The American Revolution (1765-1783) was an armed conflict that saw colonists reject Great Britain's rule, culminating in the United States' independence. On the other hand, the American Civil War was (1861 to 1865) an internal conflict pitting the Union against the secessionist states, ending in the abolition of slavery. The origin of the two conflicts had their roots in various factors. This essay evaluates whether the wars were fought for economic or moral reasons. The essay asserts that the two wars had their roots in economic factors as the antagonists sought to protect and advance certain economic interests. The causes of the American Revolution are dominated by economic factors as opposed to moral dynamics. In particular, the Revolution …show more content…
In an attempt to reduce smuggling by the colonists and thus increase tariff revenue, Parliament enacted the Sugar Act in 1764. Accordingly, the Act reduced tariffs on non-British commodities originating from the West Indies. In 1765; Parliament enacted the Stamp Act, requiring stamps for a wide variety of legal documents and non-legal documents. In the same year, Parliament enacted the Quartering Act that required the colonists to house British military units, transport them and provide provisions. The Townshend Acts of 1767 established a customs office to collect revenue across the colonies, and also imposed tariffs on an assortment of imported commodities (Archer, 2010, p. …show more content…
Initially, they tried to have the Acts reversed by lobbying and petitioning Parliament. Later, they resorted to boycotts. In 1765, for instance, representatives of nine colonies met in New York and agreed to boycott imported English commodities. Though the boycott and subsequent political pressure succeeded in forcing Parliament into repealing the Townshend Acts, Stamp Act, and the Sugar Act, Britain enacted the Declaratory Act. The Act affirmed Britain's full authority to enact laws to govern the colonies. By repealing the Acts, the Declaratory Act maintained, Britain had merely overturned the policies and not the principles. Thus, it was just a matter of time before Britain enacted new laws, the most significant of which was the 1773 Tea Act. The Act allowed the British East India Company to directly transport tea to America. In reaction, several colonists, in December, threw overboard chests of tea owned by the company. In response, Britain enacted a series of laws, collectively known as the Intolerable Acts. Among the effects of the Acts were the restriction of town meetings in Massachusetts and closure of the Boston port. These actions gradually fanned the embers of the revolution. Massachusetts patriots reacted by creating an alternative shadow regime and started training militia (Alexander, 2011, p. 187-94). By the time Britain was enacting the 1774 Quebec Act, the colonists had no much regard for new laws enacted
Throughout the years, many people have been taught that the reason the Civil War happened, was to abolish slavery all through the United States. Although that is true, there were more reasons why the Civil War occurred.Referencing will be done on different articles and writers to support the findings of the authors. The article “Slavery, the Constitutional, and the Origins of the Civil War” by Paul Finkelman, discusses about the North (union) and the South (confederacy) and the disagreement of the territories following the constitutional laws regarding slavery, the article explores both sides of the territories and their beliefs of how the situation of slavery should have been dealt with. The article “The Economic Origins of the Civil War” by Marc Egnal, discusses the North’s (union) and the South’s (confederacy) economic situation that could have pushed the two territories to engage in war with one another. Finally, the last article “Politics, Ideology, and the Origins of the American Civil War” by Eric Foner, focuses on the Norths (union) and Souths (confederacy) views on politics and ideas of how each territory is ran and how they have affected the North and the South. These historians supplied specific and different explanations that explained what exactly caused the United States to enter into a Civil War. With the information provided by the authors, the evidence will lead us to the answer of what caused the Civil War.
When the British passed the Stamp Act, the colonists reacted in various ways. The Stamp Act, passed in 1765, put taxes on all printed goods in the colonies. Specifically, newspapers, legal documents, dice,
With out competition the East India Company had full control over the prices they set. This infuriated the Colonists. Pamphlets and protests did not seem to be cutting it anymore, so some felt like action needed to be taken. The Sons of Liberty answered the call. In an act of defiance, “a few dozen of the Sons of Liberty, opposing new British laws in the colonies, systematically dumped three shiploads of tea into Boston harbor. They acted to prevent the royal authorities from collecting taxes on that import” (Bell). This made left Parliament infuriated. They did what they only know how to do and put a tighter squeeze on the colonists. Their answer was the Coercive Acts, also known as the Intolerable Acts in the Colonies. The first of these acts was the Boston Port Bill. This bill shut down the Boston Harbor, the livelihood of many Bostonians. It would not re-open until the tea that was dumped could be paid off. Another one of the Intolerable Acts was the Massachusetts Government Act, in which they had to hand their government over to royal officials. Many saw this as too far or unacceptable. As shown by the statement, “Most historians agree that the Intolerable Acts were among the leading causes of the American Revolution (1775–83) as the legislation galvanized opposition to British political and economic policies in the
In the first few months of 1773 the British East India Company found it was sitting on large stocks of tea that it could not sell in England. It was on the verge of bankruptcy, and many members of Parliament owned stock in this company. (USA, 1) The Tea Act in 1773 was an effort to save it. The Tea Act gave the company the right to export its merchandise without paying taxes. Thus, the company could undersell American merchants and monopolize the colonial tea trade. By October, the Sons of Liberty in New York, Philadelphia, and Boston threatened tea imports and pledged a tea boycott.
In the 1760s King George III enacted the Sugar Act and the Stamp act to gain extra revenue from his colonies. King George III decided to enact heavier taxes to put money back into the empire that had been lost after the French and Indian War. This act levied heavy taxes on sugar imported from the West Indies. The Stamp Act in 1765 required that many items have a stamp to prove that the owner had payed for the taxes on the item. The problem the colonists had with it was that it increased the presence of English troops in the Colonies and they felt it was unneeded and only meant to put more control into Great Britain's hands.
The imperial tactics of the British Empire were exercised on the colonists through heavy taxes trade restrictions because of their mercantilist economy. The Stamp Act taxed the colonists directly on paper goods ranging from legal documents to newspapers. Colonists were perturbed because they did not receive representation in Parliament to prevent these acts from being passed or to decide where the tax money was spent. The colonists did not support taxation without representation. The Tea Act was also passed by Parliament to help lower the surplus of tea that was created by the financially troubled British East India Company. The colonists responded to this act by executing the Boston Tea Party which tossed all of the tea that was imported into the port of Boston. This precipitated the Boston Port Act which did not permit the colonists to import goods through this port. The colonists protested and refused all of these acts which helped stir the feelings of rebellion among the colonists. The British Mercantilist economy prevented the colonists from coin...
Many revolutions have taken place throughout history, ranging from the unremarkable to the truly memorable, such as the French Revolution, the Bolshevik Revolution and the American Revolution. Through an examination of the social, cultural, economic and political causes of the American Revolution, an exploration of key arguments both for and against the American Revolution, and an analysis of the social, cultural, economic and political changes brought about by the American Revolution it can be demonstrated unequivocally that the American Revolution was indeed truly revolutionary.
Charles Townshend, chancellor of the Exchequer in a new British government, imposed new taxes on lead, paint, paper, and tea, known as the second Revenue Act of 1767(also known as the Townshend duties of 1767). The Townshend Acts controlled colonial trade by taxing necessary items by the colonies. Charles Townshend phased series of laws, denoted to as the Townshend Acts, firstly to execute importation of taxes on some profitable British merchandises sent to America. He charted the initial Townshend Act with others to restructure the colonial customs service and make it possible to assemble the duties taxes. He also granted that felonies against the revenue laws would be faithful by judges, selected directly by the monarch without being succumbed
The legislative assemblies in the colonies became accustomed to passing their own laws, especially regarding taxation. The Stamp and Sugar Acts were passed in the 1760’s, imposing a new tax on imports. Both laws were removed after protest, but the Intolerable Acts and the Tea Act were passed by Parliament, creating even more controversy. The colonists were greatly opposed to being ruled by a government that was thousands of miles
Next came the Intolerable Acts, a series of laws passed by Great Britain to punish Massachusetts for the Boston Tea Party and to strengthen British control over the Colonies. The Patriots viewed the Acts as a violation of the rights of Massachusetts, and in September 1774 they organized the First Continental Congress to organize a protest. As tensions grew, the American Revolutionary War officially commenced in April 1775.
The response to the Boston Tea Party from the British was to shut down Boston Harbor until all the crates of tea were paid for (Boston Tea Party Ship, n/a). They also enacted a few more acts, these acts have two different names. They are, the Coercive Acts and the Intolerable Acts. These acts contained The boston Port Act, the Massachusetts Government Act, the Administration Justice Act, the Quartering Act and the Quebec Act (Alchin, n/a). Because of these acts the colonists started openly rebelling more often to Britain's rule. They started to create their own governments and formed a continental
From 1861 to 1865, the United States endured a terrible Civil War between its northern and southern states over a variety of issues. However, even though this is a civil war, various countries impacted the war, and therefore impacted the American people. The American Civil War was a total war impacting those on the homefront, abroad, as well as those on the battle because of the U.S regional economies, and U.S. and Confederate relations with Britain and France.
To make the colonist pay for the war, the British passed acts, such as the sugar act and the stamp act. The colonist opposed both of these acts which led to the Townshend acts. This act taxed imports of lead, glass, paper, paint, and tea. The colonist reacted strongly to this act and in response British parliament passed the harshest act so far, the Intolerable acts. Colonists were
The economies of the North and South were vastly different leading up to the Civil War. Money was equivalent to power in both regions. For the North, the economy was based on industry as they were more modern and self-aware. They realized that industrialization was progress and it could help rid the country of slave labor as it was wrong. The North’s population had a class system but citizens could move within the system, provided they made the money that would allow them to move up in class. The class system was not as rigid as it was in the South. By comparison, the South wanted to hold on to its economic policy. In doing so, the practice of slavery kept the social order firmly in place. The economic factors, social issues and a growing animosity between the two regions helped to induce the Civil War.
The American Civil War was the bloodiest military conflict in American history leaving over 500 thousand dead and over 300 thousand wounded (Roark 543-543). One might ask, what caused such internal tension within the most powerful nation in the world? During the nineteenth century, America was an infant nation, but toppling the entire world with its social, political, and economic innovations. In addition, immigrants were migrating from their native land to live the American dream (Roark 405-407). Meanwhile, hundreds of thousand African slaves were being traded in the domestic slave trade throughout the American south. Separated from their family, living in inhumane conditions, and working countless hours for days straight, the issue of slavery was the core of the Civil War (Roark 493-494). The North’s growing dissent for slavery and the South’s dependence on slavery is the reason why the Civil War was an inevitable conflict. Throughout this essay we will discuss the issue of slavery, states’ rights, American expansion into western territories, economic differences and its effect on the inevitable Civil War.