A Summary of the American Revolution

The British Parliament passed the Stamp Act in 1765 to raise revenue to pay a share of the empire's defense costs. The Stamp Act required the colonists to use specially stamped paper for all official documents, newspapers, and pamphlets. It provoked almost unanimous opposition among the colonists, who regarded it as a violation of the right of English subjects not to be taxed without representation. Riots broke out in colonial cities, and American merchants pledged not to buy British goods. Parliament repealed the Stamp Act in March 1766, yielding to the demands of economically depressed British merchants.

18 February 2011. "realism." The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2007. Credo Reference.

England was extremely upset by the Boston Tea Party and other deliberate acts of destruction of British property. They then passed the Coercive Acts, which was called the Intolerable Acts of 1774 by the colonists. The Intolerable Acts closed the Boston Harbor until the British East India Company was paid back for their loss. The colonists responded wit... ... middle of paper ... ...n 1781. However, the United States did not become formally free and independent until 1783 when Britain signed the Treat of Paris.

People argued toward the act for raising revenue, or used to pay royal officials in the colonies. Britain sent a seven-hundred pocket army to protect those customs, which angered the colonists. Later, the Massachusetts legislature wrote the Circular Letter to send to Britain, issuing that one cannot be taxed without direct representation. Adding on to the Townshend Acts’ mayhem was the ... ... middle of paper ... ... Gilje, Paul. “Boston Massacre.” Encyclopedia of American History: Revolution and New Nation, 1761 to 1812, 2010 American History Online.

When they taxed the tea – that of which the colonists could only buy from the British, the colonists told the British to take their tea ships home. The British refused. As a result, colonist Samuel Adams and the Sons of Liberty protested by sneaking on board the tea ships disguised as Indians and dumped the tea in its entirety into the Boston Harbor. The British, angered by this, closed the harbor and imposed more penalties ("Boston tea party," 2009). The American Revolution began shortly thereafter.

It led to revolts and protests and the persecution of multiple tax collectors. The rebellion was soon quelled when Washington sent over troops to the western states. The Whiskey Rebellion was a revolt led by farmers, Democratic-Republican societies, and the Whiskey Boys, which ended quickly when George Washing intervened and helped prove the capability of the federal government to implement laws in the United States. The Whiskey Rebellion's occurrence was mainly due to a man named Alexander Hamilton. In 1791, right around the time when the American Revolution was finally over and the Americans had won their freedom, America itself was still in debt to their financial aids that had assisted them during the war.

Hawley, C. (2003). U.S. foreign policy. Encyclopedia of American history: Expansion and reform, 1813-1855, 4, Retrieved August 14, 2008, from Facts on File: American History Online database. Hestedt, G. (2004). Manifest destiny.

Act levied a tax on the tea imported from the East India Company. The colonists got mad and destroyed 342 chests of tea. The Political causes of the Revolution were the proclamation of 1763 which were plans to reduce conflicts with the colonists and the Indians. It stated that no one was permitted to cross the mountains without the consent of British officials. American fur traders who wanted to settle the western lands resented the Proclamation.

Web. 26 Apr. 2014.

Thousands of Bostonians rioted, threatening the customs commissioners' lives and forcing them to flee the city. When news of the Liberty riot reached London, four regiments of British army troops-some 4,000 soldiers-were ordered to Boston to protect the commissioners. The contempt of British troops for the colonists, combined with the soldiers' moonlighting activities that deprived Boston laborers of jobs, inevitably led to violence. In March 1770 a riot occurred between British troops and Boston citizens, who jeered and taunted the soldiers. The troops fired, killing five people.