One might argue that independence was always on the horizon in this period for North America, yet even in an era of enlightenment the British seemed, through sheer ignorance, negligience and pride, to seal their own fate. As with any revolution in history, ideological differences may have provided the foundation and impetus for change, but it is so often the events in the run up to the internal struggle that enhance tensions and ultimately trigger the conflict.
The American Revolution was no different. Here are 6 key causes of this momentous period in American history. Each looking to expand their territory across numerous continents, both nations suffered mass casulaties and racked up copious amounts of debt in order to fund the long and ardous struggle for territorial dominance.
Arguably the most important theatre of the war was in North America, which in had been geographically split between the empires of the British, French and Spanish. With key but costly victories at Quebec and Fort Niagra, the British were able to emerge victorious from the war and henceforth assimilated large swathes of previously held French territory in Canada and the Mid-West as a result of the Treaty of Paris in The British territorial gains in North America in While British victory had removed any French and Native Indian threat to an extent to the thirteen colonies, the war had led to greater economic hardship in the US and an acknowledgment of the cultural differences between colonists and Britons.
Clashes in ideologies became all the more apparent as the British looked to levy higher taxes on the thirteen colonies in order to heal the debt they incurred from military and naval spending. If the Seven Years War had not exacerbated the divide between the colonies and the British metropole, the implementation of colonial taxation certainly did. The British witnessed these tensions first-hand when the Stamp Act of was introduced.
Colonists bitterly opposed the new dirext taxation on printed materials and forced the British Government to eventually repeal the legislation a year later.
After the Stamp Act came the introduction of Townshend Duties in and — a series of acts that imposed new forms of indirect taxation of goods such as glass, paint, paper, lead and tea. These duties caused outrage in the colonies and became the main root of spontanoeus and violent opposition. Encouraged and rallied by propaganda leaflets and posters, such as those created by Paul Revere, colonists rioted and organised merchant boycotts.
It was one of the bloodiest battles of the American Revolution. Victory at Bunker Hill came at a terrible price for the British, with nearly half of the 2, Redcoats who entered the battle killed or wounded in just two hours of fighting. The patriots sustained over casualties. The Battle of Saratoga, comprising two significant battles during September and October of , was a crucial victory for the Patriots during the American Revolution and is considered the turning point of the Revolutionary War.
Many rebels were deported to British colonies in the New World. American colonists had good reason to believe the British government would deal with the rebellion in its colonies with the same harsh but effective measures.
What were the effects of the Battle of Saratoga? They had allies who helped them by providing aid in the form of supplies, weapons, military leaders, and soldiers.
These allies played a major role in helping the colonists to gain their independence. Who helped the Americans in the revolution? A number of European countries assisted the American colonists. The Battle of Saratoga was a decisive American victory, which is considered the turning point of the entire American Revolution, because it resulted in the French alliance.
It was between the Hessians and British regulars vs. American militia and the American Continental Army. If the act is not repealed, what do you think will be the consequences? A total loss of the respect and affection the people of America bear to this country, and of all the commerce that depends on that respect and affection.
Later in his testimony, Franklin explained that new laws and policies had already caused the colonists to lose respect for the British government:.
A: No, it is greatly lessened. Q: To what causes is that owing? The Revenue Act of placed a tax on British goods imported into the colonies such as glass, tea, lead, paints and paper and also paid the salaries of superior court judges, which used to be paid by the colonial assembly.
Colonists opposed the Townshend Acts because they felt it was wrong to tax the colonies without representation in Parliament. They responded by organizing massive boycotts of British imports. Colonists also opposed the Vice Admiralty Act because it made it so that offenders of maritime law, such as smugglers, were tried in admiralty courts without juries. In February of , the Massachusetts Assembly issued a letter, now known as the Massachusetts Circular Letter, written primarily by Samuel Adams, that called on all the colonial assemblies to unite and resist the Townshend Acts:.
In response to the Townshend Act boycotts and the Massachusetts Circular letter, Lord Hillsborough, Secretary of State for the Colonies, dispatched two regiments, consisting of 4, troops, to restore order in Boston and enforce the new laws. The troop ships arrived in Boston in September of In , the Tea Act was passed which allowed for tea to be shipped by the British East India Company duty-free to the colonies, thus allowing them to sell the tea for a discounted price but with a small tax.
Even though British tea became cheaper, colonists still opposed the act because they were being taxed without representation and feared that the act would give the British East India Company a monopoly on the colonial tea trade. The tea act is what prompted the Boston Tea Party in December of , during which several hundred protestors boarded merchant ships in Boston harbor and destroyed millions of dollars of British tea by throwing it overboard. In , the Coercive Acts, aka the Intolerable Acts, were passed, which were a series of four acts designed to restore order in Massachusetts and punish Boston for its rebellious activities.
The Administration of Justice Act made British officials immune to criminal prosecution in Massachusetts. The Quartering Act, which required colonists to house and quarter British troops on demand, including in their private homes as a last resort. The Quebec Act extended freedom of worship to Catholics in Canada and granted Canadians the continuation of their judicial system. Colonists found this distressing because they disapproved of allowing Catholics to worship freely in the colonies.
The Coercive Acts were intended to suppress the growing rebellion in Massachusetts and isolate it from the other colonies. The colonists saw all of these acts as an infringement on their liberties and, at the heart of it, they feared they were just the beginning of something far worse.
Sources: Bell, J. Palgrave Macmillan, The Political Thought of Benjamin Franklin.
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