The Revolutionary War: The Roots of the American Dream

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War is known to have a substantial effect on the lives of every person in that country. In the United States the American dream, in any interpretation, is either improved or lessened depending on if what we are fighting for is worth the sacrifice. For example, the Afghanistan War is commonly known to be hindering the American dream; there is no proof of direct improvement or intentions to improve the way Americans live. Inversely, in the Revolutionary War we were fighting for the freedom of our country from England. Without this need for freedom the American dream wouldn’t exist. The events leading up to Battle of Lexington and Concord, specifically the Sugar and Stamp Acts, showed that Americans realized the dream they sought and the basis of it: freedom and independence.

The reason for revolution in America during the eighteenth century was not due to a single event but rather the difference in ideology from people living in America and the rule in Great Britain. Americans, as a country, realized that they wanted the same freedom the British had, instead of being used as a source of income. There are many struggles that Americans encountered in this thirst for freedom, occurrences like harsh taxes on necessities and retaliation of British officials.

There was a chain of events that sparked revolution. Leading this chain of events was the implementation of the Sugar Act on April 5, 1764(Ushistory.org). The Sugar Act enforced importation taxes on molasses and proposed new taxes on other foreign goods that were not taxed before; sugar; certain wines; coffee; and other various goods (Ushistory.org). The Sugar Act also regulated the exports of lumber and iron. The previous importation tax on molasses was hardly enfor...

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...nd the American Dream.

Works Cited

"The Stamp Act." Ushistory.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 2011. .

"The Sugar Act (Molasses Act)." The Civil War. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Apr. 2011. .

"Sugar Act." N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Apr. 2011. .

"The Sugar Act." Steven Thomas, Jan. 2009. Web. Apr. 2011. .

"The Sugar Act." Ushistory.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Apr. 2011. .

"A Summary of the 1765 Stamp Act : The Colonial Williamsburg Official History Site." Colonial Williamsburg Official History Site. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 2011. .

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