American Revoultuion
Join now to read essay American Revoultuion
The American Revolution occurred because of Great Britains failure to adjust to conditions brought on by the growth and development of the colonies, and by the aggravation of a breakdown in the political and economic harmony that existed between the colonies and their mother country.
America was a revolution force from the day of its discovery. The American Revolution was not the same thing as the American War of Independence. The war itself lasted only eight years, but the Revolution lasted over a century and a half and begun when the first permanent English settlers set foot on the new continent. Insurrection of thought usually precedes insurrection of deed. Over the years such ferment had occurred in the thinking of the colonists that the Revolution was partially completed in their minds before the first shot was fired.
The American Revolution had its beginnings in the French and Indian war. For seven years, Britain battled the French and Indian nations in the colonies. Where the colonies militia fought beside the troops of the British army and learned war first hand. After winning the war, Britain had a huge debt to pay. To pay these expenses, George Greenville, who was secretary of Treasury in England, came up with a plan. He reasoned that the debt should be paid by taxing the colonies. After all, the war had been fought to protect their land that is also known as the Ohio River Valley.
However, even before the French and Indian War had ended the political harmony that was once between the colonies and the British was already being broken down, due to all of the new acts that were passed in accordance with the mercantile theory of economics. This theory of economics said that colonies are only here to serve and glorify their mother country, in this case Britain. This lead to Britains passing of the Navigation Laws. These laws mandated that all goods from the colonies had to be carried by British ships, thus making British merchants rich and important because everybody wanted goods form the New World and now they would have to go threw Britain to get them. The Navigational Acts were tolerated to a certain extent but also disobeyed by the common people when necessary. In 1763, the Seven-Year War in Europe and the French and Indian War in the colonies was over, and with the end came a British debt of over 140 million pounds. This debt caused the Navigational Act to be enforced upon the colonies in order to pay the debt, with many more acts were to follow.
The first such act was the Proclamation of 1763. This inhibited the colonists from crossing the Appalachian Mountains for hunting or farming. Britain instilled this proclamation in order to cut the area Britain had to guard with soldiers and to prevent other bloody, and costly, battles like those of the French and Indian War. The colonists, however, took this as a way the English were controlling them and making them subservient to English authority, so they defied this proclamation and clogged the westward trails. Even though Britain was only trying to save money to pay their debt, the colonist had the perception that Britain was trying to starve them and prevent them from growing economically. This was the first example that the colony’s perception of the actions of their mother country, Britain, was more important than the reality of those actions.
Britain followed the Proclamation with a series of taxes on certain items. The first of which was the Sugar Act of 1764. This increased the duty on foreign sugar import from the West Indies. Such acts as the Quartering Act of 1765 and Stamp Act of 1765 where the real uproar of the colonist was heard followed.
The Stamp Act was the most ominous measure of all, a stamp tax that would raise revenues to support the new military fleet. This act required the use of stamped paper or the affixing of stamps, certifying payment of taxes. Involved were such things as playing cards and marriage licenses, plus other commercial and legal documents. This enraged the colonists into forming protests groups between the states called the Stamp Act Congress. This was the first time all the states began to work together for a common goal. This would prove to be an important beginning, because events such as the Continental Congresses were to follow.
However, one if the largest differences of opinion came with the colony’s veiw of taxation without representation. From the colony’s point of view, it was impossible to consider themselves represented in Parliament unless they actually elected members to the House of Commons. But this idea conflicted with the English principle of “virtual representation,” according to which each member of Parliament represented the interests of the whole country, even the empire, despite the fact that his electoral base consisted of only a tiny minority of property owners