Causes of the American Revolution
1763-1776
The American Revolution was a war for independence between England and the english men that settled in America. The men didnt want to be ruled by a king that still lived thousands of miles away. They traveled to America in search of religious freedom and self government. Although it lasted over a decade, it took some political and ecinomic skirmishes to start up. The king started creating laws and taxes after the French and Indian War to try and get out of debt. These taxes made the american settlers mad since they had been in saulutary neglect for over 100 yearsand they werent used to being bossed around. They king was putting taxes on things like tea and paper,the americans basic necesities. The americans werent even allowed to settle in the new land they won in the French and indian war!
Navigation Acts
The Navigation Acts insured that all trade from the american colonies stayed within the British Empire. All traded products that were destined for other countries must first be shipped to england and all trading activity must be conducted with English ships. The sugar act was one of the navigation acts, it insured that all sugar came from the French West Indies. Forcing the colonists to buy more expensive alhohol. The navigation acts and their tedious laws created resentment between the colonists and their mother country.
Proclamation of 1763
The Proclamation of 1763 was created after the Pontiac's Rebellion. The Pontiac's Rebellion was a war fought between the american settlers and a few Indian tribes. The proclamation prevented settlers from traveling or settling past the Appalachian mountains. This was to prevent any more skirmishes or even wars with the Indians. To keep order in the area many British soldiers stayed in the area. This made the colonists mad; they didn't want British soldiers living with them and they wanted to settle in the new land they acquired after the French and Indian War.
Stamp Act
The stamp Act was a law passed by King George that put a tax on anything printed on paper. It was created to help get England out of debt and bring in more money for the mother country. A group called the Committees of Correspondence protested the stamp act by boycotting all taxed english poroducts. The Commities of Correspondence was created and led by Samuel Adams to protest againts Englands new rules. The stamp act congress met and discussed the stamp acts new rules. They sent a message to King Gearge saying they wanted the law repealed and they think that only the colonies governments should heve the power to tax goods. King Gearge did repeal the law, yet he created another law that gave ho power over all colonial government decisions.
Quartering Act
Britain passed the Quartering Act in responce to the Stamp Act Protests. The Quartering act forced people to allow british soldiers to introde and live in their homes. It also allowed all british soldiers writs of assistance. Writs of Assistace are blank search warrants that the soldiers had and could use on any home they want with no probable cause.The two major problems with the Quartering Act was that housing tons of soldiers was expensive and the colonists hated writs of assistance.
Townshend Acts
The Townshend Act were laws passed that taxed everyday items that colonists bought like tea, glass, cloth and paper. A group of women decided to boycott cloth and fabric and weave there own instead; they were called the Daughters of Liberty. In 1770 the Townshend acts were repealed on everything except tea. This still angered the colonists because they didn't want to pay taxes to England at all.
Boston Massacre
A mob gathered gathered in the Boston square; shots were fired and 5 men were killed. Samuel Adams used this event as a one sided offense to rile up colonists and lead more protests. John Adams, Samuel Adams cousin, defended the soldiers that tried to settle down the mob in court. The soldiers ended up wining the trial and this angered many colonists.
Tea Act & Boston Tea Party
The Tea Act was a law passed by king George that only allowed one tea company to sell tea. Even though this made tea prices lower the colonists still didn't want to pay taxes to Britain. A group of protesters called the Sons of Liberty protested the Tea Act by dumping 342 crates of tea products into the Boston Bay.
Coercive Act
The Coercive Acts were something the colonists called the intolerable acts. They were laws passed by the British Parliament to help pay for all of the tea products lost without causing any other attacks. Colonists were no longer allowed to trade with Britain or other colonies. There were no town meetings allowed, And the quartering act was made stronger. This effected other colonies because there was no trade coming in so there are limited economic activities.