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Causes of the American Revoloution
by Dylan Curci
Summary of Navigation Acts
One of the first causes of the American Revolution were the Navigation Acts which began in 1651. These laws were created by England to limit the colonies' rights to trade with other countries. Britain wanted to keep all the benefits of trade within the British Empire and made it where the colonies could only sell to Britain and could only use English ships. The Navigation Acts were in affect for about 200 years and were obeyed by the colonist for the most part.
Navigation Act image
Proclaimation of 1763 image
Another cause was the Royal Proclamation of 1763. This was a British Law proclaimed by King George III after the French and Indian War. This proclamation made it illegal for the colonist to settle west of a line drawn along the Appalachian Mountains which is basically the land that that had just been acquired from the French and Indian War. This proclamation was put into effect to avoid war with the Natives by making it where the colonist could not buy land from or make agreements with them, only licensed traders could travel west and make deal with Indians, and limiting white settlers ability to attack the Natives.
Stamp Act image
The Stamp Act was a new tax imposed on the colonist by Britain in 1765 which made it where all words on printed paper, such as newspapers and legal documents, had to be taxed. The colonist were bothered by this tax because they viewed it as a way to raise money without their approval, not like taxes in the past which had more to do with regulating commerce. The colonist felt that that the only taxes they should have were ones they had decided on for themselves by their own representatives.
Quartering Act
Another thing that really angered the colonist and made them want to eventually revolt was the Quartering Act passed in 1765. This was a minimum of two acts imposed by the British Parliament, making it where the colonist had to provide British soldiers with housing accommodations and /or food when the soldiers were in their area. This law was sometimes abused by the British soldiers and the colonist resented it.
Townsend Act
The Townsend Act of 1767 imposed even more taxes on colonist for things like glass paint, oil, lead, paper, and tea. The purpose was to raise the salaries of some of the people in governmental and administrative positions (like judges) so that they would be on the side of the British in enforcing the laws. The tax money also went to maintaining the cost of keeping British troops in the colonies. The colonist found these taxes unfair and hated them.
The Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre happened on March 5, 1770. It was a street fight in Boston between colonist angry about all the taxes that had been imposed them lately (especially the Townsend Acts), and British soldiers. The angry patriot mob threw sticks, stones, even snowballs at the soldiers and the soldiers fired into the crowd killing five colonist.
The Tea Act
The Tea Act of 1773 was another act passed by the British Parliament that affected the colonist. Its purpose was to reduce the excess of tea made by the British East India Company in London, who wasn't doing so hot business-wise. Ships full of this tea were sent across the ocean to the colonist to be sold there. The act was not supposed to raise revenue nor impart new taxes, yet since the tea was one of the items recently chosen to be heavily taxed by the British, the colonist were angered. They left the tea to rot on the ships which then led to the Boston Tea Party.
The Boston Tea Party
On December 16, 1773, many angry American colonist disguised as Native Americans dumped 342 trunks of tea into the Boston Harbor. This was the cargo from the ships sent over as a result of the Tea Act. This was an act of protest by the colonist against King George III power and ruling in America. The Boston Tea Party was a key event in the start of the American Revolution.
Summary of American Revolution
There were many events that led up to the American Revolution. Under the rule of King George III, the British Parliament passed many laws regarding the American colonies which imposed heavy taxes and unfair rules, regulations, and demands upon the colonist. Most of all, the new laws were contrary to the colonist firm beliefs and that they would govern themselves and have no taxation with representation. The repeated violation of this standard caused the colonist to become more and more angry and resentful of the English government's treatment of the colonies. Their desire for fairness and independence grew stronger and stronger with each of the incidents described above, particularly the Boston Tea Party. On July 2, 1776, the Continental Congress formally declared independence and the American Revolution began. America rose up against the British and became an independent country. The Enlightenment and the Great Awakening were some of the causes of the American Revolution. The Navigation Act, Stamp Act, and Townsend Act are all examples of economic policies that let to the American Revolution. Yes, I do think the colonist were justifies in declaring their independence due to the unfair taxes and rules imposed on them.