Enlightenment to Independence: Causes of the American Revolution

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There were many diverse factors that precipitated the American Revolution. After the Enlightenment, there were colonists that believed they needed a new form of government. This new form of government would not have the power to have complete authority over their citizens, like what the British had over them. These colonists did not believe in being loyal to Britain, and supported the American Revolution. Most colonists however did not support the idea of branching away from the mother country of Great Britain, and went against the idea of the United States becoming its own country. The main causes behind the American Revolution included the Stamp Act, the Boston Tea Party, the Intolerable Acts, and the Quebec Act. The idea of a split between the United States and Great Britain was first thought of after the Stamp Act. The rift between the colonists and England grew stronger after the occurrence of the Boston Tea Party. The Intolerable Acts united the colonists and portrayed England as villains who were trying to destroy the colonists’ political freedom. The Quebec Act was the …show more content…

The Boston Harbor was closed by these Acts and would not be reopened until all the tea that was lost was paid off. It also Curtailed town meetings in Massachusetts and stopped elections of council members. The Parliament strengthened the Quartering Act, allowing military soldiers to lodge soldiers in the homes of the colonists. The Intolerable Acts united the colonies against the Acts that threatened the colonist’s political freedom. “That we scorn the chains of slavery; we despise every attempt to rivet them upon us (Farmington, Connecticut, Resolutions on the Intolerable Acts, 94),” describes how the American colonists saw the Intolerable Acts as a form of repression, making them equivalent to the level of

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