Essay on Dbq Causes of Revolutionary War

The years of 1763-1765 were truly defining moments for colonist of the colonies, soon to become the United States of America. ‘’War! War! This is the only way!” American Colonist shouted,as they took to the streets proclaiming defiance of British rule. “We as a people shall fight for our freedom and have victory.No more shall we continue to let others control our countries and give our money to a monarch who has no concern for our right’s, dedication that was put forth to help fight and respect us as loyal subjects.We must fight for our freedom!” When American colonist waged war it proved to be the only way for the colonies to become free from Britian. In turn, the colonist were justified in breaking away from England because of: The

Huge debts were owed to Great Britain for supplying the colonists with military support and supplies. To pay the dues, there was the establishment of the Stamp Act, the taxation on domestic goods and services. A tax on domestic merchandise brought even more anger to the colonists. The Sugar Act, the Townshed Duties and the Tea Act were also all introduced with the same fundamentals: applying tax on goods whether it be directly or indirectly, domestic or international. “British commercial regulations imposed a paltry economic burden on Americans, who enjoyed a rapid economic growth and a standard of living higher than their European counterparts” (McGaughy). Each act resulted in irritated colonists. Some even retaliated by tarring and feathering certain English tax enforcers living in the colonies.

“No Taxation without Representation” cried colonists all over the 13 colonies in the 1760s. Many of whom who only saw the taxes as a dent in their income rather than a necessity for a nation to survive. In the pamphlet (“Considerations…” by Thomas Whately), the author who is an advisor to the British Chancellor of the Exchequer references to the French and Indian war and states “We are not yet received from a war undertaken solely for their Protection ( the colonies)...”. Evidently wars depend upon tremendous amounts of money win or lose, fortunately with the support of its mother country, the colonies prevailed and won the French and Indian war. In order to replenish its

     There was another by-product of the war for Britain; her national debt more than doubled during the course of the conflict. At a time when Britain was starting to bend beneath the weight of the debt, it was only a matter of time before parliament looked to the colonies to help shoulder some of the price incurred in their defense. The Sugar and Stamp Acts were the first of many measures to tax the colonists. The Townshend Duties and the Tea Act would follow. While these measures outraged the colonists because of their monetary implications, it was the constitutional implications brought on by the Acts that were most offensive to the colonists. Until after the Seven Years War, the colonists had been left to essentially tax themselves. Now the colonists had a rallying cry, as they deplored the idea of no taxation without representation. In 1765 the Stamp Act Congress was held, and in a bid of utter defiance the representatives agreed that the colonial legislative assemblies alone had the right to tax the colonies. Parliament repealed the Stamp Act, but only after agreeing to pass the Declaratory Act, which informed the colonies that Britain did in fact have the right to legislate for the

There were several acts that were passed without the consideration of the colonists that would force them to pay a ridiculous amount of taxes to the British mainland. One of these acts was named the Stamp Act, which was enacted in 1765, forced the colonists to pay a tax on every piece of printed paper that they used. This would include legal documents, license, commercial contracts and newspapers in the tax. This tax mostly effected the wealthier and influential of the colonists and would force them to unite in opposition. There were several other acts that would be passed that would force the colonists to pay undue taxes to the British, such as the Quartering Act and the Tea

They thought that there was not good enough reason for the new taxes. England on the other hand stated that they taxed the colonist more because they were nearly bankrupt after the French and Indian War. That felt someone had to help compensate and since the American colonies benefited more. They need to bear most of the cost for England’s’ protection and administration. (Pg.536). Between 1763 and 1774, the government passed a new series of laws; placing the colonies under strict restrictions and making them pay higher taxes.

The taxes passed by Parliament angered the colonists because they were unconstitutional, and did not give Americans representation in the courts. In a resolution, the text states “... This tax… [is] unconstitutional. We have always understood it to be a grand and fundamental principle.. That no … man should be subject to any tax to which he has not given consent… In the … courts one judge presides alone! No juries [are allowed]” ( Document 1). Here, John Adams is informing his peers of his negative opinion on the first of Parliament’s taxes, the Stamp Act, which was passed on November 1, 1765. This act required Colonists to pay unreasonable fees on almost all printed documents. It is an

The colonists did not mind the taxes as much because some of the items that were taxed were unnecessary, however they did mind that the British were using their power as an excuse to tax the people for no reason (controlling them). The people’s money was not used in a useful matter, it was used for nothing, just extra money for the British to have. “The raising of revenue… was never intended… Never did the British parliament, (until the passing of the Stamp act) think of imposing duties in America for the purpose of raising a revenue. The Townshend Acts claim the authority to impose duties on these colonies, not for the regulation of trade… but for the single purpose of levying money upson us.” (Document 2). The British just decided one day to just tax the colonies for no reason and the people had no say in it. Also, the British soldiers would come to Boston and take the Boston colonists jobs. Men and women would lose their jobs because the British would take it away from them, they were stealing people’s jobs. The British were taking their money and now their jobs after all the colonists did for them in the French and Indian war. That is not fair for them to run the people like that and it had to be

The American colonies had good reason to suspect some other motives were at play in Britain and with their fears came more taxes. With their ever-growing belief that in some way Britain was devising a plan to seize their liberties, colonists started to boycott British luxury goods so Britain would have to stop the taxes since they would not be making revenue. However, this did not stop Parliament from adding new taxes to the list. In 1767, the Townshend Revenue Acts were imposed and set a new series of taxes on the colonists to offset the costs of administering and protecting the American colonies. Items taxed include imports such as paper, tea, glass, lead and paints. The restrictions Britain

The colonists felt that the Seven Years War wasn’t their fight and that Britain shouldn’t be taxing them without their equal share of saying. The Virginia Resolves, written by the Virginia House of Burgesses, stated the rights of the citizens of Virginia to have a say in their taxes. Following the Townshend Acts of 1767, the American colonists began expressing their rights of “No Taxation Without Representation”. The Virginia House of Burgesses believed they had the right to dictate their own taxes upon Virginia and that it shouldn't be dictated by Britain (Doc 2). This reflects the viewpoint of many colonists, who believed that the taxes imposed upon them were unfair without a say in the council in which the taxes are created. Samuel Adams, the leader of the Boys of Liberty, a group of boycotters and the ones behind the Boston Tea Party, wrote upon the ideas that the colonists had the rights to decide who governs them according to the natural rights of man. His goal was to persuade the colonists against the tyranny of Britain and realize that they could govern themselves without the taxation of England (Doc 3). This use of propaganda illustrates the tendencies of colonial leaders to promote liberty and natural rights and change the colonists ideas on freedom and tyranny. The thought of how much money could be made without British taxation motivated many colonists as well. When the colonists realized that their income could increase by double, they rallied behind the side fighting for freedom and realized how much better off they would be without a British shadow looming overhead (Doc 6). The largest motivator to get Patriot support and to keep the soldiers determined was Thomas Paine’s philosophical papers published on the benefits of a Patriot victory. Thomas Paine speaks of the greater benefits achieved from a difficult task and

The King and the parliament believed to pay back war debts taxes were the only way. The tax that put the most tension on the colonies was in 1767 and it was tax on imported tea.”It has come about through the gathering of the testimony of contemporary witness of undoubted competency and through the researches of many scholars” (Beard 3).The people living in the colonies believed they were not governed by England s didn't have to follow England's tax. The 13 colonies held a convention to try and talk to the British government but they were not being heard. So one night the colonist in Boston Massachusetts decided to go dump the tea on ships into the water. This is one of the most iconic revolts during the time period.The British government would shut down the Boston port to show authority. The colonist did not want to pay the taxes because they felt they were not part of England anymore and England needed someone to pay back the debts.This clearly shows that economics drove the American

The colonist also didn’t admire that they had no say in how much they are paying or what they are paying for, this wasn’t fair. “ Fundamental principle of the constitution that no free man should be subjected to any tax to which he had not given consent, in person or by proxy “ which is also “ No taxation without representation”. The Americans thought it was necessary to have legislators seated and voting in the London to be taxed. James Otis was the main person to argue for this representation in the Stamp Act Congress. On the other hand the British believed in something called virtual representation, virtual representation is a belief that a member of the Parliament virtually represented every person in the

As a member of British Parliament, there would be several points to make in order to rationalize the large taxation of American colonists to defend them. Firstly, it is well known that colonists, especially on the more Western lying regions, lived in a fear of attacks from Native American tribes. Higher taxation would support a larger military which would in turn create a stronger British military presence in the colonies in order to defend from attacks. Not only would they be protecting against Indian attacks, the military could also be used in an effort to stop the advancement of other European nations in North America into the British territories. Both Spain and France, especially France, had made agressions into the English colonies in

After having years of benign British neglect, and after capably governing themselves, the people in the American colonies were not pleased when the British Parliament decided after the end of the successful end of the French Indian War in 1763 to become more engaged in the American colonists’ affairs. The British government wanted to protect the American colonies from future Indian and other attacks.

The irregular and disorganized British rule of the American colonies in the previous years led to the outbreak of the Revolutionary War. Most Americans did not originally want to separate from mother England. They wanted to stay loyal to the crown. England’s unwillingness to compromise, mismanagement of the colonies, heavy taxation of the colonists that violated their rights, the distractions of foreign affairs and politics in England and the strict trading policies that England tried to enforce together made the revolution inevitable. The British were definitely expected to win the dispute because they significantly over powered the Colonists in most areas. They had more money, weapons, people, etc. However the American’s prevailed with