Causes of the American Revolution
1763-1776
Causes of the American Revolution
The American Revolution is when colonists declared independence from England. Some social causes of the American Revolution include the Townshend acts, Boston Massacre, Tea Act and Boston Tea Party, and Coercive Act, also known as the Intolerable Acts. Other American Revolution causes are the Navigation Acts, The Proclamation of 1763, The Stamp Act and Quartering Act. The British economic policies that made colonists pay tax, house and feed British soldiers, transport goods only by English or colonial ships, and the stifling of colonial manufacturing and increasing resentment against the mother country led to the American Revolution. I think colonists were justified when declaring independence from England.
Navigation Acts
The Navigation Acts were made to put the theory of mercantilism into actual practice. Two rules colonists had to follow when trading goods were goods could only be transported by English or colonial ships and trade destined for nations outside had to go to England first. The most significant impact of the Navigation Acts was the stifling of colonial manufacturing and increasing resentment against the mother country.
The Proclamation of 1763
The Proclamation of 1763 was created after the French and Indian war. King George III issued the proclamation to avoid conflict and tension with Native Americans. The colonists were angry because the wanted to settle on the Native American's land.
The Stamp Act
The Stamp Act was created to raise funds to protect the colonists and pay the debt of the French and Indian War. It taxed anything printed on paper. The colonists were angry, so Samuel Adams created the Sons of Liberty to protest British colonies. Samuel Adams and the Committees of Correspondence protested by refusing to buy paper goods. King George III repealed the Stamp Act and approved the Declaratory Act after the boycott and Benjamin Franklin's address to parliament.
Quartering Act
The Quartering Act required colonists to house, feed and clothe British soldiers. Colonists didn't like having an army of soldiers with blank search warrants, also known as writs of assistance. Colonists also didn't like having to house British soldiers because it was costly.
Townshend Acts
The Townshend Acts taxed tea, glass and paper. The Daughters of Liberty protested the Townshend Acts by making their own cloth. In 1770 the British government continued to tax tea after the Townshend Acts were repealed. The Sons of Liberty, led by Samuel Adams, attacked the names of British officials and colonial tax collectors in response to the continued taxation of tea.
Boston Massacre
On March 5, 1770 a crowd gathered around a colonist arguing with a British soldier. The colonists shouted insults at the British soldier. More soldiers arrived and as the crowd got louder and angrier, shots were fired and 5 colonists were killed. Samuel Adams used the Boston Massacre incident as propaganda and shared news and ideas with people in other colonies. John Adams chose to represent the British soldiers after the Boston Massacre.
Tea Act & Boston Tea Party
The Tea Act made the British East India Company the only company allowed to sell tea. The colonists were angry with the Tea Act even though it made the price of tea lower because they didn't want to pay tax to Britain. The Sons of Liberty disguised themselves as Indians and dumped 342 crates of British tea into the Boston Harbor.
Coercive Act
The colonists called the Coercive Acts the Intolerable Acts. The Intolerable Acts enforced 4 laws, the laws stopped trade between Boston and Britain, did not allow town meetings, gave Britain control of the colony and strengthened the Quartering Act. The Coercive Act stirred revolutionary spirit throughout the colonies.