History of the American Revolution

The American Revolution was an outcome of the coming together of the oppressed colonialists. The American Revolution war is the war that coexisted between the British and the United States. It was an outcome of the shivering of the relationship between the British and the United States in the mid 1700s. The misunderstanding between the British and the United States reached its climax in the 1775 in the month of April when the American Revolution broke out against the British. In the course of the war, the colonialists managed to secure their freedom from the British rulers in July 1776, a time when they declared their independence after defeating the British responsibly. Among the issues that led to the American Revolution include: imposition of British taxes in quest for additional revenue, invasion of British troops in American streets, the Boston Massacre, and the passing of laws against the Americans in London. The Americans were also not impressed with the leadership policies of the British that disregarded their presence in parliament. The Americans had also developed intellectually and developed changes in their perception of the social-political conducts of the British. The revolution eventually managed to change the colonial government from sovereign to a republic.

Existence of a colonial glass ceiling between the colonists and the colonialists was one of the main reasons why the Americans revolted against the British. The British believed and valued themselves so much at the cost of the poor Americans who spent much of their time working to meet the demands of the oppressing colonialists. The highest rank a colonist could achieve while working with the colonial government was the position of a major. This law disregarded the Americans; making people such as George Washington participate in opposing the British administration.

Another potential cause of revolution was the announcement made in 1763 about the Appalachian Mountains. According to the British, the lands within these mountains were not to be occupied. Due to this, the land region remained un-occupied, making majority of the colonialists end up thirsting for it. The main goal of Proclamation Act of 1763 was to meet the demands of the Indians. Its main intention was to lower the anger and fear of the Native Indians by reducing the expansion of the colonial territories towards the West. The main goal of the British in proclaiming the act was to take full control of the fur trade they took in a triangular format. Manning of this proclamation act was also one of the influential aspects of forcing the Americans into fighting for their freedom (Aboukhadijeh, 1). In manning the demarcated land, the British administration imposed heavy taxes on the colonists in order to raise enough amounts to venture on the posts required to take control of the boundaries. Apart from the war between European nations against the demarcated land, the heavy taxation imposed to them led to the development of negative thoughts among the Americans, who eventually resorted to revolution as the only option to gain their liberty.

The British imposed heavy taxes on the Americans in order to raise enough funds to enable them run their administration in their colonies. The British had accumulated national debt during 1700s after borrowing huge sum of money from the Dutch and other oversees money lenders. For instance, in 1750, the American consumption was found to be 50% more than what they were importing, to solve this, the British government impose heavy taxes on the poor Americans. In order for the British to manage paying for the French and Indian war, they raised taxes on the colonists. In addition, they passed some acts including Sugar Act, with the aim of raising money instead of controlling the trade. Due to this, the Americans were forced to enter into rebellion with the British after throwing the tea delivered by the British into the sea as a way of expressing their disregard of the high taxation (Wilson, 87).

The presence of British troops in American soil was another cause of alarm them led to the occurrence of America Revolution. This was after the throwing of tea imported by the British by the Americans who had disguised themselves as Indians. As a way of security, the British had requested for more troops from Britain to aid in managing the Americans who had shown cruelty and eagerness for war, an action that was responded to by the rebellion from the Americans. In addition, the Americans had smelt more than before oppression by the British in the presence of their military army. The Americans were also forced to react against the presence of British Army in America for it proved and showed high chances of the British expanding their territories.

The Boston Massacre is also one of the reasons why the Americans disregarded the presence of the British in the American soil. In March 1770, many colonists had lost their lives while in their act of throwing stones, sticks, and snowballs to the British colonialists (Wilson, 88). The reactions of the Americans were outcomes of dissatisfaction of the British troops in the streets of Boston. The attack of British officials had led to the summoning of more British soldiers into Boston city who fired at the unequipped American citizens killing many people. In addition to lose of many lives, many American citizens were injured, acts that catalyzed the enmity between the British and the Americans.

The thirst for revolution led to the generation of abrupt changes in the opinions and sentiments by the American people. The cropping of new ideas and issues greatly affected social activities resulting to coming together of some individuals who managed to convince a large population over the negative impacts of the British administration. Majority of the leading colonialists contributed immensely towards American Revolution, for instance, individuals such as Benjamin Franklin and Jefferson advocated for the observance of deism. According to them, it was crucial for American citizens to involve the power of science rather that the power of faith in solving their problems. This enlightenment led to the patriots to yearn for their liberty and the protection of their rights by the democratic government. The right rebellion theory by Locke that spelt out the importance of having divine leadership determined by the led also contributed immensely towards the occurrence of American Revolution. In addition, the opposition of Locke towards a government that disregards the rights of the governed made the Americans develop negative thought concerning the British administration.

The Americans were also against the passing of laws by the London parliament. Many of the laws that were passed by the parliament in London aimed at depriving the Americans their rights. Among the laws passed by the British government include:

The Tea Act that was passed in May 1773. According to the act, only tea was to be imported into America. The main aim of the British Passing this act was to aid the British Company in India in raising enough funds in order to protect it from collapsing. The involvement of Townshend in determining the price of tea angered the Americans more leading to their rejection of consuming the imported tea. As a way of rebelling against the British, the Americans attempted to produce tea locally (John, 1). In 1773, due to anger, the Americans tossed tea imported by the British into Boston Harbor.

The passing of the Townshend Act in 1967 was also one of the main reasons why the Americans decided to seek for revolution. According to the act, the colonists had the responsibility of paying import duties on materials such as lead, paints and tea. After the colonists’ effort of writing to Samwel and John proved in futile, the Americans decided to seek for their independence.

The passing of the Boston Act in March 1774 as an action against the tea party in the end of the year 1773 annoyed the Americans so much. According to the act, all ports of Boston were closed and no shipping of materials in or out of the country was taking place. The demand by the British for the compensation of the India Company before reopening of the ports fueled the anger of the Americans who thought of seeking for justice. Many Bostonians ended up protesting lamenting over the depriving of their rights(Boyer and Sandra, 1). The support offered by other colonies to the blockaded Boston led to the involvement of many colonies for freedom.

The increase of the powers of the royal government by passing of the Massachusetts Act was also the source of alarm among the Americans. According to the act the British king had power of appointing executive councils without the involvement of the public involvement in decision making. In addition, the permission of holding only two meetings per year dissatisfied the Americans; they took it as one way of silencing them from airing out their views (Norton and Katzman, 75). The Americans took this as an insult and exercise of dictatorship in their own land. As a result, they thought of rebelling against the cruel British.

The military measures imposed by the British also triggered the demand of liberty by the Americans. For instance, the British government poorly administered justice to the American citizens. In British’s imposition of the Administration of Justice Act, they aimed at doing away with American witnesses who could not afford their way to Great Britain. This is because majority of the Americans were loaded with heavy duties that could not allow them have their way to Great Britain to testify any case. In addition, in solving the Boston Massacre issue, the British administration favored the British troops (John and Uncle, 1).

In 1765, the British government reviewed the Quartering Act in which they expanded on the kinds of buildings to be used by the army officials. Contrary to what they had passed, the British government did not offer the soldiers private homes as they had promised; instead they placed them in inns and old barracks. These acts by the British administration annoyed the Americans who eventually sort for revolution of the British administration.

The Quebec Act was accepted as an intolerable act by American colonists. The Quebec Act greatly influenced the expansion of the borders under the King that took the Canadians as his subjects. In addition the Quebec Act allowed and supported the expansion of catholic faith, a domination that was greatly rejected by the majority of the Americans. The expansion of the territory by the Quebec Act advocated for the snatching of public land that had been promised to be awarded to the colonists. Due to this, the Americans were forced to rebel against the British administration.

The passing of various acts by the British administration made the Americans develop negative thoughts about their position as colonists, they declared war against them by rebelling against the leadership of the British. The colonies involved themselves in halting the exportation of materials to Britain as a way of controlling the power accusation of the Britons. In addition, the Americans agreed to aid Massachusetts against British attacks.

King George iii act of not allowing the colonists to have their representatives in parliament offended the Americans. After the involvement of the colonists in protests against the Sugar and Stamp Acts, the parliament made of the British passed a rule that barred the Americans from making their own decision. According to the act, the Americans were only allowed to do what was outlined by the British without any opposition. The act also barred the Americans from trading with any person or organization without the concept of the British government. The British government believed in mercantilism, a theory that favored their mother countries. In the navigation acts, the Americans were only allowed to trade with only England, an act that annoyed very much. The Americans wanted the freedom of choosing who to trade with. The imposition of the Sugar Act led to the Americans developing negative thoughts on the British leadership, they saw it unfair for the British to pass some acts in the absence of any American representative.

The Americans were also against the war that persisted between the British and French colonialists over the American soil. In early 1740s, both the British and the French showed many interests in North American land. They both disregarded the interests of the Americans and juggled their own interests, acts that offended the Americans who eventually sort for revolution differently. For instance, within 1756 and 1763, when the British and France were engaged in battle over the control of Ohio valley and Canada, the Algonquins ended up supporting the French with the aim of preventing the British from expanding their territories to Ohio valley. However, with the support of Iroquois, the British managed to defeat the French and took control of the whole Ohio valley, an act that deprived the Americans peace of mind (Cogliano, 1).

The British government also engaged the American military into war without meeting their promises about the compensation they promised them. In addition, majority of the American military armies participated in the war fronts without being regarded as important persons in the running of the British administration. The British also misused the American army in conquering and advancing their territories, leading to creation of enmity between the Americans and their neighboring countries. While in war, the British soldiers looked down upon the American soldiers, an act led to the American soldiers developing hatred towards British administration of power in America.

In America, the black Americans were also looked down upon by their fellow white Americans. To solve this, the blacks engaged in American Revolution to unchain themselves from societal oppressions (Herman, 1). For instance, majority of the whites considered the blacks their properties. In addition to the whites overworking the blacks, they also barred them from participating in making decisions pertaining voting.

The Americans were also fed up with the economic and political mistreatment they underwent under the administration of the British. The British misused a lot of colonists’ resources in meeting their demands. For instance, the British administration transferred much of the raw products produced in America to their native countries. In addition, the profit gained from agricultural trading activity the coexisted between America and its own neighbors was utilized by the British administration. The opposition of participation of the Americans in political decision making also contributed immensely to the revolution wars that took place in America.

On the other hand, the colonists had lost interest on the British administration after achieving their goals of winning against the French. In working with the British, the American citizens had the intention of protecting their properties from being taken by the French. Now that the colonists together with the British had achieved the intended goal, the Americans need them no more, hence the advancement of revolution against them. The British had also required more from the colonists as a way of compensation for the assistance they had offered them during the war. Their demand was perceived as exploitation by the colonists who declared war against their presence in America (Guisepi, 1).

The British had failed in showing respect to their host, the Americans after acquisition of land. The British officials assumed more power and considered America as one of the states of Britain that they decided to impose their own rules. Fear of much more oppression from them, the American colonists decided to send them away (Greene and Pole, 56).

In conclusion, the American Revolution contributed immensely to the success of America as a state. Compared to the early 1700s, the citizens fully enjoy their rights. The colonial time was manifested with heavy imposition of taxes on colonists. The British colonialists also enjoyed diverting the American interests to their native homes. The British administration also contributed negatively towards the development of America. This is because they hampered the Americans from participating in trading activity with their trading partners. The imposition of heavy taxes on the American citizens also contributed immensely to the degradation of the life of colonists, this is because the colonists inputted much effort to meet the demands of the colonialists. The declaration of the Proclamation Act also paved the way for the deterioration of the economic condition of America. The Americans contributed a lot of their money towards protecting the demarcated land from intrusion. The demarcation of land also denied the Americans the right of advancing economically, this is because the Americans lacked the chance of advancing their agricultural activities. The declaration of Boston massacre contributed immensely towards the participation of the majority of the Americans in the revolution acts.

Works Cited

Aboukhadijeh, Feross. “Philosophy of American Revolution” StudyNotes.org. StudyNotes, Inc., 2012. Web.

Boyer, Paul and Hawley Sandra. The Enduring Vision: A History of the American People: To 1877. New York: Cengage Learning, 2012. Print.

Cogliano, Francis. “Was the American Revolution Inevitable?”. 2011. Web.

Greene, Jack and Pole, J. A Companion to the American Revolution. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 2008. Print.

Guisepi, Robert. “The American Revolution”. 1999. Web.

Herman, Carl. “The American Revolution was against British gun control”. 2013. Web.

John, Bull and Uncle, Sam. “The American Revolution”. 2010. Web.

Johnson, James. Militamen, Rangers, and Redcoats. The Military in Georgia 1754- 1776. New York: Mercer University Press, 2003. Print.

Norton, Mary and Katzman, David. A People and a Nation: A History of the United States. To 1877. New York: Cengage Learning, 2005. Print.

Wilson, Samuel. History of the American Revolution: With a Preliminary View of the Character and Principles of the Colonists, and Their Controversies with Great Britain. Newy York: N. Hickman, Cushing & Sons, 1836. Print.

Cite this paper

Select style

Reference

Premium Papers. (2024, January 31). History of the American Revolution. https://premium-papers.com/history-of-the-american-revolution/

Work Cited

"History of the American Revolution." Premium Papers, 31 Jan. 2024, premium-papers.com/history-of-the-american-revolution/.

References

Premium Papers. (2024) 'History of the American Revolution'. 31 January.

References

Premium Papers. 2024. "History of the American Revolution." January 31, 2024. https://premium-papers.com/history-of-the-american-revolution/.

1. Premium Papers. "History of the American Revolution." January 31, 2024. https://premium-papers.com/history-of-the-american-revolution/.


Bibliography


Premium Papers. "History of the American Revolution." January 31, 2024. https://premium-papers.com/history-of-the-american-revolution/.