Causes of the American Revolution
Jackson Kruse 1763-1776
The American Revolution was when British taxed the colonies and the colonists did not like it. They rebebeled with many different acts. The American Revolution caused a lot of violence. The Sons of Liberty would pour tar on people to express their anger toward the British. The British needed more money so that is the reason why King George taxed the colonies. I think the colonists had the right to be angry because they live in America and not England, but I think the Sons of Liberty took it way too far.
Navigation Acts
The purpose of the Navigation Acts was to put Mercantilism into actual practice. Trade with the colonies could only be used with English or colonial ships, and only certain items (such as sugar, tobacco, or indigo) could be shipped within the empire. The Sugar Act was when a duty was placed on was placed on sugar from the French West Indies, forcing the colonists to pay more money on sugar, which angered them. The stifling of manufacturing and making the colonists more angry was the most significant result of the Navigation Acts.
The Proclomation of 1763
The Proclomation was created after the French and Indian War. King George III issued the Proclomation because he wanted to avoid more conflict with the American Indians. The Proclomation made the colonists very angry because the Indians were able to own land and the colonists couldn't settle west of the Appalachian Mountains. They didn't want British soldiers living among them.
The Stamp Act
The Stamp Act taxed anything that was printed on paper by making the colonists buy a stamp for paper products. This act was created to pay of the debt of the French and Indian War. Samuel Adams and the Committees of Correspondence protested by boycotting, so they refused to buy certain goods. Sam Adams also created the Sons of Liberty, which protested by using violence. At the Stamp Act Congress they decided that only colonial governments should tax the colonies and they sent a letter to King George III to repeal the act. The king ended up repealing the Stamp Act and the colonists celebrated.
Quartering Act
After the Stamp Act protest, Britain sent more troops to the colonies. The Quartering Act required the colonists to hues and feed the British soldiers. There was also blank search warrants by the soldiers. The colonists didn't like the search warrants and they also didn't like how they had to pay for food for the British Soldiers. The writs of assistance was another name for the blank search warrants.
Townshend Acts
Items that were taxed with the Townshend Acts were imported tea, glass, paper, and other items to pay for rising military costs due to the Quartering Act. The Daughters of Liberty protested by making their own cloth instead of using British cloth. After the Townshend act was repealed in 1770, the British government continued to tax tea. The Sons of Liberty protested by using violence and attacking the homes of Britsh officials and colonial tax collectors.
Boston Massacre
On March 5, 1770, a crowd gathered around an angry colonist arguing with a British soldier. Colonists began to shout insults at the soldier and threw snowballs at him. More soldiers came and they shot and killed five colonists. Samuel Adams used the massacre as propaganda. John Adams, Samuel Adam's cousin, chose to represent the soldiers to show the colonists that they have the right to a trial by jury for all citizens.
Tea Act & Boston Tea Party
The Tea Act made BEIC the only company allowed to sell tea to the colonies. Even though the price of tea was made lower, the colonists were still angry that they were forced to pay taxes to Britain. The Sons of Liberty responded by illegally boarding ships and dumping 342 crates of British tea into the Boston Harbor. This became known as the Boston Tea Party.
Coercive Acts (Intolerable Acts)
The colonists called the Coercive Acts the Intolerable Acts. The laws that were enforced as a result of the acts were that all trade between Boston and Britain was stopped, there was to be no town meetings, British got control of the colony, and the Quartering Act was strengthened. This stirred revolutionary spirit among the colonies.