Causes of the American Revolution
Kendall Oh 1763-1776
Navigation Acts
The Navigation Acts were laws that put the idea of mercantilism into action. With the Navigation Acts, colonists could only use British ships when trading, and the colonists were only given permission to trade with England. Part of the Navigation Acts was the Sugar Act, which placed a duty on sugar being imported from the French West Indies, so the colonies had to purchase much more expensive sugar from the British West Indies. The most significant impact of the Navigation Acts was the increase in resentment from the colonies to England, the mother country.
The Proclamation on 1763
The Proclamation of 1763 was a law created and enforced after the French and Indian War was over. King George III issued the proclamation in an attempt to reduce debt caused by the war. The Proclamation of 1763 stated that colonists were not permitted to settle west of the Appalachian Mountains. This frustrated colonists because they had just fought and won the land that they now were not allowed to settle on.
The Stamp Act
The Stamp Act was a law that placed a tax on all paper goods. It was created in an attempt to decrease war debt. Samuel Adams and the Comittees of Correspondence protested the Stamp Act by boycotting and not buying paper goods. Also, Samuel Adams and the Sons of Liberty used violence to protest against the British. At the Stamp Act Congress, nine colonies met in New York and wrote a letter to King George III asking for the Stamp Act to be repealed. King George III then agreed to repeal the Stamp Act.
Quartering Act
The Quartering Act was a law passed that forced colonists to house, clothe, and feed British soldiers who came into the colonies. Two major issues colonists had with the Quartering Act were that it was very expensive to feed and clothe colonists, and that they didn't enjoy British soldiers being able to randomly search and investigate your house. Writs of Assistance were a part of the Quartering Act. They were standing armies of soldiers with blank search warrants.
Townshend Acts
The Towshend Acts were laws that placed taxes on common household items, such as tea, glass, paper, cloth, and more. A group called the Daughters of Liberty protested the Townshend Acts by making their own cloth rather than purchasing British cloth and having to pay the tax. The Towshend Acts were eventually repealed but even after they were, the British government still continued to tax tea to show that they still had power. The continued taxations angered colonists. The Sins of Liberty protested with violence against British tax collectors due to their anger.
Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre took place on March 5, 1770. Colonists were gathered around and were arguing against British soldiers. Colonists started to throw snowballs at the soldiers and the mob began to grow. Soon British soldiers fired their guns and 5 colonists were killed. Samuel Adams used the Boston Massacre as a propaganda to show and prove how cruel the Britsh were being towards the colonists. Also after the Boston Massacre, John Adams represented the British soldiers to demonstrate that colonists had the right to trial a jury.
Tea Act and Boston Tea Party
The Tea Act was a law that stated that the British East India Company was they only company allowed to sell tea to the colonies, creating a monopoly. Although the Tea Act did reduce the price of tea, the colonists were still upset that they were forced to pay taxes to Britain. The Sons of Liberty responded to the Tea Act by dressing up like Indians, illegally boarding British ships, and dumping 342 crates of tea into the harbor. This event was known as the Boston Tea Party.
Coercive Acts
Due to the Boston Tea Party, the British government was very angry. In response, the created the Coercive Acts. The Coercive Acts were laws passed in order to make the colonists pay for all the tea they dumped into the harbor. These laws were as follows: trade between Boston and Britain was stopped, town meetings in the colonies were not allowed, Britain gained full control over the colonies, and the Quartering Acts were strengthened and enforced even more. The colonists called the Coercive Acts the Intolerable Acts because they were so harsh. The Coercive Acts caused the other colonies to develop a revolutionary spirit.
Causes of the American Revolution
The American Revolution was the 13 colonies wanting to separate and gain freedom from their mother country, Britain. Some social causes of the American Revolution were that Britain had left the colonies alone for 150 years in salutary neglect, and then suddenly they are forcing laws on the colonies to pay off war debts. Also, Britain was very over controlling of the colonies. Economic reasons for the Revolution all had to do with war debts. After the French and Indian War, Britain found themself in major debt. To try and get rid of that debt, Britain made up a bunch of laws that forced the colonists to pay money on taxes. They created the Stamp Act, Townshend Act, Sugar Act, and Tea Act to make colonists pay taxes. I think colonists were justified in wanting to separate from Britain because Britain was being very unfair to the colonies.