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The effects of the American revolution
Impact of the American Revolution
The effects of the American revolution
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The Surge of Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness “No taxation, without representation! No taxation, without representation!” This powerful maxim, running through the thick blood of the Bostonians and other Americans alike, was a cry for freedom. As the British encroached on American soil, colonists fought as an unbreakable band of soldiers and freedom fighters, never laying down their artillery of justice and liberty. With the Boston Tea Party at termination, a completely new beginning was erupting. The formation of the Coercive Acts came into effect, with the unruly Bostonians causing havoc when dumping thousands of pounds of tea into the Boston Harbor. With the British in a frenzy, the Parliament demanded change and forced laws …show more content…
Feeling unjustified and wiped clean of freedom, Bostonians rebelled. These partisan acts, the Coercive Acts, created a rebellion of justice, a hope of rebirth, and a mere glimpse of the start of a revolution. The Coercive Acts, to begin with, are the turning points of the American Revolution, which consequently led to the outrage of the colonists of Boston. These acts intended to suppress the uneasiness in Boston by closing the port and placing it under harsh law (“Continental Congress, 1774” n.p.). Many boycotted, while others remained in silence. Parliament passed five punctuate acts including; the Boston Port Act, the Massachusetts Government Act, the Administration of Justice Act, the Quartering Act, and the Quebec Act (Wallenfeldt 31). The first of these grandiose actions was the Boston Port Act, which stated …show more content…
Congressional representatives of all the thirteen colonies met in Carpenters’ Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Whitney 75). Enraged congressmen, Patrick Henry stated, “…British oppression has effaced the boundaries of the several colonies; the distinction between Virginians, Pennsylvanians, and New Englanders is no more. I am not a Virginian, but an American.” The British Parliament tore the colonies apart and America did not act as an indivisible nation, but rather many nations. All prosperity paid off, and the Continental Congress called all colonies to cease trades with Britain, until Britain stopped enforcing the laws that punished the people of Boston
Leading up to the time of the Revolutionary War, seven policies were passed by Britain in hopes of controlling the colonies. These acts culminated in the Quebec Act which persuaded many Americans into supporting the revolutionary effort. The Proclamation of 1763 was the first policy passed by the British. This forbid any settlement west of Appalachia because the British feared conflicts over territory in this region. The proclamation, however, infuriated the colonists who planned on expanding westward. The Sugar Act was passed shortly after in 1764. This act sought harsher punishment for smugglers. The next act to be passed was possibly the most controversial act passed by Britain. The Stamp Act passed in 1765 affected every colonist because it required all printed documents to have a stamp purchased from the British authority. The colonist boycotted British goods until the Stamp Act was repealed but quickly replaced by the Declaratory Act in 1766. The British still held onto the conviction that they had the right to tax the Americans in any way they deemed necessary. The Declaratory Act was followed by the Townshend Acts of 1767. This imposed taxes on all imported goods from Britain, which caused the colonies to refuse trading with Britain. Six years passed before another upsetting act was passed. In 1773, the Tea Act placed taxes on tea, threatening the power of the colonies. The colonies, however, fought back by pouring expensive tea into the Boston harbor in an event now known as the Boston Tea Party. The enraged Parliament quickly passed the Intolerable Acts, shutting down the port of Boston and taking control over the colonies.
When we hear about the Revolutionary War, one of the most popular phrases to be tied to it is “no taxation without representation,” and was coined from the fact that the colonies were being directly taxed without democratic representation. The fact that the American people did not have representation in Parliament while being taxed was virtually universally disapproved and was an extremely big factor in driving the American people to protect their democratic ideals through war in the years prior to the revolution.
After the Great War for Empire, the British parliament began carrying out taxes on the colonists to help pay for the war. It was not long from the war that salutary neglect was brought on the colonies for an amount of time that gave the colonists a sense of independence and identity. A farmer had even wrote once: “Here individuals of all nations are melted into a new race of men, whose labours and posterity will one day cause great changes in the world” (Doc H). They recognized themselves as different than the British, so when parliament began passing bills to tax without representation there was an outcry of mistreatment. Edmund Burke, a man from parliament, sympathized with the colonists: “Govern America as you govern an English town which happens not to be represented in Parl...
Up until the American colonies had become established, the colonists were highly dependent upon the military and economic support of Great Britain. Though the colonies Britain’s only concern was profit and not the wellbeing of the colonies, especially in Boston, the desire for this support, as well as the necessity, dissipated. As this happened, two groups were formed; the Tories, who supported staying with England and loyal to the king, and there were the Whigs, who supported liberty and patriotism and wanted the right to self-government. The colonists did not want to secede from England until they felt it absolutely necessary, by which point news of the British military occupation in Boston was spreading throughout the colonies, and with
A considerable lot of the settlers started crying 'No imposing taxes without any political benefit (Boyer 100). The best effect stir in what is known as the Children of Freedom. A pilgrim mystery association made out of traders, attorneys, agriculturists, workers which joined the protection from English run the show. They attempted to request of the legislature for a review of grievances, however the administration declined to regard the prominent objection against strategies that the general population considered oppressive. At long last, in 1773, a gathering of residents chose to dissent in a way the administration couldn't disregard. On December 16, they hurled 342 containers of English tea into the Boston harbor. That was the primary Casual get-together dissent in America, and it is appropriately celebrated as an image of the assurance of the American individuals to be free as opposed to enabling an oppressive government to disclose to them how to experience their lives (Aptheker
These acts were also known as Coercive Acts and they included the Boston Port Bill, Quartering Act, Administration of Justice Act and the Massachusetts Government Act. A new governor, General Thomas Gage was appointed to enforce them.
The war had been enormously expensive, and the British government’s attempts to impose taxes on colonists to help cover these expenses resulted in chaos. English leaders, were not satisfied with the financial and military help they had received from the colonists during the war. In a desperate attempt to gain control over the colonies as well as the additional revenue to pay off the war debt, Britain began to force taxes on the colonies. Which resulted in The Stamp Act, passed by parliament and signed by the king in March 1765. The Stamp Act created an excise tax on legal documents, custom papers, newspapers, almanacs, college diplomas, playing cards, and even dice. Obviously the colonist resented the Stamp Act and the assumption that parliament could tax them whenever and however they could without their direct representation in parliament. Most colonials believed that taxation without their consent was a violation of their constitutional rights as Englishmen. Which is where the slogan “No Taxation without Representation” comes
The Coercive Acts were a series of four verdicts that were established by the British administration to bring about submission amongst the colonists. The first of these acts, The Boston port act, was a law that closed the port of Boston until the east India company had been repaid for the tea destroyed in the events of the Boston tea party in protest of the taxes that were imposed. The Colonists had objected, and felt that the port
The Intolerable Acts/Coercive Acts of 1774 were passed shortly after the Boston Tea Party. These Acts included the Boston Port Act, the Massachusetts Government Act, the Administration of Justice Act, and the Quartering Act. It restricted government in the colonies and gave British great power over the colonists.
Now, able to express their grievances and frustrations, the Colonies were able to essentially “stick it to the man” against Britain. Thomas Jefferson writes how Great Britain’s king had “impos[ed] taxes on [them] without [their] consent,” and “depriv[ed] [them] of the benefits of trial by jury.“ He goes on to say that the king had abolish[ed] [their] most valuable laws; and alter[ed] fundamentally the forms of [their] governments.” (Baym 342) This list of complaints goes on and on. The king took away all of their fundamental rights, and the colonists were fed up. Thomas Jefferson says that he didn’t just take away their rights, but he took away their basic human rights, and “waged cruel war against human nature itself, violating its most sacred rights of life and liberty in the persons of a distant people who never offended him.” (Baym 343) These are very strong words from Thomas Jefferson, but they reflect the way these colonists felt. They were angry, and they had every right to
The Coercive Acts of 1774 were passed by Parliament on March 28, 1774, in response to the Boston Tea Party, as a punishment to Massachusetts and as a warning to the other colonies to not participate in rebellious acts. The Coercive Acts, however, became loathed by the colonists, who renamed it “The Intolerable Acts.” The Coercive Acts were actually five acts, (officially they were four acts), that colonists viewed as unjust and divesting. The first act, The Boston Port Act, closed all ports in the Boston Harbor until the price of the tea destroyed was reimbursed, and the culprits that destroyed the tea were brought to justice. This greatly affected the Boston economy due to it being a trading city, however, the other colonies did aid the colony of Massachusetts during
The Stamp Act and the Coercive (Intolerable) Acts was what pushed the Massachusetts Colony to seek freedom from England. “The Stamp Act imposed a tax on all paper used for official documents…”(Roak 141). This placed greater taxation on the people which revenue was primarily sent to England for profit. Massachusetts was not going to serve as an example of exploitation from England. They decided to act upon the irrational laws against England. The second act under the Coercive Acts, established “…underscoring Parliament’s claim to supremacy over Massachusetts” (Roak
As a result of the Boston Tea Party the British shut down the Boston Harbor until all the tea that was thrown into the harbor was paid for and also implemented the Coercive Acts or the "Intolerable Acts". They were a series of four acts established by the British to restore order in the colonies. By enforcing these acts the British hoped it would send a message to the other colonies and they would not join forces with the Massachusetts colony. Instead, the other colonies came to their defense, sending supplies and establishing the First Continental Congress which met in Philadelphia in September 1774. Representatives from each colony (except Georgia), met to discuss their relationship with Britain and how to attain their own rights
The Coercive or Intolerable Acts (1774) were the American Patriots' term for a series of punitive laws which were passed by the British Parliament in 1774 after the Boston Tea party. This act was known more widely as Intolerable Acts by American. “ It’s object was to provide a civil government for the French-speaking Roman Catholic inhabitants Canada and the Illinois country.” (Brinkley p.125). It was passed to punish the Massachusetts colonists for their defiance in throwing a large tea shipment into Boston harbor. From what I learned from this chapter, I agree with the Patriots, because they were being taxed without any say or representation in the British government, and also British personnel were causing violence, riots, and death (Boston
The Intolerable Acts of 1774 greatly fueled the First Continental Congress. In response to the Boston Tea party, the British Parliament decided that a series of laws were needed to calm the rising resistance in America. “One law closed Boston Harbor until Bostonians paid for the destroyed tea. Another law restricted the activities of the Massachusetts legislature and gave added powers to the post of governor of Massachusetts.” As one can imagine, the American colonist viewed this as the British attempt to curtail their quest for independence.