American Revolution Dbq Essay

On April 19, 1775, the American colonists and the British fought the battles of Lexington and Concord. General Gage of the British army ordered around seven or eight hundred men to march to the city of Concord, New Hampshire to seize gunpowder and weapons from the colonists. He also was hoping to arrest Samuel Adams and John Hancock who he had heard were in Lexington. Paul Revere heard of the British plan and rode to Lexington by night to alert the minutemen in Lexington. The militia formed under Captain John Parker, and numbered about 120 men. They used mostly old muskets or rifles and bayonets for those who had them. The British all were well armed with muskets and bayonets in this battle. While the minutemen mostly wore their normal farmer’s

Britain taxed them on everyday items they thought they needed such as sugar, molasses, and tea. They felt these taxes were not legal because they were not put to the use of the colonies, but rather all the money went back overseas to Britain. They also felt this was absolutely unfair because they as the colonies had no representation in the British Parliament. They felt all people had basic rights, such as life, liberty, and property, and taxes took from them and violated their rights. They felt they had done their part because they had fought for the British in the French and Indian war. They felt they needed independence because interactions with the British were leading to violence, such as the Boston Massacre and the Boston Tea Party, and because there was no way they could be represented well with a representative so far away. Independence looked like the only logical way out.

Being a wealthy business owner, however, there were multiple reasons to remain a Loyalist. They felt that s strong, united British Empire would be the best for all of them. They profited in trade from England and felt that the American colonies would be much weaker without the British. They also didn’t mind the taxes because they were to pay for the French and Indian war, and because they were

The Declaration of Independence stated to the outside world that the thirteen colonies were separating from English power and becoming their own independent country. The congress chose Thomas Jefferson to do the main writing of the document. It was approved on July 4, 1776, a day we continue to celebrate as the national holiday of Independence Day. As the President of Congress, John Hancock signed the Declaration first with his famous large signature. Even though the declaration was written with a smaller group considered as people at the time, it declared that all people had the basic right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and they were separating from Britain because they were taking away their rights as