Causes of Americans Revolution

Causes of Americans Revolution

In 1763, the Royal Proclamation got declared by the British to conciliate the Native Americans after the end of the France and Indian war. The proclamation led to the establishment of new mainland colonies, namely; West Florida, Quebec, and East Florida, where the soldiers settled after winning the war, which lasted for seven years. However, the proclamation banned the colonists from moving in the west of the Appalachian Mountains resulting in conflicts as many colonists were not pleased with the treaty, including George Washington. Consequently, the French allied with the native tribes in the conflict due to the dissatisfaction from the British leadership. Eventually, the battles led to the declaration of independence of America. Thus, this paper discusses how the creation of proclamation led to the introduction of laws by the British to rule colonists causing revolution by Americans to achieve independence.

In May 1763, a pan-tribal group headed by Ottawa chief Pontiac formed a rebellion against the British rule. The Native warriors attacked various British forts, whereby eight were captured. They also raided many frontier settlements causing deaths of many people in the invasion. The attack led the British to offer smallpox-infected blankets to the followers of chief Pontiac. More so, The Paxton Boys, a gang of whites massacred twenty defenseless people from the native tribes who were not associated with the attacks led by the chief. King George issued a decree to prevent the occurrence of similar attacks in the future. The king ordered the proclamation to prohibit the colonists from purchasing tribal territories. Instead, only the crown had the obligations to buy such territories

Britain’s Trade Laws.

Great Britain faced financial problems after the French and Indian war ended due to huge debts. The economic problems led the British to start taxing the colonists. In 1763, prime minister George Grenville got determined to reduce the indebtedness of Britain by stopping the smuggling of goods to promote taxes from the colonists. The American juries found the smugglers innocent, forcing Grenville to convince the parliament to pass the law of presenting the smugglers in the vice-admiralty courts run by officers. In 1767, the parliament authorized the writs of assistance, which allowed the officers to search for smuggled goods at any location in the country.

The Sugar Act.

After imposing the law to stop smugglers, the prime minister introduced the bills to increase the tax revenue. In 1764, the parliament ruled out the Sugar Act, whereby the colonists paid low taxes after importing molasses. The act was imposed to convince colonists to pay taxes instead of smuggling goods. Furthermore, the law gave the officers the right to seize smuggled goods without going to court.

The introduction of the new laws and the Sugar Act to prevent smuggling infuriated the colonists. Thus, the colonists believed that their rights as British people got desecrated. The vice-admiralty courts defiled their rights by preventing a jury trial, while writs of assistance facilitated insecurity in their homes. The laws imposed contradicted with the British law alarming the colonists. James Otis, a lawyer in Boston, defended the rights of the colonists by arguing that each part of the colonies should get taxed with their consent.

The Stamp Act.

In 1765, the Stamp Act law was enforced, which stated all printed items to be taxed in the colonies. The British officials placed stamps on all printed materials to enhance the colonists to pay taxes for the items. The law affected each person in the colonial cites. Also, Quartering law was passed by the parliament, forcing the settlers to pay for housing accommodations in taverns for British troops. Moreover, the colonists were to provide forces with drinks and food. Hence, the enforced laws led to the need for actions by the colonists who felt oppressed.

Patrick Henry convinced the burgesses to go against the Stamp Act rule. Later, Henry was charged with treason leading to Virginia assembly passing a resolution claiming it had exclusive power and rights to enforce taxes on its citizens. Samuel Adams developed a movement known as the Sons of Liberty in Boston. The campaign organized demonstrations in the streets against the Stamp Act law. In the summer of 1765, the protesters raided and burned royal officials’ houses as they marched, shouting only Americans had an obligation to taxes other Americans.

The nine colonies met in October in New York to draft a petition to the parliament to claiming that only their officials could tax the settlements. The people from colonial cities were incited to protest against the use of stamps in their printed items. The colonies also urged the merchants to boycott the goods from British and other European countries. Consequently, many artisans and merchants signed an agreement known as Nonimportation pledging not to buy or use products from Britain. British merchants made massive losses which enhanced them to plead with the parliament to repeal the Stamp Act.

In March 1766, the parliament canceled the Stamp Act. On the same day, the parliament enforced the Declaratory Act. The act authorized the parliament to make decisions and impose taxes on all British colonies. In 1767, the parliament passed many laws referred to as Townshend Acts to solve the problems caused by the Stamp Act. The acts enforced taxes on imported goods only. However, the colonists opposed any laws the parliament passed, leading to multiple boycotts. The women still joined the boycott movement against the Townshend Acts, referring themselves as Daughters of Liberty. They started producing goods locally and urged Americans to wear homemade clothes. Their main objective was to make American colonies economically independent.

The Boston Massacre

Multiple protests from the Liberty movement and other protestors created tension for British officials. In 1768, the British officials in charge of the colonies sent a message to the king in Britain, informing him about the rebellion of the colonies. In response, the parliament sends troops to Boston to enforce order in the region. The soldiers camped in the center of the city, and their relationship with the colonist was not pleasant as the troops acted brutally and rudely to them. In 1770, the Boston colonist protested against the redcoats as they wanted to drive them away from Boston. The crowd marched towards the camps of the redcoat throwing stones, pieces of wood, and shells at the soldiers. After one soldier was knocked out, the tension influenced other soldiers to start shouting the rioting colonists. The shouting led to five deaths of the colonist, which led to the tragedy referred to as the Boston Massacre.

The massacre led to the eruption of propaganda as colonial leaders used the news to influence an opinion over the British rule. The Boston Massacre enhanced to multiple and more robust boycotts of items from Britain. They subsequently forced the parliament to rescind all the Townshend Acts taxes except on tea. In 1772, Samuel Adams revived the Boston organization, which transferred documents about the complaints against Britain.

Crisis Over Tea

In 1773, the parliament passed the Tea Act aimed to save the East Indian Firm. The act allowed the company to ship tea with fewer taxes into the colonies. Also, the firm had the authority to sell the tea directly to retailers at low prices in comparison to that of the colonies. Thus, the act facilitated a new boycott of British commodities. On December 16, Mohawks men threw 342 chests of tea, whereby the event was referred to as the Boston Tea Party. The news spread all over the colonies leading to celebrations due to the brave act of the Mohawks men. The British government received the news about the Boston Tea Party and ordered the parliament to develop harsh rules towards the colonies known as Coercive Acts.

The Coercive Acts led to the closure of Boston Harbor until the payment of the ruined tea. More so, the deed prevented the supply of food and other commodities in Boston coming through the ship. Afterward, another law was introduced known as the Quebec Act, further angering the colonists.

The Continental Congress

The colonial leaders developed Congress involving all the colonies as they needed more than boycotts to oppose the British policies. In September 1774, settler leaders in all territories, excluding Georgia, met at Philadelphia to form a political organization to represent the Americans’ interests known as Continental Congress. The organization fought for the rights of colonists from the explicit acts set by the British. The Congress voted for boycotts to all trades and commodities from Britain. The delegates also led to the endorsement of Suffolk Resolves to prepare people against the British through forming armed militias groups.

The British government sends their troops to Boston led by Sir Thomas Gage, the British general. The king instructed Cage to take all the weapons from colonists’ militia and detention of the leaders. April 18, 1775, Warren discovered unusual activities of the British military and went to alert other members of the army to prepare for war. Captain John Walker led the minutemen in the battlegrounds where the British troops found them a position to fight. The two groups exchange fire leaving eight minutemen dead. The war marked the road to independence for Americans from British rule.

After the battle, committees of the militia asked people to volunteer to reinforce the movement. The colonists volunteered to build a strong force to defend themselves from the British troops. On June 16, 1775, another battle erupted at Bunker hill to remove the Americans in the Bunker Hill. At the beginning of the fight, the American militia defeated the redcoats forcing them to retreat. The British military charged once again, which led to the withdraw of Americans after running out of gunpowder. Eventually, the British won the battle, although they suffered heavy casualties.

The Second Continental Congress gathered in May 1775. The organization chose Hancock as the leader, a wealthy merchant who sponsored various patriot groups. The Congress began to rule all the colonies and authorized the printing of currencies. Furthermore, the delegate developed a well-organized defense force referred to as the Continental Army to protect them from British authorities. The organization elected George Washington as the commander of the army.

The Continental delegates sent the Olive Branch Petition to King George, informing him of the desire for peace from the colonists. Besides, the formal request asked the king to protect the rights of the natives. However, George rejected the petition by preparing the war against the colonists and hired German troops to fight beside his forces. Washington organized the Continental Army to march against the two soldiers of British and Germans. The colonist’s army defeated the British troops who withdrew and sailed away. The victory enhanced the Americans to move towards independence from Britain. The committee from the Congress drafted the Declaration of Independence.

In conclusion, the proclamation led to conciliating native Americans. Thus, preventing the colonist from settling in the west region of the Appalachian Mountains resulting in conflicts as many colonists were not pleased. The British government imposed strict laws that violated the rights of colonists, influencing them to boycotts trade and commodities from Britain. Ultimately, the Americans join from all colonies to form a Congress to fight for their rights, resulting in battles with the British. Finally, the Continental Army defeated the British forces led by Washington. The victory facilitated the revolution of Americans against the rule of the British.

Bibliography

Alden, John Richard, and Robert Middlekauff. The American Revolution, 1763-1783. Harper & Row, 1962.

Ambuske, J. “Proclamation Line of 1763.” George Washington’s Mount Vernon. Accessed March 25, 2020. https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/proclamation-line-of-1763/.

Carter, Clarence E. “Some aspects of British administration in West Florida.” The Mississippi Valley Historical Review 1, no. 3 (1914): 364-375. https://www.jstor.org/stable/1897608

Jamestown, F. “Road to Revolution, 1760-1775.” Jamestown Settlement, American Revolution Museum at Yorktown, History is Fun, Hands-on History Museums, America’s Beginnings. Last modified 2014. https://www.historyisfun.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/RoadtoRevolution.pdf.