Cuases of the American Revolution

The colonists of America slowly came to realize that they must break from Britain due to the growing feeling of being considered lower than the British. They realized they had no say in government, and under the rule of the british, they would never be able to prosper. The conditions of their rights slowly disintegrated, as the construction of parliament becomes more and more powerful and intolerable. The language used to protest british, throughout the time, leading up to the revolutionary war, were legal, and political, but the primary cause would have been economics.

In the beginning, the colonist were proud to be part of the British empire. Though they had limited trade, they produced raw materials vital to England. The English would then ship back those raw materials in the form of finished goods, to purchase. Britain had loosely controlled the colonies, the british believed the colonial government was inferior, as long as only a few serious conflicts occurred between Britain and America, the british government permitted colonial assemblies to oversee the royal governors and to pass the laws that suited to the needs of the colonists. They did not always enforce the laws, and let things just fade away. This supports the term “salutary neglect”(Edmund Burke), which was the belief their leniency was actually beneficial. The result was the colonist developed a political and economic system that was virtually independent. The colonist were also grateful of the protection from the Indians and the french, and the fact that they kept shipping lanes open. The Loyalty after the French and Indian War, was a belief that the British would bring peace and prosperity back to the colonies. Then there was the Idea of Republicanism, this really started to take hold around the end of the French and Indian war. That idea inherently was an idea of opposing hierarchical and authoritarian institutions, such as aristocracy and monarchy. The absence of English nobles such as barons, and bishops, in the colonies, also helped to bolster Republicanism. The theory of the English government being corrupt, was a heavy factor in the mind of the colonists. The idea of the colonists were viewed as tenants was beginning to show through to the American colonies. The major conflicts between the British and the colonies began to surface after the French an Indian war, which is also known as the seven year wars. During the war, the colonists were gaining strength and pride as more and more soldiers from the colonies were enlisted and began to face battles. This helped them to gain military strength and knowledge of how to fight as soldiers and to become unified. The major problem during the war was the treatment of the colonists by the British soldiers. The colonists were demoralized and looked down upon, never being able to reach a status above the rank of captain. The idea of the colonists was instead of contempt, they should be honored for the risks of their health and well being to create and secure Britain dominance. At the end of the war, the peace settlement at Paris 1763, the British had decided that the colonies should be responsible for a majority of the debt, for troops and supplies used to fight the french. The british were also alarmed with the insistence of the colonies to trade with the enemy.

In London 1765, their was a shift in policy toward the Americans to have to pay a small tax, to help pay for the control of the colonies by the british. The Stamp Act in 1765, would be a result of this shift, which was called “taxation without representation” by the colonies, this would help pay for the cost of keeping a stable force of british troops in the American colonies. All authorized documents, including deeds, mortgages, newspapers, had to have a british government stamp, in order to be considered legal. Taxation without representation was resented by the colonists because it said, raising taxes without consent was illegal and that the commercial benefits of the colony should be shared within the colonies, instead of England becoming more and more economically prosperous. Petitions were sent to England, and completely ignored. This brought on outrage, the colonists believed, they could not be deprived of the privilege to make laws themselves. The colonists felt that this brought them to the level of servants. The Sons of Liberty, a group created by the colonists, were the most active in opposing the stamp tax. They used violence against the official stamp agents and were robbed of their possessions and property, and then would be forced to witness it’s destruction. In an attempt to resist the stamp act, the colonists formed the Stamp Act Congress as a means to protest against the acts. Colonist merchants agreed to stop bringing in british goods until the act was abolished, and trade was considerably weakened. The colonist refused to use the stamps on official and business