American Revolution Dbq

The American Revolution was, arguably, one of the greatest movements in all of human history — a revolution after which many others were modeled. In the 1600s, people emigrated from England to the Americas to start new lives. For many years, the bond between Britain and their colonies seemed to be one that would remain long unbroken. However, the separation of the colonies from their mother country was ultimately inevitable. As an effect of certain contemptible acts, increasing self-reliance, and various conflicts from the years 1763 to 1776, the colonies grew gradually disconnected from Great Britain and, eventually, revolted.
For a long time, before the Revolution, people who emigrated from Britain to the
Americas liked to call themselves

More importantly, the colonies were told that they were still represented in Britain, and yet they were being taxed on things that those living in Britain were not — this is otherwise known as “taxation without representation.” At first, less severe acts were put into motion; examples of these acts include the Townshend Acts of
1767, the Declaratory Act of 1766, and the Tea Act of 1773. However, the colonies did not view these acts as anything to take lightly, and, with the aforementioned acts in place along with others, they led to the Boston Tea Party. Enraged, the British presented, without a doubt, the most harsh of the acts inflicted upon the colonies. They were called the Intolerable Acts. These acts were implemented in the year 1774 and included the
Boston Port Act (the closing of the Boston Ports until the tea from the Boston Tea Party was paid for), the Massachusetts Government Act (revoking the right to selfgovernment),
Act for the Impartial Administration of Justice (British officials

As the colonies grew and matured, drawing away from England, their economy acquired a feeling of strong self-reliance. People progressed more and more: they built cities and churches and schools; prepared the soil to raise grain, tobacco and other crops and cattle; and they had grown strong in surviving the forests. The colonists realized that they were producing what they needed to be self-sufficient, so as to not be dependant on the products of Britain — they were succeeding in growing enough crops to survive on, and had raised cattle in such a way that they had excesses of meat. In addition to the thriving food sources in the colonies, there were also many flourishing businesses in the colonies that stimulated their economy. The British soon saw that the booming economy of the Americas was cutting down on their country’s profits, and took steps (namely, the aforementioned acts) to stint the economic growth of the colonies and bring revenue back to England. This self-reliance was basically just another catalyst in the complete disconnection of the colonies from