Causes of the American Revolution Essay

The so-called American Revolution was a result of taxation, military occupation in the colonies, and also the

prior neglect rendered by the british for the past 150 years or so. In concurrence with historian John Alden's opinion, I

believe the mistakes of the british government caused this said "revolution."

The British taxation was a large contributing factor to the start of this inevitable revolution. Even though the

taxes were necessary to support the British empire, the arbitrarity of the taxes, or so claimed the American Colonists,

caused the boycotts and reactions to them. In a sense, the British were provoking the colonists with some of their taxes

and acts. The Quebec Act, which allowed the French-Canadians to practice their own cultural rituals and religious acts,

was solely to rub governmental salt in the American colonists' already bleeding wounds. The Quartering Act of 1765,

which forced the colonial residents to house and provide food for British soldiers was also something that significantly

ticked them off. The straw that broke the camel's back was the Townshend Duties, which among other things taxed tea.

To understand the sheer ridiculusness, one must understand that tea was an American way of life. Colonists drank tea at

breakfast, brunch, lunch, linner, dinner, and desert. For them tea was as important as air so once the Townshend Duties

were passed, they finally decided enough was enough and boycotted.

The military occupation in the colonies wasn't as significant to the revolution as the taxes and acts were, but it

still played a relatively large role. The colonists lived everyday with big brother over their shoulder. Not only did they

have to endure seeing the lobsterbacks everyday, but they also