The Navigation Acts Of Thomas Paine And The Revolutionary War

These are the times that try men’ssouls.”This was a quote from Thomas Paine and it was a horrifically true one. There were many things that could drive a man to his knees from the absolute lack of independence, leading to the Revolutionary War. There were the Navigation Acts of 1660, he French and Indian War, Pontiacs Rebellion and The Proclamation of 1763, the Sugar Act, the Stamp Act, the Declaratory Act, the Townshend Act, the Boston Massacre and Tea Party, and lastly the Intolerable Acts. These were all things that take a man , and drive him crazy making him become and act savage. Many gave in , but the strong stood still waiting for the time that their service was needed. The first of these tests was the Navigation Acts.
Second, the colonies had to use English ships to trade. Lastly, all colonial items had to pass through English ports to be taxed or have duties placed on the items. As you can predict colonists acted towards this with offense. The colonists protested that they shouldn’t have to abide by the acts. This led to illegal trafficking of these items. The smuggling was clearly a defense or rebound from the British’s actions. Guerilla warfare. This concept hit the British and the colonies smack in the face. The French and Indian War was the first time it was introduced to the British. The French and Indian War was a win for the British an colonies, but afterwards the British left an army inside the colonies. This led to high taxes (enforced by Britain) to help pay for the war and protection from Natives. This angered the colonists, the colonists had already started to feel independent , and like they didn’t need Britain standing over their shoulder. Later on, the colonists felt like they had no voice if representation in Parliament. They soon felt like they had no voice in taxation. This led to a popular phrase. No taxation without representation. Would
Well in the year 1770 the Boston Massacre happened. It started with colonists verbally insulting a British soldier stationed at a street corner. This later led to a physical assault acted upon the British soldier by the colonists. Eventually when more soldiers showed up to help aid their fellow soldier, they too were physically assaulted. This led to the soldiers firing into the crowd of colonists. The colonists were able to protest, and put the soldiers on trial. In the midst of all of this, Parliament pulled the Towshend act to release tension. In the end, the British soldiers were proven to be free of guilt. This is what ended the great commotion of the Boston massacre How would you feel if you had your favorite drink taken away from you? Many people could and may become very angry. In 1773 the Tea Act is passed making British tea cheaper than colonial tea. Eventually colonists were forcefully made to buy British tea from the East India company. In the backlash of all this, many colonists decided to dump boatloads of British tea into the Boston Harbor. Many men who took part in the event went to the taverns dressed as natives still. Many even went and boasted that if anyone wanted tea to take their cup out to the harbor and dip it out there. This protest was later called the Boston tea party. For many colonists, the Intolerable acts were the final push they