Revolution

“Foremost in the minds of Americans in the late eighteenth century was the need to create a “more perfect union”- a virtuous, republican government dedicated to protection of the public welfare. This goal, more than any other, was the principle cause of the American Revolution and the underlying motive for the creation of the government that followed”

In this essay I plan to show the action and events that Americans took to bring forth a republican government dedicated to protecting their interest and welfare. These events will prove this statement to be true and show the cause of the Revolution and the government that followed.

Firstly, many factors influenced the American Revolution, one being the factor of Americans rebelling against the conflict over taxation and representation in the parliament. The colonist’s had strong beliefs that the English government was “unfair and tyrannical” (Brinkley, 105). The colonists were very strong in believing that much of the taxation imposed on them by Britain was unfair and unreasonable. The colonist couldn’t even afford to pay many of the taxes imposed on them. The Stamp Act, for example, taxed practically everything imaginable. “The Stamp Act taxed newspapers, pamphlets, bonds, lease, deeds, wills, license and almanacs.” (Brinkley, 100) The taxation didn’t end there. The colonists began their initial opposition by the creation of the Stamp Act Congress that established a boycott of English goods. Their refusal to use the stamps on business papers became common, and the local courts would not enforce their use on legal documents. Colonial businessmen contributed their part by agreeing to stop importing British goods until the act was repealed, substantially diminishing trade.

The British finally repealed the Stamp Act in 1766, but they immediately replaced it with the Declaratory Act,