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The American Revolution

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Some people believe the American Revolution is strictly liberal, in truth it is conservative evidenced by the new British policies, colonial reactions and the examinations of what it means to be conservative vs. liberal. The American Revolution was triggered, by many laws that were passed between 1763 and 1775 that controlled trade and taxes. This legislation caused pressure between colonists and imperial officers, who had made it clear that the British Parliament would not address American complaints relating that the new laws were “too difficult”. The British unwilling participation to react to American demands for modification allowed colonists to argue that they were part of an increasingly corrupt and oppressive empire in which traditional liberties were threatened. On April 5, 1764, Parliament passed a revised form of the Sugar and Molasses Act, which was about to expire. Under the Molasses Act colonial merchants had been required to pay a tax of sixpence per gallon on the importation of foreign molasses. Because of corruption, they mostly avoided the taxes and had the intention, that the English product would be cheaper than then from the French West Indies. This ruined the British West Indies market in molasses and sugar and the market for rum, which the colonies had been producing in quantity with the French molasses. Parliament decided it would be clever to make a few changes to the trade rules. The Sugar Act reduced the rate of tax on molasses from six pence to

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