“The [ American ] Revolution...was in the minds and hearts of the people. This radical change in the principles, opinions, sentiments and affections...was the real American Revolution”- John Adams,1818. This quote symbolizes the reasons, and importance for the Colonists wanting freedom.Great Britain had left the Colonists to govern themselves till the 1760s.The Colonists developed different lifestyles than Britain. They had different perceptions of how a government should rule their citizens. They did not want to be controlled at Britain's behest. Unreasonable laws, and taxes were why the Colonists went war. Unreasonable laws were the reasons for going to war.After French and Indian War,the treaties of Paris and Hubertusburg in February 1763 were created. The treaties gave England new land from France. The Proclamation of 1763 prevented the Colonists from establishing settlements on land west of the Appalachian Mountains, because the land was pronounced Indian territory. Any colonist living in those territories had to return east of the Appalachian Mountains. This new land would have opened new doors for more economic opportunities. Also, Parliament issued the Quartering Act, which made the Colonist quarter British soldiers. British soldiers could come unexpected in Colonist homes, eat their food, stay in their homes for as long as they wanted, and the Colonist could not refuse. The Colonists did not see a reason for this, because the French and Indian War was over. They did not want to be under Parliamentary Sovereignty, because The Colonists felt like their lives were being dictated. Taxes were another reason the Colonists wanted to separate from Great Britain. In 1764, the Plantation Act, also known as the Sugar Act, was iss... ... middle of paper ... ...h soldiers were prosecuted and put on trial. Only two soldiers were found guilty of manslaughter. The Sons of Liberty used this event to make the Colonists understand that they needed to secede from Great Britain. In conclusion, the Colonists went to war against the British, so they could be free. They went to war to escape the suffocating bureaucracy of Britain. They had their own views of democracy that did not include a monarch and wanted to govern themselves with their own principles. Works Cited the qoute came from - http://www.revolutionsolution.com/revq.html http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-boston-massacre The revolutionary war by Josh Gregory
From 1754-1763, Britain fought the French and Indian war. Although Britain had won the war, they still had a lot of war debts to pay off. Britain turned to the colonies to pay off their debts by taxing them. The taxes angered the colonists because they believed it violated their rights. Benjamin Franklin had initially proposed the Albany plan of Union to unite the colonies, however this law was rejected by all of the colonial governments. It wasn't until after all of the British laws and taxes that the colonies would unite and write the Declaration of Independence.
The soldiers were trialed for murdered but were found innocent. Afterwards, a group of men formed named The Sons of Liberty. The Sons of Liberty lead protest in Boston. A key event leading to the revolution was the Boston Tea Party. The Boston Tea Party was a protest lead by the Sons of Liberty. The group of men dumped the imported tea and further eroded the relations with Britain. After the Boston Tea Party, the colonist refused to drink British tea. As stated in Tom Gage’s Proclamation, “Whereas the rebels hereabout, Are stubborn still, and still hold out; Refusing yet to drink their tea, In spite of Parliament and me” Furthermore, the British were becoming annoyed by the colonists actions. Therefore, the British passed the Intolerable Acts. The Intolerable Acts, as the name predicts, made the colonists furious. The British had passed the Intolerable Acts precisely to punish the Massachusetts colonist. The Acts consisted of the Massachusetts Bay closing, until tea was paid for, and a new Quartering Act, The new Quartering Act allowed British Troops to be stationed in private homes if necessary. Also, it gave power to the crown to elect all officials in
The colonists were in every right, aspect and mind, not only justified but also it was about time that they stood of and actually take action against the British. The choice of going to war with them, was the only choice that they had. All diplimatical options that they had ceased to stand a chance against the tyrant Britain. From the very beginning when the colonists felt upset against their mother country and the way that they went about the law making, up until the beginning of the war, they tried all diplimatical options that they had, by sending letters, you name it. When they didn’t work then they had no other means but to declare war.
Being unjust and unfair to someone will eventually lead up to something major in this case it was the break away from Britain. The question “Were the American colonists justified in waging war and breaking away from Britain?” is important because it really expands and expresses the dangers and struggles the colonists faced back then. It proves the decision the colonists had made was the right decision to make. This is especially important today because if the colonists hadn't decided to split from the British then we would have not reached the freedom we have
During the early development stages of our country, there came a time when the overpowering mother country of Britain imposed a new system of taxation to control the colonies and the colonists. The Sugar Act of 1764 was the first step in bringing the new taxation system into affect. The Sugar Act, which replaced the Molasses Act of 1733, was designed to raise income without regulating the trading system that the colonies had established. Soon, Britain began to establish methods of taxes without any method of representation of the colonies and this angered the colonists. The power of Parliament to tax the colonies for the purpose of trade regulation had always been ac...
The colonists during and before the Revolutionary War believed that they had many well-thought reasons to rebel against England. Some of the most popular reasons would have to be the concept of "Taxation without representation" and the famous Stamp Act. Many colonists were not so concerned with taxes so they sided with the reason of the British restricting their westward expansion. But those colonists who did not go along with those excuses for rebellion just plain hated the British for invading their homes. But a single question arises: "What put all of these strong feelings toward Britain into the minds of the colonists?" The answer is simple: Propaganda.
After the French Indian War ended, the Britain was in debt, and they also wanted to have more control of the colonies, and the colonists. They passed different acts and procedures in order to collect money, and hold the control of the colonists, and the colonies. Yet the colonists were not given any representation, and they were losing their freedoms one by one; these caused a serious tension between Britain and the colonies, which eventually lead to the American revolution, followed by the Declaration of Independence. The colonies were justified for declaring independence from England, because the king of England caused “repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over the states”("The
The Boston Massacre occurred in the evening of March 5, 1770. A crowd of people began harassing the soldiers. One event lead to another and the crowd began hurling snowballs and rocks. One of the snowballs stuck a soldier and he fired his weapon causing a series of shots toward the crowd. “...the frightened soldiers fired into the crowd.” (Doc 3). As a result of this incident, three people were killed on the scene and two were mortally wounded. The soldiers were also ordered not to fire. The colonists did not think that they should have been shot at or killed, this infuriated them. This event was said to have started the American Revolution. This leads to the British seizing power over the
The American Revolution, which began in 1775, ended two centuries of British rule for most of the North American colonies and created the United States of America. The American Revolution occurred when the American colonies got tired of being treated unfairly under the control of King George III and his parliment. Britain expected obedience from the American colonies regardless of the obscene laws they opposed on them. The American colonies, however, believed that they had certain rights that Britain should respect which included being treated fairly and justly. This raised ideas such as the ‘natural rights’ of individuals and the responsibility of the government to protect these rights (Goldfield page 159 par 1). Philosopher John Locke argued that governments could only rule if consent were given by the people it governed (Locke page 2 par 4). The colonists increasingly felt that they were not being ruled in a representative way by Britain, and began to demand ‘equality’ and since the British refused to give in, the American patriots rebelled violently against the British authority. A war erupted and the outcome the American colonies were seeking was freedom and independence. This began the American Revolutionary war, which lasted for 8 years and end in 1783(Goldfield page 160 par 4).
The colonies did not initially desire to succeed and become independent from the British, at first they were very proud of being British. Throughout the years of being a British Colony, The mother country of Britain committed actions that the colonists could not stand much longer. From taxation without representation to quartering British soldiers unwillingly, the tension built up until the colonists eventually rebelled. Some colonists remained loyal to the crown, while others joined the rebellion. These rebellious forces grew in strength and number, when the rebellion grew too big, the Revolution sparked. No longer would the colonist be forced to the British law, the colonists were willing to fight and die for their freedom. This event was
The events that lead to the American Revolution have convinced a part of the colonists that it had been justified. It did not begin with all the colonists wanting to revolt against Britain, but with the beliefs that were expressed through the English writers: Locke, Rousseau, and Hobbes who all had different opinions of what warranted a revolution. After the French and Indian War in 1754, the Proclamation of 1763 had been enforced, creating a tense relationship between the colonists and Britain. Although the American Revolution seemed rational from the perspective of the Patriots and Non-landowning free men, the Loyalists have believed that a revolt would be too hazardous.
Before the American Revolution, the colonists had many different ideas about how to settle the arguments with the king. Many wanted to break away and become an independent country. Others believed the colonists could not survive without the king, and there was a more peaceful approach. The colonists were justified in declaring their independence from England because there is “no taxation without representation” and the king broke the social contract.
This was also a result of Great Britain assuming they would need to step in and fight a war that the colonists instigated because the colonists failure to win the Seven Years’ War without assistance made the British troops opinion in their military abilities greatly decline. The colonists were angered by this proclamation because after a hundred years of salutary neglect they had formed their own governments and culture and way of doing things, and having the British government decide that they needed to be oversaw was a metaphorical slap in the face to them and offended them. The colonists also did not like that Great Britain was interfering in the colonies ability to expand westward. Another implementation by Great Britain as a way to take more control over the thirteen colonies and pay back debts was the Quartering Act which stated that colonists must house and feed British troops even in times of peace. This was implemented because Great Britain could not afford to build forts and buy food for the troops that were staying there long term while thy were still paying off the massive debts from the Seven Years’ War so this was a means to cut down on military costs. They
There are four major reasons that the rebellion of the colonists accumulated into a full scale revolution. The most indistinct of these four reasons is the old societal legacies of the colonies, namely: social, political, religious, and economic values. These deeply rooted values were ingrained and inherited from the generations of colonists, and once the British began upsetting those values, resentment set in and began to undermine the British authority. For example, many of those who came to America were of British decent; they loved being English and fancied that, as colonists, they were taking part in the building of a bigger and stronger British Empire. But to those in England, the Americans were no better than barbarians. The English did not view A...
The American Revolution was a war in which the colonists achieved political independence from their former rulers Great Britain. It was "the formulation of new principles of the relation of men to government, and of the relation of colonies to mother country. It was the inauguration of effective self-government and of social and economic equality."1 The colonists, in effect, achieved full autonomy from Great Britain through the American Revolution. The colonists felt (for the betterment of all Americans) that it was their duty and responsibility to rise up against their oppressors to form their own government. John Adams even states, "[that] the real American Revolution was a radical change in the principles, opinions, sentiments, and affections of the people. Above all, [the Revolution] was in the minds and hearts of the peopl...