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Economic And Political Causes Of The American Revolution

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"Don’t fire unless fired upon, but if they mean to have a war, let it begin here." These are the words that Captain John Parker, an American colonial farmer, stated just before the Battles of Lexington and Concord broke out. Due to the long building feud between the colonists and the British, it was undeniable that the war would have erupted. The disagreements that led to the revolution had many causes, all of which tied in with the fact that the colonists felt abused by England. Even though the colonies began with the intention of aiding England, they had begun to feel independent. There were many economic, political, and social causes for the American Revolution.
There were several direct economic conflicts that led to the American Revolution. For instance, the Sugar Act is often considered one of the main factors to lead to the revolution and was imposed by the British to regulate transportation of products such as sugar and molasses (Kelly). This act gave the English the capabilities to monitor the colonists more intensely in order to make sure that they obeyed. Next, the Stamp Act of 1765 was passed, which …show more content…

For instance, subsequent to the British winning the French and Indian War, the British were in great debt, despite their victory. They needed to find a way to gain money, which led to them placing heavy taxes upon the colonies, leading to further conflict (LOC). They used acts such as the Proclamation of 1763 and the Act of 1765 to implement this control. These acts intensely monitored trade and other significant matters, which caused the colonists to feel disrespected, intruded on, and powerless. As a result, they protested, which led to the Boston Massacre. The Boston Massacre began as an unarmed protest, but quickly erupted into a full blown battle (Ushistory.org). Many historians consider the Boston Massacre to be the first battle of the revolution (Boston Massacre Historical

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This was the start of the revolutionary war. Summary: British General Gage planned to seize all of the colonists' weapons at Concord. On the night of April 19, 1775, British troops crossed the Charles River and headed toward Concord. When they arrived at Lexington, they encountered the Minutemen and were surprised.

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Separately, these acts did not cause the American revolution but together the acts created tension between the American colonists and England. The Stamp act started to build the tension between the colonists and England because it was the first tax directly imposed onto the colonists. They saw this as unfair because during the French and Indian war the colonist were ignored and then suddenly they were expected to pay off Britain’s war debt. The Stamp Act led to the Declaratory Act which led to many other laws given by King George the III and Parliament because of the backlash received from the colonists. The Boston tea party was an effect of the Tea Act enacted on the American colonists.

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There are three main points to the American Revolution Paul Revere, Lexington and Concord. Tensions had been building for a long time between residents of the 13 colonies and the British. The battle at Lexington green in 1775 started the American Revolution and “shots heard around the world” . One of the leaders for Lexington was Captain John Parker. The battle of Concord took place in Concord on Wednesday April 19, 1775.

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After the French and Indian War in 1763, economic elements forced Britain to feel the need to raise funds to pay off the war debt. The policies that were enforced by the new prime minister resulted in America's fight for independence. Some of the taxed imposed upon the colonies included the Sugar Act, the Stamp Act and the Tea Act. All three of these acts forced the Americans to pay a tax on everyday goods. Americans viewed the new tax on sugar and other imports as a burden and violation of their rights, for the British, the taxes were a modest imposition necessary to pay for the cost of eliminating the French from North America and administering the colonies (Keene, 101-102).

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Because of the great amount of power Britain possessed, the colonists were under oppression, ultimately taking action to defend themselves. Namely, according to document 5, the author states, “what is to defend us against so enormous, so unlimited power?”. As the taxes began to mound on top of one over the other, the colonists began to feel overwhelmed. In response, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and three others, created the Declaration of Independence as a call to war, to offset British rule. Like the Stamp Act, the colonists answered with violence, and the violence only increased as the British made sure to oppress the

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The colonists were already uncontent because of British taxation, and the Boston Massacre would further enrage them. Tension had been high since October 1768 when 4,000 British troops first appeared in Massachusetts to enforce the heavy tax burden imposed by the Townshend acts. Reinforcement troops were sent by the parliament to increase the taxes on the American colonies.

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What Caused the American Revolution The American Revolution was a battle for leadership in the American colonies. At the time, England controlled nearly all aspects, mostly the political and economic, of the colonial lives. Their purpose was to strengthen England. The colonies wanted the freedom from all of the control because they were doing fine without England.

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The Boston Massacre began with a small argument about the Townshend Acts between British Private Hugh White and a few colonists outside the Custom House in Boston on King Street. The argument began to escalate as more colonists gathered and began to harass and throw sticks and snowballs at Private White. Soon there were over 50 colonists at the scene. The local British officer of the watch, Captain Thomas Preston, sent a number of soldiers over to the Custom House to maintain order. However, the sight of British soldiers armed with bayonets just aggravated the crowd further.

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On May 5, 1770, a street fight between the British soldiers and the Boston colonists erupted which later became known as the Boston Massacre. The events of the Boston Massacre occured after the French and Indian war, when the British were in great debt. This caused them to pass many acts like the Sugar Act and the Stamp Act, which taxed colonists when they bought or imported certain goods. The Sugar Act set duties on sugar and molasses imported by colonists, while the Stamp Act required colonists to pay for an official stamp when buying paper items. The Quartering Act of 1768 was also later passed which forced colonists to house British soldiers in their own homes.

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The beginning of the revolution had many factors in what caused it. The American Revolution was the 13 colonies revolting against the British. The British King, King George the III, wanted everything. King George the III really pushed the limit when he demanded he get a piece of everything (tax). This was the first revenue act passed by Parliament, American Duties Act of 1764, known as the Sugar Act.

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In result, economic changes would come to the colonies. Parliament met in 1763 and came to the conclusion that they were not receiving the profit they needed from the colonies (Document F). As a result, many taxes were passed by British Parliament upon the colonies, including the Sugar Act, the Stamp Act (Document H) and the Tea Act. The American colonies were not happy, to say the least. Americans protested, saying that these taxes were unnecessary and unfair.

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The Boston Massacre took place on March 5th, 1770. During the Boston Massacre the colonies decided to take action and attack a group of british soldiers. This was the start of the protest as the British were becoming aware of the american colonists act of interrogation. Later on on December 16th, 1773 the Boston Tea party had occurred. The American colonist were not pleased to find out that they were only allowed to buy tea from the british.

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As the American Revolution came to an end in 1783, North American colonies were at the start of America’s independence. However, this was not a time for great celebration. As the American Revolution ended the effects of the major debt the war had caused lead to a severe economic depression followed in 1784. Along with the depression the United States government was on the brink of bankruptcy. Some of the economic and political problems during the 1780s played a huge role in the way the United States formed the Constitution.

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