Causes of the American Revolution
Ava Nielsen 1763-1776
Navigation Acts
The Navigation Acts started in 1650 when the British Parliament decided to create certain authorities on trading in the colonies. This was an effort to conduct mercantilism for England from the colonies. One of the two rules were that if any sugar, tobacco, or indigo were to be shipped out, it could only go directly to the empire. If any items were to be shipped past the empire, they had to go to England first. In attempt to try and grow the Navagation Acts stronger, Parliament directed the Sugar Act in 1733 and the Currency Act in 1764.
The Proclamation of 1763
The Proclamation of 1763 was obviously written in 1763. It was organized by King George III after the French and Indian war, forbidding colonization west of the Appalachian Mountains. King George wanted to any contact with the Indians in effort to not have any wars with the Indians, because when men die, you lose money, and King George would be the one losing money. This made the colonists very bitter and annoyed and some of them ignored the rule, proving they were angry the British.
The Stamp Act
The Stamp Act started in 1765 which put taxation upon any paper goods including playing cards, letters, envelopes, etc. You had to purchase a seal, or stamp for any paper products. This whole act's purpose was to keep trying to pay off the debt England had from the French and Indian War, and to keep the colonists "protected." This act created much anger in the colonies, including a man named Samuel Adams. Sam began a group called the Committees of Correspondence. This group got in touch with other colonies and informed them about the taxes and how to fight them. This group performed boycott and protests, and many other things. Another group Samuel created was the Sons of Liberty, which was a ver large group of men that were annoyed with the British rules and used rampage to try and prove their message. After a lot of protesting the Stamp Act congress, decided to write King George a letter asking him to take away the act. This and the boycotts worked, and the king repealed the policy.
Quartering Act
The Quartering Act began in 1765 not long after the Stamp Act objections, when Britain sent more troops to the colonies. The British passed this act forcing colonists to "quarter" British soldiers. This stirred up even more rage in the colonies. The two main problems were that, the soldiers had writs of assistance, that the colonists did not really approve of. Secondly, the colonists were running short on money because housing the soldiers was very expensive.
Townshend Acts
The Townshend Acts were initiated in 1767. These acts taxed any imported tea, glass, paper, etc. This was another way to help pay for the costs of the Military during the Quartering Act. This again, made colonists bitter against the British. Instead of men, this time, a group of women named the Daughters of Liberty, decided to create and sew their own clothing instead of purchasing cloth from the British. Eventually Parliament abolished most of the acts except kept taxation on tea to prove they still had power.
Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre first started in March 5, 1770, when an argument went down between a colonist and a British soldier. Insults were thrown around and a crowd began to gather surrounding them. They started throwing snow containing rocks, and more and more angry people joined. Soon enough guns were shot. 5 people remained dead.
Tea Act & Boston Tea Party
In 1773 the Tea Act was created by Parliament which ordered the British East India Company the only company allowed to sell tea to the colonies. Even though tea's cost was lowered, the colonists were still very unhappy because they were told to help pay for the importation of tea. In 1773, on December 16, 1773, the Sons of Liberty disguised as indians and dropped 342 crates of tea into the Boston Harbor, this was called the Boston Tea Party.
The Sons of Liberty (SOL) dressed up as Indians.
They climbed onto British boats where the tea was located.
Then the SOL dumped more than 340 crates of tea into the Boston Harbor.
The Intolerable Acts
The Intolerable Acts began in 1774. This was to put upon consequences to the colonists for all the tea they wasted in the harbor. This law prevented all trade between Boston and Britain, also gave Britain control of the colony. This made other colonies angry because they needed Boston's trading for themselves as well, so this caused revolutionary thoughts to start up.
The American Revolution
The American Revolution was quite a long period of tension between the colonies and their mother country England. The main causes of the American Revolution was the French and Indian War, which led to many taxes on important items. Taxes were put on paper, tea, cloth, importation, etc. Which stirred up anger in the colonies. I am thankful the fighting has come to and end and I do think the colonists were justified in declaring independence from England.