What Is The Cause Of The American Revolution?

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The American Revolution did not just begin out of thin air with the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. There were many acts, both by the British and the American colonists, which led up to the eventual signing of the document. From the French and Indian War, taxation on the colonists, the Boston Massacre and the Boston Tea Party all played a major role in determining the fate of the colonies. The French and Indian War, known also as the 7 Years’ War, was primarily a fight between the British and the French about expansion of territories in America beginning in 1756 and lasting to 1763. The Indians were allies with France causing the British to have heavy losses during the war (Staff, 2009). The American colonists lost many people in the war and were angry at the British for a war they gained virtually nothing for. In the end, the Proclamation of 1763 was issued ending the French and Indian War and setting the boundary of the British colonies as the Appalachian Mountains. This also did not set well with the colonists. The colonists were being restricted from expanding west but continued to expand despite what the British decree stated (ushistory.org, 2015). The British were still able to maintain some control of the colonists, however, thru different taxes. Many taxes were being levied upon the colonists. …show more content…
One of the heaviest taxes after the 7 Years’ War was the Stamp Act. The Stamp Act required all official documentation to be written on a specially designed, stamped paper. “Deeds, wills, marriage licenses — contracts of any sort — were not recognized as legal in a court of law unless they were prepared on this paper” (ushistory.org, 2015). Although not technically a taxation, the British also put into law the Quartering Act. The Quartering Act required colonists to feed and house the British troops. These acts led to the boycott of British goods. The boycott was effective and the British repealed the Stamp Act a year later in 1766 (ushistory.org, 2015). These were not the only taxations made on the colonist though. Just after the Stamp Act, Charles Townhend convinced the House of Commons to begin taxing many imported items to include tea. Along with the taxation, customs was implemented allowing for enforcement of the taxes and punishing smugglers. Many of the taxes were once again repealed to further boycotts but the taxes on tea remained. The customs house became a scene of a major iconic part of US history. On March 5, 1770, a mob of townspeople gathered and began to throw rocks at the guards. The British began to fire on the crowd and killed five colonists. One of the patriots killed was Crispus Attucks; a former slave that was given his freedom (ushistory.org, 2015). The Boston Massacre inevitably began to escalate more actions between the colonists and the British. With the tax on tea still remaining and the British East India Company almost bankrupt, a British Lord gave a monopoly to the East-Indie Co for tea trading in the American Colonies. The monopoly actually lowered the price of tea, but the colonists saw this as a plot to force the payment of taxes. The colonists would threaten the ships forcing them to turn around before

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