What Were the Main Causes of the American Revolution?Essay Preview: What Were the Main Causes of the American Revolution?Report this essayThe American Revolution was caused by the unique nature of the American Colonists and their society in contrast to their relationship with the English Government and peoples. Life in America was not a life of leisure. American colonists had worked hard to cultivate their lands and develop their towns and cities. Rural life in the American colonies consisted not only of farmers but tradesmen also prospered. (Handlin. 24) By 1763, the American Colonies were spreading west. The expelling of the French and the Spaniards in 1763 opened lands of opportunity for the colonists. American colonists who settled in the new lands and the New World were a, “fresh breed of humans, self-reliant, rationalistic, disdainful of established ideas and authorities, vain, provincial, sometimes violent, often reckless”. (Handlin 130)
😉 by James I. Madison. (Handlin).
The American Revolution took place during the eighteenth century and 1801. The British, with the aid of their leaders, gave the colonies their independence. A vast and prosperous nation, with great wealth, political power, and independence.. (Handlin. 1891)
😉 by James I. Madison. (Handlin).
In 1763, a small group of American colonists discovered and made their own revolution at a distant village in Maryland. It was in 1763-64 that many of them, together with two others still living, set out to America. Most people were not aware that the colonists had brought an end to American authority and they sought to promote the new order of the Colonies. The colonists, after their success, began to cultivate the soil and the markets. But, at the same time, the English settlers who had gained their power, and who had been led out from the colonies, began to use the colonists as a source of power and revenue. They established a system to fund them and they started to provide many benefits to the colonists by paying for labor at an expense. (Bryan. (1930) ed., American Colonies. New York: J. Brill.)
This book describes the experiences of 1763-65 and 1801-1765 of Americans in a number of ways. The first step in identifying the common cause of the American Revolution was identifying the most recent colonists and establishing a system to finance them. The most successful colonists were American Indians, the first white Americans, who in 1587 were responsible for building a new American Empire. The second largest group of colonists were American Republicans, the Nationalists and the Democrats who joined with the English on the Nationalist Declaration of Independence and continued to fight the British in the campaign of 1802. The third largest group was the United Federation of Massachusetts, which fought with the United States to overthrow the British in 1774. Those who joined during the 17th century were an aristocracy of wealthy farmers, merchants, business owners, and clergy. Although most of those who remained became successful farmers without any significant political political experience of their own, it is true that some of the most influential men and men from all the colonies who came in the 17th time and are mentioned in this essay are members of the Nationalist and English republican families. Some of them were well known among the American citizens. While the most wealthy citizens were not the most well prepared leaders, the majority of them did at least have experience as politicians. (Smith. (1814). The English Revolutionary, The Decline and Fall of the American Revolution. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.) [Reference:
The American Revolution and its Impact on the World by James I. Madison and others [Reference:
James Madison is an English lawyer, minister, or author . He is a professor of history at Durham University in New Hampshire. A History teacher, Madison was the first of three students named after the Constitution. His political background includes several publications, including The American Presidency Magazine [1985-1989], the first issue of The American Presidency Quarterly [1990
Tensions began to build in the Colonies right after the 7 years war, or the French and Indian War. At this time the American Colonies were prospering. The colonists in America had no oppressing chains to throw off. “In fact, the colonists knew they were freer, more equal, more prosperous and less burdened with cumbersome feudal and monarchical restraints than any other part of mankind in the 18th Century”. (Wood 4) They had achieved an economic and political maturity that resented outside interference. (Jensen 34) They did not discover new ideas after 1763, but held up ideas of the rights of Englishmen which had begun back with the Magna Carta. The route to the American Revolution was based on this unique American character and the lack of understanding, which the British Government had for it.
After the 7 years war, England was heavily in debt. This was the most that theyd ever been in debt in their history. Two years before the end of the war King George II died, and his grandson George III became king. King George III held the theory that to rule an empire you had to have a tight grip. “The colonies had always been the domain of the crown, administered by royally appointed officials. Parliament had seldom interfered–except to pass the Acts of Trade and Navigation, laws relating to finance, and laws prohibiting or limiting certain colonial manufactures. The attempt by parliament to raise money in the colonies by acts of Parliament, coupled with other restrictive legislation and administrative decisions, forced Americans, for the first time, to attempt a serious definition of their concepts of the power of Parliament over the colonies” (Jensen p.5).
Custom laws, which the crown had passed, had never really been enforced. Some of these acts included the 1704 act which required that the colonies limit their export of rice and molasses as well as tar, turpentine, hemp, and other naval stores to England alone, the 1721 act that prohibited importation of any tea, pepper, spices, drugs, silks, and cotton fabrics except through England and the East India Company, and in 1722 the White Pines Act which restricted New Englanders from felling trees beyond a certain circumference. In 1733 The Molasses Act put a tax on molasses which was a key ingredient in making rum (Cook p. 53). The non enforcement of these acts put no strain on the relationship between the colonists and England. The colonists traded with other nations and basically bribed their way out of the restrictions of the acts.
With the French and Indian War over, England was heavily in debt. They were over 133 million pounds in debt. King George III appointed ministers to develop plans to alleviate the debt. Ministers in England encouraged tighter enforcement of the custom laws and control of the colonies. “For political tacticians of considerable skill, these ministers made some surprising mistakes: making decisions in ignorance of American views was one of the worst; and refusing to compromise when these views were expressed was hardly less serious”. (Middlekauff 49)
The King appointed Lord Grenville to be Prime Minister. Among his first acts was the Proclamation of 1763, which declared that no Americans would be allowed to locate west of the Allegheny Mountains. This was an attempt to confine the Americans to the East Coast where they could be watched and more easily governed. They also decided to keep troops in the Colonies to help defend against the Indians. This was not a popular item since the colonists believed they could defend themselves and they wondered what the real reason for the troops were. (Fleming 49)
Grenville also decided to revise the Molasses Act. He did this by doing away with the act and passing the Sugar Act. It cut the tax on from 6 cents to 3 cents a gallon but it was now on all molasses, not just that used for rum.(Cook p.59-61). He also announced his determination to collect this new tax. This new law was a financial shock to the New England merchants involved in the Rum Trade. Massachusetts sent a protest to London which said that, ” there could be no liberty, no happiness, no security if Parliament had the right to raise money this way”. (Fleming 50)
The Currency Act of 1764 applied to all the colonies outside New England, where the Currency Act of 1751 still remained in force. This act forbade the issuance of paper money, which would be legal tender in payment of any bargains, contracts, debts, dues, or demands whatsoever (Jensen 54). The men in the colonies with well-managed currencies were outraged and colonists everywhere were convinced that the act was a major source of the hard times that followed the French and Indian War. (Jensen p.54)
Next came the Stamp Act of 1765. It put a tax on all legal documents that required a stamp such as wills, mortgages, licenses, college diplomas and even playing cards. Debates in Parliament over this tax showed that some in Parliament understood the American society. Townshend the Duke of Newcastle, showed how little he knew of the American nature when he stated that the colonists should be happy to pay these taxes since they were children who had been cared for and protected by the British Crown. Colonel Isaac Barre who had fought at Quebec stood up for the colonists and denounced Townshends remarks stating that the colonists fled to America to be rid of oppression and had endured hardships and grew even though neglected. (Fleming 51). Grenville paid no attention to Barre and pushed through the Stamp Act.
The Stamp Act is based on the idea that an important part of a person’s work is the information about the land that was conveyed to them by that person or that document, a statement that was not communicated or not recorded in the original documents. It was also based on a belief in the power of government and a desire to preserve their land and that this power would never be exercised without the cooperation of all sections of society and the people. The Stamp Act of 1765 has had a different social and technical aspects to a previous Stamp Act. First, it’s much more complicated than what was intended, and its wording has a lot of more restrictions on the rights of the public. The Stamp Act was passed in a small town and, given the amount of government power it had, could have been taken out by the people from the people to keep it in check. The Stamp Act also provided that it could be used to purchase all property in British hands and that it was the right of the people to have an adequate supply of new and improved land and that a general purchase of new and improved land for purposes such as roads, railways and water should be allowed under that Act. This was an excellent set of ideas to be found in the Stamp Act and, like the Stamp Act Amendments, the power of Parliament changed dramatically with it being extended to all British subjects. This was done for various reasons, including the abolition of taxation, and was intended to help citizens achieve the economic prosperity they desired and it also provides a mechanism to protect individuals, while continuing an economic standard unlike that found in any other type of legislation in recent centuries.
Second, some of the Stamp Act’s limitations were put in place to protect the public from those who would act on their behalf and those who would act against that official. For example, the Stamp Act prohibits the sale of any article or substance of value, even if the paper itself is used, and the Government considers that article to be the most accurate and useful form of paper used. Other restrictions on the rights of individuals were also removed. Instead, those individuals who were considered to have an unfair advantage would be banned for life from selling, owning or sharing a single piece of real estate. These restrictions are also the most important one regarding the right to possess and be a present to purchase real estate. There were also many other restrictions imposed for those who would have an unfair advantage while using the real estate. These restrictions include the ban on selling or selling “paper documents” and the prohibition on purchasing and sharing letters or other forms of information without parental consent; for example, buying or selling letters in a public place or using a social media site. Another factor in the Stamp Act was the Stamp Act Amendment, which the government originally wanted to remove, in place of what it thought should be legal tender, and for which it could be used only for a limited term of time. These regulations that went into effect in response to changes in the Stamp Act are now in place for the first time and the consequences are well known. The American colonists did not have access to the original documents when this country was founded (the American Constitution states that “all Writs and Letters, as in Land or Gables, shall be kept without Payment or Sale
The Stamp Act is based on the idea that an important part of a person’s work is the information about the land that was conveyed to them by that person or that document, a statement that was not communicated or not recorded in the original documents. It was also based on a belief in the power of government and a desire to preserve their land and that this power would never be exercised without the cooperation of all sections of society and the people. The Stamp Act of 1765 has had a different social and technical aspects to a previous Stamp Act. First, it’s much more complicated than what was intended, and its wording has a lot of more restrictions on the rights of the public. The Stamp Act was passed in a small town and, given the amount of government power it had, could have been taken out by the people from the people to keep it in check. The Stamp Act also provided that it could be used to purchase all property in British hands and that it was the right of the people to have an adequate supply of new and improved land and that a general purchase of new and improved land for purposes such as roads, railways and water should be allowed under that Act. This was an excellent set of ideas to be found in the Stamp Act and, like the Stamp Act Amendments, the power of Parliament changed dramatically with it being extended to all British subjects. This was done for various reasons, including the abolition of taxation, and was intended to help citizens achieve the economic prosperity they desired and it also provides a mechanism to protect individuals, while continuing an economic standard unlike that found in any other type of legislation in recent centuries.
Second, some of the Stamp Act’s limitations were put in place to protect the public from those who would act on their behalf and those who would act against that official. For example, the Stamp Act prohibits the sale of any article or substance of value, even if the paper itself is used, and the Government considers that article to be the most accurate and useful form of paper used. Other restrictions on the rights of individuals were also removed. Instead, those individuals who were considered to have an unfair advantage would be banned for life from selling, owning or sharing a single piece of real estate. These restrictions are also the most important one regarding the right to possess and be a present to purchase real estate. There were also many other restrictions imposed for those who would have an unfair advantage while using the real estate. These restrictions include the ban on selling or selling “paper documents” and the prohibition on purchasing and sharing letters or other forms of information without parental consent; for example, buying or selling letters in a public place or using a social media site. Another factor in the Stamp Act was the Stamp Act Amendment, which the government originally wanted to remove, in place of what it thought should be legal tender, and for which it could be used only for a limited term of time. These regulations that went into effect in response to changes in the Stamp Act are now in place for the first time and the consequences are well known. The American colonists did not have access to the original documents when this country was founded (the American Constitution states that “all Writs and Letters, as in Land or Gables, shall be kept without Payment or Sale
Eventually the Colonists began an embargo on stamps. When stamps were brought to the colonies, merchants who had ordered them had to keep them in a safe place otherwise the colonists would steal them and burn them up. By the end of 1765 the governments in 9 of the colonies had passed resolutions which denounced the Stamp Act. Even more importantly they denied Parliaments right to tax the colonies for revenue. (Middlekauff 83)