The colonist held the Albany Congress. They discussed major issues at the time. Benjamin Franklin proposed the Albany Plan of Union. The plan requested that the colonies should create different layers of government. The English monarch would appoint a president-general that would represent them. Of course, their plan was rejected.
After the Seven Years Way England was broke for she had spent more money needed to win the war. Also winning the war gave the colonist a “we can do it spirit”. However because England now was facing debt she decided to tax the colonies. One the first acts passed was the sugar act passed in 1764. This Act was the raise revenue in American colonies. What it did was lowered the tax from six penses to three penses per gallon on foreign molasses. Molasses is a product made by refining sugarcane, grapes or sugar beets into sugar. This upset the colonist because before the sugar act they didn’t have to pay the tax so even if it was lowered that meant nothing for they now had to pay for it. A year later, in 1765, the Britain’s passed another act known as the Stamp Act. The Stamp Act put a tax on stamped paper, publications, playing cards, etc. Because it was on all paper products in a way it affected everyone; from the papers for the upper class such as lawyers, publications such as newspapers for the middle class, and playing cards for the lower class for entertainment. Next, the Townshend Act passed by Charles Townshend. This came in 1767, which imposed taxes on colonial tea, lead, paint, paper, and glass which just like the Stamp Act affected all of the classes in the colonist in the Americas. Though this act was removed three years later in 1770, it still left colonists with a warning that conditions may become worse. Around 1773, parliament passed the Intolerable Acts one of those acts which affected taxation was the Bost...
When the colonies were being formed, many colonists came from England to escape the restrictions placed upon them by the crown. Britain had laws for regulating trade and collecting taxes, but they were generally not enforced. The colonists had gotten used to being able to govern themselves. However, Britain sooned changed it’s colonial policy because of the piling debt due to four wars the British got into with the French and the Spanish. The most notable of these, the French and Indian War (or the Seven Years’ War), had immediate effects on the relationship between the colonies and Great Britain, leading to the concept of no taxation without representation becoming the motivating force for the American revolutionary movement and a great symbol for democracy amongst the colonies, as Britain tried to tighten their hold on the colonies through various acts and measures.
As an American observes the life around him, noting the many advancements made in merely the last century, he must wonder how America climbed to such a level. The 21st century technology, the military and political power, education and ethics, all came from such meager beginnings, solidified by the Revolutionary War. The Revolutionary War proved to be a significant turning point in the history of our country, but what caused America to win? What were some of the most significant factors in the victory of these American patriots? By examining these three particular factors, America’s military assets, it’s aid from other countries, and its own spirit of independence, one’s understanding of the Revolutionary War, an essential root of this nation, is truly increased.
According to the Merriam Webster Dictionary, a revolution is a “usually violent attempt by many people to end the rule of one government and start a new one.” The American Revolution resulted in “independence for thirteen of the British colonies in North America” (Foner and Garraty, 1991a). Acts such as the sugar act, the stamp act, and the tea act passed by British Parliament resulted in the “political, economic, cultural, and geographical” cataclysm that came to be known as the American Revolution because it angered the colonists, thus, resulting in rebellion and a need to separate the two governments (Yanak and Cornelison, 1993a).
The American Revolution (1775-1783) was a revolution was based on British implemented high taxes, which lead to the American revolting against the British authority. The reason why the American Colonialist revolted because they wanted representation in Parliament, which is the reason why many primary documents during this time emphasize “no taxation without representation”. With the events such as Stamp Act, the Boston Tea Party and the first shots fired upon of the revolutionary war at the battle of Lexington and Concord led the American Colonialist to sign the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. At the end of the revolution in 1783, Britain had lost significant land to the newly formed United States of America. However, during the American Revolution there was a different narrative that was unaccounted for; Colin Callaway’s book The American Revolution in Indian Country: Crisis and Diversity in Native American Communities explores the unaccounted stories of indigenous people and nations during the American Revolution.
In 1585 the English followed in the footsteps of the Spanish and traveled west to the new world for riches and fame, however the first successful colony in 1607. Once there they found a severe lack of gold and many hardships which threatened the colonies and as a result they were helped by the Native Americans to help, and they taught them how to survive. At first the colonies were very patriotic and proud to be British, but as time passed so did their patriotism and reliance on Britain. As their independence grew they started to disagree with the British ultimately many different variables induced the American Revolution, but they fall into three main categories social, political, and economic.
“Is there a single trait of resemblance between those few towns and a great and growing people spread over a vast quarter of the globe, separated by a mighty ocean?” This question posed by Edmund Burke was in the hearts of nearly every colonist before the colonies gained their independence from Britain. The colonists’ heritage was largely British, as was their outlook on a great array of subjects; however, the position and prejudices they held concerning their independence were comprised entirely from American ingenuity. This identity crisis of these “British Americans” played an enormous role in the colonists’ battle for independence, and paved the road to revolution.
According to Carl N. Degler, the entire Revolution should be viewed as a conservative change. In “A New Kind of Revolution,” Degler talked about how the new actions taken place by the English had help structure and shape the colonial government. Not only did the colonies lack the affection of their motherland, Britain, they were also taxed unfairly. On the other hand, “The Radicalism of the American Revolution,” by Gordon S. Wood talks about how the American Revolution was a radical movement. His thesis covered how the country was transitioning from monarchy to republic, and now, democracy. The framers wanted to create a free nation where no single person rule. As well as, the people of the nation having the ultimate say so.
When one explains his or her ingenious yet, enterprising interpretation, one views the nature of history from a single standpoint: motivation. In The American Revolution: A History, Gordon Wood, the author, explains the complexities and motivations of the people who partook in the American Revolution, and he shows the significance of numerous themes, that emerge during the American Revolution, such as democracy, discontent, tyranny, and independence. Wood’s interpretation, throughout his literary work, shows that the true nature of the American Revolution leads to the development of United State’s current government: a federal republic. Wood, the author, views the treatment of the American Revolution in the early twentieth century as scholastic yet, innovative and views the American Revolution’s true nature as
A new era was dawning on the American colonies and its mother country Britain, an era of revolution. The American colonists were subjected to many cruel acts of the British Parliament in order to benefit England itself. These British policies were forcing the Americans to rebellious feelings as their rights were constantly being violated by the British Crown. The colonies wanted to have an independent government and economy so they could create their own laws and stipulations. The British imperial policies affected the colonies economic, political, and geographic situation which intensified colonists’ resistance to British rule and intensified commitment to their republican values.
The period known as the American Revolution is remembered as a time of progress and growth. Many important Americans took part in creating documents that shaped the United States. Some of the most famous Americans like Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine, Phillis Wheatley and Patrick Henry wrote to persuade people to want to change. These men encouraged the American society to expect something better for their country. According to the Age of Reason writers, an American is determined, confident and initiative, when striving to achieve the “American dream,” which is the pursuit of prosperity and opportunity that drives people to push their own limits, persevere in order to lead successful lives and achieve whatever goals they
The American Revolution marked the divorce of the British Empire and its one of the most valued colonies. Behind the independence that America had fought so hard for, there emerged a diverging society that was eager to embrace new doctrines. The ideals in the revolution that motivated the people to fight for freedom continued to influence American society well beyond the colonial period. For example, the ideas borrowed from John Locke about the natural rights of man was extended in an unsuccessful effort to include women and slaves. The creation of state governments and the search for a national government were the first steps that Americans took to experiment with their own system. Expansion, postwar depression as well as the new distribution of land were all evidence that pointed to the gradual maturing of the economic system. Although America was fast on its way to becoming a strong and powerful nation, the underlying issues brought about by the Revolution remained an important part in the social, political and economical developments that in some instances contradicted revolutionary principles in the period from 1775-1800.
The British started to do direct taxation on the American colonies to pay off debt from the Seven Years’ War. This allowed the Parliament to earn money from the American colonies to pay off war debt and take control of trade, which profited the British. As for the colonists, this was found to be unreasonable due to the fact that the British were taxing the colonists because the British extra-curricular activities, such as the Seven Years’ War. This very much upset the colonists, but made the Parliament feel more at ease to gain money to pay off debt and make profit from colonial
From the 1770s to the 1780s, the American Revolution was extremely influential in developing the United States as a country, and creating the Constitution. This political upheaval was the colonists’ initial rebellious demonstration against the British, and heavily elaborated on the ideas of freedom from a dominating power, which reflected among all social divisions nationwide. From gender relations to the social hierarchy of the persecuted racial groups, every group was by some means affected by the American Revolution and the consequences that followed. The repercussions from the revolt were not entirely positive, despite the country’s newly-developed democracy and the citizens’ increase of political influence. The Revolutionary War had a