colonists a lot of money. This tax affected all of the colonists so it united them against the taxation of Britain. The merchants were to first to boycott the Stamp Act. These boycotts were detrimental to British trade. The Stamp Act also angered lawyers as every document they worked with was taxed. The colonists were outraged and used violence as a response. Tarring and feathering or burning in effigy was a typical punishment the stamp collectors. The Stamp Act was the first hit angering the colonists and it also united them which was a key part of the American Revolution. The Townshend Acts were introduced to the colonists in 1767. These acts taxed simple living necessities at that time such as glass, lead or paint. The colonists were outraged at these taxes. It was very hard to develop a community when the colonists couldn't get the basic materials for surviving. Many people would smuggle these materials to avoid losing the money. There were also many riots due to the anger of the colonists. These taxes were eventually repealed except for the tax on tea. After a while, the colonists were eventually angered by the taxation on