During the years leading up to the Revolution, the British monarchy applied a variety of tactics to create an obedient America. As time went on and both the population and territory grew, British authority began to slip and in order to create obedience and retain control, Parliament imposed unjust legislation that often resulted in monetary punishment in the form of high taxes. Unfortunately, the tactics used created more animosity and tension than they did harmony. After a long series of various tax acts, the British administration pushed colonists to the point they had to make a choice between living under the oppression of Britain, or standing up and fighting for freedom. Although there were many different causes that lead up to the Revolution itself, some of the most important causes that influenced the war were the various tax acts and the colonists ability to fight back for freedom …show more content…
[4] Riots and violent outbursts became routine against British representatives and they were hard to ignore. Colonists protests resulted in attacks against the stamp men, the capture of British customs vessels and property destruction. Andrew Oliver, a British Stamp Man, was just one such instance of mob violence. His place of business and his home were destroyed in defiance, his person was threatened. One governor wrote, that the “violent, licentious measures that have been taken here to prevent a submission to the Stamp Act” were such a cause for concern, he suggested that new stamps had to be put under the protection of British warships for landing and security purposes [5]. After months of riots, injuries to both people and property, as well as the disdain and flat out refusal to pay, the Stamp Act was repealed. Although a victory for the colonists, it was short lived as the Townshend Act shortly took its
Many colonists were not pleased with the Stamp act. “As to the Stamp Act, tho we purpose doing our endeavor to get it repeal’d. [Document G, Franklin in letter to Hughes]” The Townshend Acts of 1767 were a series of laws which set new import taxes on British goods and used revenues to maintain British troops in America; and to pay the salaries of some Royal officials who were appointed to work in the American colonies. The colonists were not happy with any one of these acts that were inflicted on
This surprised the British government. The colonists even threatened tax collects forcing them to quit their jobs or to even leave the colonies. Protests spread into the streets and groups like the Sons of Liberty encouraged the colonists to boycott British products. These boycotts soon hurt British businesses in the colonies. The British government was forced to repeal the Stamp Act.
After the citizens came together and wrote to newspapers, destroyed officials homes and violence against stamp distributors, and the merchants forming a non-importation agreement stating they would not buy or sell British manufactured goods until the Stamp Act was repealed, the Act was finally repealed on March 18,
The Patriots did everything in their power to slowly cut the ties off from the British government and the British crown. The Stamp Act threw the colonists over the edge. The colonists reaction was both violent and destructive, but their point was made. John Adams said that “ The people, even to the lowest Ranks, have become more attentive to their Liberties, more inquisitive about them, and more determined to defend them.” (John Adams, Diary, 18 December 1765).
Eventually, the port for Britain was closed which led Britain to consider removing the Stamp Act. The next attempt to remove Britain's acts was for the colonists to begin rioting, which was the most effective form of rebellion
The colonists was protesting for this law to be repealed. This event is in my least important position because the colonist just didn’t get a word in The Stamp Act. The Quartering Act In 1765 another law was passed called The Quartering Act where colonists had to house and feed the British. The colonists disliked housing the British because they didn’t do anything and only took up space.
This essay focuses on the appropriate action of the colonists in response to taxation imposed by the British crown. During the American Revolution, a series of laws were approved during 1763 to 1775 to control trade. Not only did the legislation caused a lot of chaos between the American colonists and the British government, but also there were certain events that led up to taxation. The occurrences were the British crown views on the taxation, and the reaction of the colonies in response to the taxation that was imposed by the British Government.
Wealthy colonial families, mostly reacted writing angry letters or threatening anonymous letters to the British. Colonist is insulting their majesty. Families saying the Stamp Act was unfair and unconstitutional. People who were protesting made a new secret organization the Sons of Liberty. New secret organizations often turned violent and massacres became involved.
Many American’s are aware that the American Revolution started, because the British Government was taxing the colonies without giving them proper representation in parliament. However, what many American’s do not understand is that the colonial protestors had many more complaints about the British Government in the mid 1770s. Thomas Paine described the colonists view of the British best when he said, “The British were thieves, literally “highwaymen” who stole American rights and wealth as well.” The years following the Seven Years War brought drastic changes for the colonists as Great Britain started taking more control over the them and with each new tax they continued to fill with rage. The most convincing evidence the colonial protestors
What Caused the American Revolution The American Revolution was a battle for leadership in the American colonies. At the time, England controlled nearly all aspects, mostly the political and economic, of the colonial lives. Their purpose was to strengthen England. The colonies wanted the freedom from all of the control because they were doing fine without England.
DBQ Essay The American Revolution was a rebellion from citizens in Britain that was inspired from many events, including the creation of the United States of America. A revolution is a forcible overthrow of a government to acquire a new system. The American Revolution was sparked from a variety of occurrences ranging from speeches to letters to documents, therefore causing the revolution to become the most significant yet. There were many influential people/concepts that added ignition to the revolution, including Abigail Adams, Leon F. Litwack, and the article from Northwest Ordinance.
During the Colonial Era (1492-1763), colonists were justified in waging war against Great Britain; due to the inequitable Stamp Act, the insufferable British oppression, and the perceived tyranny of King George III, the king of Great Britain, however, the colonists were unjustified in some of their actions. In Colonial America, colonists were justified in waging war against Great Britain, because the Stamp Act was unfair and viewed as punishment. Because of the war, Britain had no other choice but to tax the colonists to pay for the debt. For example, according to document 2, the author states that the act was not only for trade but for “the single purpose of levying money.”
One time the British passed a law that allowed the british soldiers to forcefully live in the colonists’ home! The colonies started out to benefit Great Britain, but after one war and lots of laws, the colonies were going to be part of a revolution. What was the American Revolution about? Economic Rights or Civil Liberties? On one hand the British instilled unfair regulations on trade and goods.
The Quartering Act disrespected the privacy of Americans (Document 5). Moreover, this act allowed British soldiers to barge in on the colonists’ home life, forcing them to provide food, utensils, bedding, firewood, and other objects for the soldiers. In addition to this, the Quartering Act showed that the British were disinterested in how Americans lived their lives in their homes and purposefully sabotaged the colonists’ leadership in their homes, showing that the British controlled the colonists’ homes. The Stamp Act also demonstrated that the British were apathetic towards the colonists’ opinions (Document 6). The Stamp Act taxed newspapers and pamphlets, which outraged the colonists.
Benjamin’s letter to John Hughes in Document G confirmed clearly that they wanted to get the Stamp Act “repeal’d”. Because of the failure to get it repealed, the Colonies began to Boycott