Causes of the American Revolution
1763-1776
Navigation Acts
The purpose of the Navigation Acts was to put mercantilism into action. The colonists weren't allowed to trade with any place but the Empire. They could only trade with other countries if they asked the authorities in England first. The sugar act was part of the navigation acts, and was that sugar coming from the French Indies was taxed heavily. Colonists were outraged that they had to pay more money for sugar. The most important outcome from the navigation acts was the increase in tension between the colonies and England.
The Proclaimation of 1763
The Proclamation of 1763 was created after the French and Indian war. It was created by King James the Third to stop costly wars with Native Americans. The colonists ignored the Proclaimation because they thought they deserved the land that they fought for.
The Stamp Act
The Stamp Act was the taxation of anything on paper. It was created to pay for the many British debts after the French and Indian war. Samuel Adams and the Committees of Correspondence protested the Stamp Acts by boycotting paper products. The Sons of Liberty were created by Samuel Adams to protest British laws using violence. The Stamp Act Congress discussed the taxes and how to deal with them. In the end, King George the Third repealed the Stamp Act and gave the highest legislature authority over congress in the colonies.
Quartering Act
In response to the Stamp Act Protests, Britain sent even more soldiers to the colonies. This was called the Quartering Acts, and the soldiers lives with colonists. The colonists didnt like having to live with a group of soldiers that could legally search their house at any time, and the cost of soldiers' living was expensive. Soldiers had writs of assistance (blank search warrants) in order to search people's houses at anytime.
Townshend Acts
The Townshend Acts were the taxation of imported tea, glass, paper and other items from England. The daughters of Liberty made their own cloth instead of using British cloth to protest the Townshend acts. Even after the Acts were repealed, British tea was taxed by the British government. The Sons of Liberty responded to this by attacking British officials and colonial tax collectors.
Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre took place on March 5, 1770, because a protesting mob started rioting. British officials shot into the crowd, killing 5 people. Samuel Adams responded to the Boston Massacre by holding the incident as blackmail against the British. After the massacre, John Adams represented the soldiers in court to ensure that ALL colonists have the right to a fair trial.
Tea Act and Boston Tea Party
The tea acts was a law that says the British East India Company is the only company that can sell tea to the colonies. Even though this company's tea was less money, there was a higher import tax, making colonists mad. In protest to this law, the Sons of Liberty took 342 crates of British tea and dumped them in the Boston harbor.
Coercive Act (Intolerable Acts)
The colonists called the Coercive acts the Intolerable acts because the laws were so harsh. The "intolerable" acts were the loss of town meetings, no more trade between Britain and Boston. Britain also gained full control over the colony and the Quartering Act increased. The other colonies responded to the intolerable acts by trading their goods with Boston.
The American Revolution
The American Revolution took place from 1765-1783 and it was when the British colonists starting resenting and disobeying British rule. The colonists rejected British rules because they thought they were too harsh, and that began a social problem. The British would raise taxes and make new laws to pay for a large amount of war debt, which differed the economy. I think the colonies were justified in declaring independence from England because the English king ignored them for many years and then increased harsh laws very suddenly. The king also created unjust and illegal laws and that wasn't fair to the colonies.