British Oppression In America

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The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines freedom as, “the absence of necessity, coercion, or constraint in choice or action, liberation from slavery or restraint or from the power of another”. While Americans proudly boast that their country is the land of the free, if they looked back on our nation’s history they would find this to be false. People love to point out the leaps and bounds our country has taken to be referred to as the land of opportunity, but by digging a little deeper in our nation's past, they would find an abundance in examples of oppression. As early as the colonies, the colonists were persecuted unfairly by British rule. Slavery proved to be an example of oppression that we are still feeling today, and often times, the tragedy of Native Americans in this country is overlooked. …show more content…

Looking to regain lost money from the 7 years war, Britain looked for a variety of ways to tax the American colonists. Acts such as the stamp act, the quartering acts, and the townshend acts were put into place so Britain could get the money they desperately needed. Americans were willing to pay the taxes, but they refused because Britain repeatedly taxed them without representation in Parliament. Enraged, many americans boycotted British products, making the taxes futile. Often times they held riots, attempting to fight back against the harsh British rule. 5 americans trying to protest British rule were shot and killed during the Boston Massacre. According to History Alive, the war happened because, “the American colonists had grown used to governing themselves, and they felt strongly about their right to do so” (77). If British parliament had simply given the colonists a voice in parliament and not oppress them as they did, then the revolutionary war may of never

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