Causes of the American Revolution
Lake Silcott 1763-1776
Navigation Acts
The Navigation acts were made in 1650 so Mercantilism could be put into effect between England and the colonies. The colonies had to use English ships and their goods had to be shipped to England to be taxed before it went to its destination. The colonists were angered by the strict rules set on shipping.
The Proclamation of 1763
The Proclamation of 1763 was created after the French and Indian war. The Proclamation stated that settlers could not go west of the Appalachian Mountains. King George III issued this proclamation to prevent future fights and wars with the Native Americans. This angered the settlers because they had just won a war to claim that land.
The Stamp Act
The Stamp act was made in 1765, It was created so the English could make money to pay the their large war debt. This act taxed any paper goods sold to the colonies including books, playing cards, newspaper, and more. This cause the colonies to boycott these products and they ended up getting King George III to repeal the act.
Quartering Act
The Quartering Act was after the stamp act, it required colonists to house British soldiers if they needed a place to stay. The troops were in the colonies to keep order after the Stamp Act angered many colonists. The colonists were angered by this act for two reasons, soldiers used the homes supplies, and the soldiers could search homes without a warrant.
Townshend Acts
The Townshend acts were applied to the colonies in 1767. It taxed goods such as tea,blasts, paper, and other items. This enraged colonists and a group called The Daughters of Liberty began making their own clothing to boycott a part of this act. The Act was repealed three years later, but Britain continued to tax tea to show the colonists that Britain still had power over the colonies. The Sons of Liberty, led by Samual Jackson, led violent attacks against the British for the continued tax on tea.
The Boston Massacre
On March 5, 1770, a crowd began yelling and insulting a group of British soldiers. The British soldiers were theology the people to stop and they were pointing the weapons, but the group was infuriated and continued the assault. The soldiers opened fire and fife colonists were killed. It was later used as propaganda against the Brititsh by Samual Adams.
Tea Act & Boston Tea Party
The Tea act stated that the only company that could sell tea was the British East India Company (BEIC) The price of tea was drastically reduced, put the colonists were still angry that they had to pay import taxes. To repeal the act, The Sons of Liberty dressed as Native Americans and boarded a British ship and dumped nearly 350 crates of tea into the Boston harbor waters. The British were enraged by the attack which led to the Intolerable Acts.
Coercive Act (Intolerable Acts)
After the Boston Tea Party, the British created four laws to restrict Bostons shipping freedoms. these laws were meant to punish Massachusetts for the unlawful attack on the shipping boat and the tea, ended up outraging the colonies. The Intolerable act sparked the American revolution, which had been put in motion at the very beginning.
American Revolution
To sum everything up: The British needed money to pay for the war debt that the French and Indian war had made, so they began taxing and restricting the colonies. The Navigation acts were put into effect for Mercantilism, some acts like the stamp act taxed the colonists, and some like the Proclamation on 1763, restricted the colonists. This buildup finally led to the American revolution, where group like the Sons of Liberty began to rally and riot against the British and began pushing them back to England.