Causes of the American Revolution
Aidan Parente 1763-1776
Navigation Acts
The Navigation Acts was an act passed by the parliament and used by Great Britain to practice mercantilism on the colonies. The colonist had to follow two rules which were they could only trade with the English and any thing going to any place but England need to go to England first. These laws began in 1650 and were never liked with the colonist but were fully opposed with the Sugar Act passing in 1733.
The Proclamation of 1763
King George III issued the Proclamation line of 1763 after the French and Indian War to prevent future wars with the Indians. The line was placed on the Appalachian Mountains and prohibited the colonist from passing it. This annoyed the colonist because they fought hard and won the right to settle the Ohio River Valley but were not able to colonize it because of the Proclamation.
The Stamp Act
The Stamp Act was a act passed by the Parliament in 1765 that put taxes on all paper goods. This was one of the ways to get back money the British lost in the French and Indian war. The colonies sent representatives to New York to talk about the Stamp Act and other taxes. They decided that only to colonial government should be able to tax the colonies. After the meeting Benjamin Franklin sent a letter to King George III. After a couple of boycotts and protest King George III had no choice but to repeal the Stamp Act. After the repeal the King passed a act stating that the Parliament should have complete over legislation in the colonies.
Quartering Act
The Quartering Act was passed in 1765 by the Parliament in response to the protest of the Stamp Act. The Quartering Act was where solders could stay in colonist houses at their own will. The colonist had to pay for the soldiers needs such as food. The soldiers could also search your house when ever they wanted to without a search warrant because of the writs of assistance. It was expensive to keep the soldiers and the colonist lost their scene of security.
Townshend Acts
The Townshend Acts were tax laws passed by the Parliament in 1767. The taxes were on tea, glass, paper and other goods. The acts were protested by the Daughters of Liberty who made their own cloth instead of buying it from the British. By 1770 almost all of the taxes were gone except the tax on tea because British wanted to show they still had power over the colonies. Anger grew in the colonies against the British government and in response the British sent more troops to the colonies.
Boston Massacre
On March 5, 1770 British soldiers fired on a rioting crowd. 5 people were killed with Crispus Attucks being the first to die. The soldiers were being insulted and had snowballs thrown at them, then more soldiers came and the mob grew louder and angrier. Soon thereafter shots were fired. Samuel Adams used the massacre as propaganda and tried to convince everybody to join the side against the British. His brother, John Adams, was on the side of the soldiers and defended them in their trials.
Tea Act & Boston Tea Party
The Tea Act was passed by the Parliament in 1773 and made the British have a monopoly over the colonies tea industry. Even though the Tea Act made the prices lower for tea it still angered the colonist because of the import taxes. The Daughters of Liberty made their own tea to boycott against the British. The Sons of Liberty dressed up like Indians and threw 342 creates of tea in to the harbor.
Coercive Act (Intolerable Acts)
In the spring of 1774 the Parliament passed laws under the name of the Coercive Acts called the Intolerable Acts by the colonist. It was made in response to the Boston Tea Party. Four laws were passed being the The Boston Port Act, The Massachusetts Government Act, The Administration of Justice Act, and The Quartering Act. The Boston Port Act closed the Boston port and was to punish Boston for the tea party. The Massachusetts Government Act made Massachusetts come under the British government instead of their own. The Administration of Justice Act was to protect British officials charged with capital offenses during law enforcement. The Quartering Act strengthened the Quartering Act put in play before.
The American Revolution
The American Revolution was between 1765 and 1783 and fought between the 13 Colonies and the British. Some social reasons for the revolution included the Boston Massacre and the Sons of Liberty protesting. Other reasons were because of the taxes in the Stamp Act and the Townshend Acts. I believe that the British were trying to control the colonies to much and that they had every reason to revolt against them.