Causes of American Revolution Essay Example

Introduction

American Revolution took place from early 1765 to 1783. American patriots from the thirteen colonies fought for independence in which they finally won it from the British, and they became the United States of America. American Revolution resulted from several factors that brought the desire for the colonists need to fight for freedom. Factors that cause the America revolution did not only lead to war; it also shaped the creation of the United States of America. It cannot be outlined that a single event caused the revolution, but it was a sequence of events that started the war. It all began with the disagreement on how Great Britain handled the colonies and the way the colonies wanted to be treated.

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Royal Proclamation of 1763

The British government issued the proclamation in 1763. This was after the end of the Indian and French war. The proclamation banned the colonists from settling on the inland. The proclamation also banned the citizens and the colonial authority from buying the land restricting this services only to British. British Empire were the only ones allowed to conduct such official business and relations. Britain empire license traders for them to be allowed to trade with the natives.

The main purposes of the proclamation were to prevent further expansion into the areas being scrambled for so as to maintain peace and avoid the emergence of another war like a French and Indian war that had just ended (Bailyn, 22). British Empire also did not want the colonists to spread towards inland for them to avoid putting the infrastructure in place and security that will cost the government a lot of funds. The British government could afford to invest in more settlements due to heavy debts incurred during the war.

American patriots saw the proclamation as a way that the British government uses to put its own interest and needs ahead instead of taking care of the interests of the people it serves. They believed the government should serve the interest of its people. The colonists saw that through war they had earned the western land through the French and Indian war. This became a reason for them to fight for the denial of their rights as they feel betrayed in their own land.

Mayhew-Apthorp Controversy

A church was established in Cambridge, Boston by the Anglicans in 1760. It was a mission church built by Society of Propagating the Gospel in Foreign Parts (S.P.G). The S.P.G was a British missionary group that had the main purpose of converting the natives American to the Anglican faith (Bell, 3). When the colonist saw this, they responded by coming up with their own mission society. They named it Society for Propagating the Gospel among the Indians of North America which was meant to convert the natives into Congregationalist faith. When the archbishop of England found out about this, he convinced the council to end the society's charter in America.

The situation worsened when Reverend East Apthorp of Christ church in Boston published that they supported the society of Propagating the Gospel in Foreign Parts in bringing natives to Anglican faith. Reverend Jonathan Mayhew from Westfield responded by publishing a pamphlet that argued that the S.P.G. in Britain had plans to install an Anglican bishop in their colonies. This brought a huge controversy and debate among the natives and members of the societies. Reverend Jonathan Mayhew believed that British authority was trying to sabotage the religious freedom of its colonists. Mayhew became a Congregational radical who made a public controversy out of this situation at the same moment that the natives were feeling oppressed by the British policies.

Acts of the American Revolution

Great Britain got into great debt in 1763 due to the high cost of French and Indian War. They also needed money to pay for more troops to protect the land acquired during the war. To settle these debts and raise more funds Great Britain imposed a series of taxes to the 13 colonies for them to be able to generate revenue. Several acts were put in place to regulate the generation of revenue.

There was a sugar act that was placed for the natives to pay tax on sugar imported. It was resented by the colonists because they were not represented in parliament during the making of the act. British passed The Currency Act which forbid the colonies from issuing paper money. The colonists saw this as a plan by the British government to control the rules that govern money in their colonies. Colonists felt the British were not being fair by asking them to pay in gold and silver as they continually drain resources from their land. There were also The Stamp Act, The Townshend Acts, The Tea Act and The Coercive Acts.

These acts made the colonists take on the streets and publicly protest for their rights to be represented during the passing of these acts. The acts were seen as an infringement of their rights by the colonists, and they saw it as the beginning of oppression (Bailyn, 22). Colonists saw this as a sign of a beginning of more unfair government laws, and they saw a need to take action to ensure that the worse did not happen to them.

The Boston Massacre

As the American Revolution gets to its peak, there were protest and riots all over. There was a riot in Boston and during this riot the British gun down five protesters on the night of March 5th, 1770. The Boston massacre confirmed to the colonists that the troops were sent to intimidate and force them to comply with the new laws and policies. The soldiers who did the shooting were acquitted making the colonists to become bitterer, and they suspected that there were irregularities in the judicial system. This fact boosted the need for the colonists to fight for their liberty.

The First Continental Congress

The continental congress had 55 representatives from the 12 colonies. Georgia was withheld argued that they had killed people from Britain and there was a need to separate it. The congress took place for two months in which they decided to send their declaration and complains to King George with the hope of them getting their demand met. Even after the Congress, the colonists did not see the possibility for them to be separated from the Britain rule.

The delegates supported the "Suffolk Reserves," resolutions which were passed by Suffolk County in Massachusetts colony which was one of the main cause of American Revolution. The Suffolk reserves was a warning to the general Thomas gate that Massachusetts will not withstand the new enforcement and they will retain all the revenue collected within Massachusetts.

The Corruption and Control

As the revolution fight build up, British government presence became more apparent. Soldiers and British officials were given more power and control over the colonists which led to massive corruption. Kelly in "The Root Causes of the American Revolution." States that the British controlled trade and soldiers were given the powers to search and seize properties suspected to smuggled or illegal. The powers allowed them to enter and search private homes and seize warehouses, and many of the soldiers abused these powers. These activities inflamed the level of resistance and ultimately led to the revolution. These events let the development of the Third Amendment and the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution.

The American colonist had to deal with the criminal injustices subjected to them. riots and protest become regular, and colonists were killed in the process. Alexander McDougall was unjustly sent to prison for publishing his work about the betrayed inhabitants of the colony of New York. In the same period, the troops who killed protesters in Boston were acquitted and sent to England where they will be no witness. This change of rules led to fewer convictions creating bitterness among the colonists. Colonial authorities lost power, and getting justice for colonists was no longer possible.

All of these events and grievances that were raised by the colonists to the British government led to the American Revolution. Many of the factors affected what was written in United States Constitution by the founding fathers. All the issues were highlighted with hopes that it will not subject its citizens to the same oppression and lack of freedom as they did experience under British colonial.

References

Bailyn, Bernard. The ideological origins of the American Revolution. Harvard University Press, 2017.

Kelly, Martin. "The Root Causes of the American Revolution." ThoughtCo, Apr. 20, 2018, https://www.thoughtco.com/causes-of-the-american-revolution-104860Bell,

James B. A War of Religion: Dissenters, Anglicans, and the American Revolution. Springer, 2008.