American Revolution Dbq Essay

956 Words4 Pages

The American Revolution War began in April of 1775 and ended in 1783. It lasted about eight years, The war was between Great Britain and the thirteen colonies. The colonist thought that the king began abusing his power and began taking advantage of them. The colonist left their motherland to the New World to get a new life and start over. At the beginning they thanked the king for the opportunity but there came a point where the colonist began seeing the king as a tyrant. The colonist felt that the king began to put a tighter control and they didn’t like it. They felt as if their new life was becoming like the one they escaped from in Europe. Unnecessary taxes, intolerable acts, and stripping of rights/ no say is due to Britain’s tighter …show more content…

In document 2, the sugar act was passed placing a tax on sugar. The colonist weren’t used to taxes and they didn’t like it. So to rebel, they stopped buying sugar and the value went down. Then Britain passed the Townshend act putting a tax a glass, lead, paper, oil, etc. Again the colonist didn’t like it and began limiting imports increasing the value of goods. Britain only didn’t put taxes on tea and because the colonists were only allowed tea from Britain. This later lead to the Boston Tea Party. In document 6, the king needed resources and money so he just forced the colonists to give him money, “That from and after the first day of November, one thousand seven hundred and sixty five, there shall be raised, levied, collected, and paid unto his Majesty, his heirs, and successors, throughout the colonies and plantations in America which now are, or hereafter may be, under the dominion of his Majesty, his heirs and successors”. If the colonists didn’t have the money their life conditions would just get …show more content…

The colonists were allowed to have their own government and pass laws giving the colonist a voice. After time passed these rights were stripped from the colonist. The king began replacing American officials and positions with British ones. In document 3, “If I was in any doubt, as to the right which the Parliament of Great Britain had to tax us without our consent, I should most heartily coincide with you in opinion, that to petition, and petition only, is the proper method to apply for relief; because we should then be asking a favor, and not claiming a right, which, by the law of nature and our constitution, we are, in my opinion, indubitably entitled to”. The American opinion didn’t matter anymore because even though their was an American government there was also a British king looking over them. It got so bad that not a single document entitling a colonist to a home, license, anything sold belongs to that person without the king’s stamp. “For every skin or piece of vellum or parchment, or sheet or piece of paper, on which shall be engrossed, written, or printed, any licence for retailing of wine, to be granted to any person who shall take out a licence for retailing of spirituous liquors, within the said colonies and plantations, a stamp duty of three pounds…”. To prove you owned anything you pretty much needed to buy a