Preview

Causes of Rebel 1776

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1323 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Causes of Rebel 1776
Evaluate the relative importance of two of the following as factors prompting Americans to rebel in 1776. Parliamentary Taxation The legacy of colonial religious and political ideas British military measures Restrictions of Civil Liberty

Some say that the Revolution was destined to happen ever since Settlers set foot on this continent, others argue that it would not have happened if it weren't for a set of issues that finally drove the colonists to revolt. Ultimately, Britain lost control in 1765 when they gave in to the Stamp Act Congress’s boycotts against parliamentary taxation and gave them the idea that they had the power to run a country. To a lesser degree, Salutary Neglect led to the conception of a legacy of colonial religious and political ideals which set in motion an eminent conflict. During this period, England “forgot” about the colonies and gave them colonists a taste of independence and suspicions of individual political theories. Through Parliament's ruthless taxation without representation and a near opposite religious and political mindset, Britain and the colonists were heaved into a revolutionary war.
The most important issue prompting Americans to rebel in 1776 is clearly parliamentary taxation. The first time a Parliamentary imposed tax threatened the livelihood of the colonies was in 1733 with the Molasses Act, stemmed from the loss of profit for the British West Indies under the Navigation Act. However, this act was avoidable and rarely paid. Following the long and harrowing French and Indian War, Britain was deep in debt and George Grenville was appointed British Chancellor. He was determined to pay off the debt by brutally taxing the colonies. He not only reinforced the ignored Navigation Acts, but he placed the new Sugar Act which was similar to the Molasses Act which put a tax on rum and molasses imported from West Indies, but this Act would be enforced. Needless to say, the colonists were not used to this intrusion of

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Dbq Summary: Why Revolt?

    • 544 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The colonists had endured much turmoil before the 1770s. Colonists had to fight the Native Americans and Spanish for their land. Furthermore, there was the French and Indian War in which the colonists joined forces for the first time to defeat the French and Native Americans for their land. It was during this time that the colonists learned that if they worked together, they were capable of achieving things on their own, without the help of the British. There is not one simple cause of the Revolutionary War but events that create a chain reaction. These events are as follows: the Stamp Act and taxation, colonial unity and resistance to this taxation, and Great Britain’s response to the colonial resistance.…

    • 544 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    UNIT ONE ESSAY QUESTIONS

    • 273 Words
    • 2 Pages

    6. Evaluate the relative importance of THREE following as factors prompting Americans to rebel in 1776:…

    • 273 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    At first, the colonies were proud to be a part of the British empire. Years later, after the results of the French and Indian War took place, the colonies realized the British wasn’t all what it seemed. After seeing the British lose the first two years of the war, the colonies thought that they could possibly have a chance to beat them. King George decided to start taxing the colonies to pay for the war debt from the French and Indian War. This outraged the colonists because they felt they were being taxed with representation. The American Revolution largely began because the American colonists wanted to prevent the British from increasing taxes and violating their rights as Englishmen.…

    • 864 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Politically, the American Revolution was more of an accelerated evolution, despite some drastic choices that indicate a cataclysmic revolution. The political causes for the American Revolution began with many new acts being passed by the British parliament to put taxes on certain items in the colonies. The French and Indian War had cost Britain a lot of money and King George ll wanted help in paying the expenses. New taxes passed by the government gradually began to anger the colonists more and more, once they realize the unfairness of another country thousands of miles away telling them what to do. Acts like the Stamp Act gave Britain power over the colonies and the colonists eventually began to resist them. For example, the Stamp Act of 1765 was passed to cover the cost of keeping British troops in America. It put a tax on all printed items sold in America, which many colonists thought was unfair. In response, nine assemblies in the colonies sent delegates to New York City in October, 1765 to protest the loss of American rights and liberties. They challenged the Stamp Act by declaring only colonist’s elected representatives could tax them. The colonists believed in “no taxation without representation”. They petitioned for a repeal of the Stamp Act, but the British government did not listen. The Stamp Act and Stamp Act Congress show that the American Revolution was an accelerated evolution…

    • 1618 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    8. What were the Townshend Duties? What was Parliament’s rationale for them and how did the colonies react?…

    • 9473 Words
    • 38 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The cause of the American Revolution can be argued but it is clear that it was caused from British missteps that lead to colonial determination to become a separate nation. After 1763, the British began to increase and assert their power over the colonies, who, in contrast, wanted to be less controlled. However, the colonies did not want complete independence prior to this increase in control from the British. Although the colonies did seem to have determination for an independent nation in England’s eyes, the British failed to recognize the colonies real intentions for government, limited expansion and economic success, and increased and controlled taxation in the colonies.…

    • 1389 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The American Revolution displayed certain stages throughout that matched with the broad general pattern. As a prelude before the Revolution itself, there were already preliminary symptoms of unrest within America that followed the first step in the general pattern of revolutions. Prior to the initial shots in 1775, growing discontent against the British Government who were passing certain acts that the Americans thought as very unfair had already risen to a high degree. With the majority of acts incurring economic and financial costs, by 1767, the Townshend Acts had been passed, putting further taxes on paper, glass and tea. Upon the taxes that the Stamp Act of 1965 incurred on such items as newspapers, official documents and almanacs, the American people became highly agitated and a feeling of resentment quickly spilled over the masses, ‘several person were for dying rather than submitting to it...’ [pg52 Maier, P.] Additionally, the Colonialist became increasingly violent, ‘Almost immediately after the Acts [implementation], outbreak of mob activity. By 1770, the preliminary symptom of unrest displayed through protest and discontent was evident. The Colonialist did not feel that they were obligated to be subject to these taxes without representation in British Parliament. Additionally, the psychological pre-condition associated with the cause of war was present in the Colonialist discontent regarding the numerous Acts bearing economic consequences. Not only had the events up till 1770 displayed active protests and early mob activity, it also hinted at the potential oncoming violence the growing mob could inflict which was the next step in the general broad pattern of revolutions.…

    • 1506 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The colonists were infuriated when Britain had decided to tax the colonists on tea, sugar and stamps and demanded that if they were to be taxed they must have their own representative in Parliament. It was the Stamp Act that stirred up these emotions in the colonists and made them fight for their own representative. The Stamp Act of 1765 was passed by Parliament to raise revenue in America. When Britain did not comply with Americas needs the colonists fought to repeal the Stamp Act with what they called the Nonimportation movement, where they refused to by British exports. The battle for ending these heinous taxes were long fought and contributed greatly to eventually the independence of the colonies.…

    • 831 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Stamp Act 1765

    • 985 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Although the Stamp Act had finally passed, the American colonists were still unsure of Britain’s mindset. The colonists were still upset that Britain could tax them without representation. The British thought that since they repealed the Stamp Act, the colonists would retreat and everything would go back to the way it was, however this was not the case. The colonists held to their belief that it was not right to be taxed without having a say. This conflict eventually led up to the Revolutionary War, or the American War of…

    • 985 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The colonists had refused to be ruled by what they had described as a tyrant, which is why they ceased fighting and declared themselves independent. Before the Declaration, the colonists had been withstanding a lot of oppression from their government 3,000 miles away, the British Parliament. Starting with the Proclamation Line of 1763, issued by parliament to prevent the colonies from having war with the surrounding Native Americans, this was one of the first causes that had caused the seed of distrust in the colonists to sprout. Because this Proclamation was issued soon after the French and Indian War, the British were up to their ears in war debt. As a result, the British had passed several acts raising colonial taxes. One of the first of these was the Sugar Act, which had set a tax on sugar purchased in the colonies specifically. The colonies had already been experiencing a multitude of financial difficulties, so a tax act to feed that struggle was indeed a burden. This was soon followed by the Stamp Act, which had placed a tax on every piece of printed paper they had used. The British were very relentless on reasserting their authority over the colonies, however, the colonists are even more so. Boycotting the goods the British taxed, the colonists were successful in…

    • 1086 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Eve of the Revolution

    • 581 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The colonists began off acting as their own countries. They were not unified at all. However, because of the new taxes imposed by Britain, such as the Stamp Act, the colonists started to come together and revolt against Britain. They figured out that they must not only become unified, but they must also create their own sense of identity, unique to Americans. This identity and unification is what led to the eve of the revolution.…

    • 581 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Boston Massacre Analysis

    • 1466 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Throughout history, a multitude of nations have intended to resolve their differences and conflicts with their ruling bodies, but ultimately resorted to a revolution in order to make the changes they sought to become a reality. A prime example of this was the American Revolution during the late eighteenth century. In the 1760’s and leading into the 1770’s, many colonists agreed that the British were neglecting the complaints of the colonies and generally failing to satisfy the needs of the colonists. As a result, peace was attempted and many compromises and appeals were submitted to Britain, but to no avail. Ultimately, the colonists resorted to separating from Britain and declaring America an independent nation. Therefore, there was a shift…

    • 1466 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    You have all heard about the American Revolution, but have you ever wondered why it was called “revolutionary?” In the 1760s, Parliament started taxing the colonies to pay off the huge debts they made during the Seven Years’ War. As more and more taxes and laws were passed to take the colonists’ money, they became more and more angry. Finally, the colonies revolted against their motherland. They created the Continental Congress to make their own laws.…

    • 693 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The American Revolution embarked the beginning of the United States of America. A war that lasted eight years, 1775-1783, was able to grant the thirteen colonies the independence they deserved by breaking free of British rule. The war was an effect of the previous French and Indian War, which forced England to tax the American colonist, compelling them to rebel against parliament. From the 1760’s to 1775, many factors lead up to the American Revolution such as the various acts the British Parliament passed to pay the war debt, no representation in parliament, and the American people wanting to gain their independence. “No Taxation without Representation”, a slogan used by the American colonist, was the most important cause of the colonists declaring war for their independence on the British government.…

    • 1116 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays