The Causes of The American Revolution
The French and Indian War
Involving Austria, England, France, Great Britain, Prussia, and Sweden, the French and Indian War was a small branch of The Seven Years War. The Seven Years War in total was fought in Europe, India, and North America. Sweden , Austria, and France were allied to crush the rising power of Frederick the Great, King of Prussia. Over in North America, the English and the French battled for colonial domination, and also in the Caribbean and India.
The English eventually dominated the colonial outposts, but at a cost so high that the resulting debt nearly destroyed the English government. This debt would cause the beginning of the the distrust of Americans to Britain. Parliament was desperate to tax the colonists to regain the lost money, and this infuriated them due to the high taxes, including the Navigation acts and the Sugar Act. Another reason of this distrust is because the King refused to aid the colonists in the war due to his suspicion of betrayal.
The English eventually dominated the colonial outposts, but at a cost so high that the resulting debt nearly destroyed the English government. This debt would cause the beginning of the the distrust of Americans to Britain. Parliament was desperate to tax the colonists to regain the lost money, and this infuriated them due to the high taxes, including the Navigation acts and the Sugar Act. Another reason of this distrust is because the King refused to aid the colonists in the war due to his suspicion of betrayal.
Proclamation of 1763
Victory in the French and Indian War was a cause of great celebration in the colonies. All of this open land was now for the taking. Or so they thought. Soon a document reached the colonies, The Proclamation of 1763. While this did establish 4 new colonies, (Quebec, East Florida, West Florida, and off the continent, Grenada) it also came at a heavy price. Due to the King's fear that the Native Americans would rise up, he banned all colonists from moving west whatsoever.
To the colonists, their reward for winning the war had just been stolen from them by the very person they were fighting for. Tensions were increasing quickly...
To the colonists, their reward for winning the war had just been stolen from them by the very person they were fighting for. Tensions were increasing quickly...
The Quartering Act
The Quartering Act was another attempt by the British government to regain money lost by the war. This Act forced colonists to let British troops occupy their houses, and they had to provide to them. In March 1765, Parliament passed the Quartering Act. Under the terms of this legislation, every colonial assembly was directed to provide for the basic needs of soldiers stationed within its borders, including bedding, cooking utensils, firewood, beer or cider and candles. This law was expanded in 1766 and required the assemblies to house soldiers in taverns and unoccupied houses.
The Stamp Act
On February 6th, 1765 George Grenville rose in Parliament to offer the fifty-five resolutions of his Stamp Bill. A motion was offered to first read petitions from the Virginia colony and others was denied. The bill was passed on February 17, approved by the Lords on March 8th, and two weeks later ordered in effect by the King. The Stamp Act was Parliament's first serious attempt to assert governmental authority over the colonies. Great Britain was faced with a massive national debt following the Seven Years War.
The Tea Act and The Boston Tea Party
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The Tea Act, passed by Parliament on May 10, 1773, would launch the final spark to the revolutionary movement in Boston. The act was not intended to raise revenue in the American colonies, and in fact imposed no new taxes. It was designed to prop up the East India Company which was floundering financially and burdened with eighteen million pounds of unsold tea. This tea was to be shipped directly to the colonies, and sold at a bargain price. The Townshend Duties were still in place, however, and the radical leaders in America found reason to believe that this act was a maneuver to buy popular support for the taxes already in force. The direct sale of tea, via British agents, would also have undercut the business of local merchants.
Colonists in Philadelphia and New York turned the tea ships back to Britain. In Charleston the cargo was left to rot on the docks. In Boston the Royal Governor was stubborn & held the ships in port, where the colonists would not allow them to unload. Cargoes of tea filled the harbor, and the British ship's crews were stalled in Boston looking for work and often finding trouble. This situation led to the Boston Tea Party.
Colonists in Philadelphia and New York turned the tea ships back to Britain. In Charleston the cargo was left to rot on the docks. In Boston the Royal Governor was stubborn & held the ships in port, where the colonists would not allow them to unload. Cargoes of tea filled the harbor, and the British ship's crews were stalled in Boston looking for work and often finding trouble. This situation led to the Boston Tea Party.
The Intolerable Acts
The government spent immense sums of money on troops and equipment in an attempt to control Massachusetts. British merchants had lost huge sums of money on looted, spoiled, and destroyed goods shipped to the colonies. The revenue generated by the Townshend duties in 1770 amounted to less than £21,000. On March 5, 1770, Parliament repealed the duties, except for the tea act. That same day, the Boston massacre would cause the Royal Governor to evacuate the occupying army from Boston, and would soon bring armed rebellion throughout the colonies.
The First Continental Congress
Colonel George Washington, Richard Henry Lee, Patrick Henry, Edmund Pendleton, Colonel Benjamin Harrison, Richard Bland, and Peyton Randolph were the leaders that met to create the continental congress, a representative from every colony except for Georgia.
The objectives of the body were not entirely clear, but a core set of tasks was carried out. It was agreeable to all that the King and Parliament must be made to understand the grievances of the colonies and that the body must do everything possible to communicate the same to the population of America, and to the rest of the world.
On October 14, the Declaration and Resolves established the course of the congress, as a statement of principles common to all of the colonies. Congress voted to meet again the following year if these grievances were not attended to by England. Soon after, the colonies unanimously decided to stop accepting imports from Great Britain and all began resisting the Crown. The final match was struck to start the inferno of war.
The objectives of the body were not entirely clear, but a core set of tasks was carried out. It was agreeable to all that the King and Parliament must be made to understand the grievances of the colonies and that the body must do everything possible to communicate the same to the population of America, and to the rest of the world.
On October 14, the Declaration and Resolves established the course of the congress, as a statement of principles common to all of the colonies. Congress voted to meet again the following year if these grievances were not attended to by England. Soon after, the colonies unanimously decided to stop accepting imports from Great Britain and all began resisting the Crown. The final match was struck to start the inferno of war.