Causes Of The American Revolution

Within the colonies, economic elements influenced the British to generate taxes on the colonists in order to bring in additional revenue to cover their war debt. Some of these taxes that were put in place include the Sugar Act, the Stamp Act, the Tea Act. All three of these acts forced the Americans to pay a tax on everyday goods. Whereas Americans viewed the new tax on sugar and other imports as a burden and violation of their rights, for the British, the taxes were a modest imposition necessary to pay for the cost of eliminating the French from North America and administering the colonies (Keene, 101-102). As a result of their two different views on the taxes, the Americans and the British were set up to have conflicts. Because of their

The American Revolution was not just a spontaneous revolt over taxes some may think . There were many things that led up to the outbreak of the American Revolution, such as the Navigation Act, the Enlightenment, the Great Awakening, the French and Indian War, the Boston Massacre, and the Coercive Acts. It took many years for it to take place. This all started previously before 1775 with the first major event being the Navigation Acts of 1651.

Many colonists were angered because of high taxes England chose to enforce on them. These taxes were a result of the British participation and victory in the French and Indian war. However, what made the colonists even more angry was the fact that they were being taxed without representation in England’s Parliament. The colonists thought that, in order to be taxed by the British, they should have representation in it. They saw it as unfair to be taxed by a government they had no say in. As Patrick Henry said in his speech made to the Virginia House of Burgesses, “We can under law be taxed only by our own representatives...The Stamp Act is against the law. We must not obey it…” (Doc. 1). Since many colonists thought this taxation broke the law, some of them chose to protest by going to the House of Burgesses, boycotting imports, or simply not paying it in response. This response is justified; if

Huge debts were owed to Great Britain for supplying the colonists with military support and supplies. To pay the dues, there was the establishment of the Stamp Act, the taxation on domestic goods and services. A tax on domestic merchandise brought even more anger to the colonists. The Sugar Act, the Townshed Duties and the Tea Act were also all introduced with the same fundamentals: applying tax on goods whether it be directly or indirectly, domestic or international. “British commercial regulations imposed a paltry economic burden on Americans, who enjoyed a rapid economic growth and a standard of living higher than their European counterparts” (McGaughy). Each act resulted in irritated colonists. Some even retaliated by tarring and feathering certain English tax enforcers living in the colonies.

The causes of the American Revolution go back to the beginning of salutary neglect and the French and Indian War, as well as changes in the thinking of society. The effects of these events and other factors led to pressure within the colonies, ultimately resulting in rebellion.

England passed a series tax laws and demanded the colonists pay back the debt. In 1764, the Sugar Act was passed by the Parliament of Great Britain, reducing smuggling yet increasing the cost of imported goods in the American colonies and decreasing exportation to non-British markets. The Currency Act of 1764 did not forbid colonies from releasing paper money, yet it did ban paper money from being used to pay of private or public debts. In 1765, the Stamp Act was established in order to raise revenue from the American colonies by taxing stamps which were required on all legal or commercial documents, newspapers, licenses, and diplomas. Great Britain benefited from the passing of the Stamp Act which enriched their economy. The colonists, however, believed that the Act was taxation without representation and the power to tax is the power to destroy. In 1767, a series of laws known as the Townshend Acts placed taxes on tea, glass, paper and other materials. This again benefited Great Britain and upsetted the colonists because of the high payments enforced on these

On April 5, 1764, the Sugar Act was the first of many taxes to be placed upon the American colonies to help pay off Britain’s debt from the American Revolution. In the Sugar Act, products imported into the colonies were being taxed, such as coffee, textiles, and, of course, sugar. The colonists did not take too kindly to this, as the number of places that they could sell to was lowered, which led to the amount of money for them to buy things was decreasing, so their economy became weaker. And as they had less money to support themselves, the taxes were affecting them more than ever. In this way, the colonists became much more aware about how the British were treating them.

The colonists believed they had a right to be represented in Parliament before being taxed or at least vote for the taxing officials. The phrase “no taxation without representation” began to become popular within the colonies.

Great Britain thought that the American colonies would obey them just like the rest of their establishments, but they would soon find out the hard way that they were wrong. The French and Indian War, or the Seven Years War, was a very costly British war. The British spent a lot of money trying to get land in the North America from the French, and ended up with a huge debt to pay for the war. To pay off this colossal debt, King George III decided to tax the American colonies. Two major tax laws were the Intolerable Acts and the Stamp Act. The Intolerable Acts, The Stamp Act, and the other laws being made in Parliament angered the colonists immensely. The colonists very understandably were furious at the British Parliament for making laws without

Colonists felt that they weren’t being treated fairly by the king as he continued to file tax over tax on many goods. The Sugar Act was the first tax the Parliament laid onto the colonists.

Britain's idea to solve its massive debt was to tax and make money from the American colonies under their control. George Grenville a British Minister came up with the Sugar Act to help with tax revenue. This Act taxed six pence per gallon molasses and lowered the molasses prices imported by colonists. The Sugar Act took away the colonist’s

Despite the British parliament passing and imposing various laws including The Sugar Act of 1764, they continued to impose The Stamp Act the same year on the Americans in order to make them pay part of the cost of stationing their soldiers on their land. This form of taxation involved

The sugar act and the molasses act of 1764, was when the merchants had to pay tax of sixpence per gallon on importation of foreign molasses and sugar. Since a lot of molasses crossed over the sea they had to pay lots of taxes. And the british forced the colonists to buy their goods so they had to pay the tax. Then the colonist started boycotting some british goods and other people just did not pay taxes. Then the colonists smuggled the goods into the colonies. So the british didn't want them smuggling and boycotting the goods. So then they lowered the taxes to threepence so the colonists would pay the taxes. Then they made more goods to be taxed sense they lowered the taxes.

How far do you agree that the cause of the American Revolution was the introduction of the Tea Act in 1773?

These acts had been around for a long time and caused little problems. They often benefited from these acts because although they had to buy from England, it was the most advanced industrial country and could often offer the best prices. The first tax to cause trouble in the colonies was the Sugar Act followed closely by the Stamp Act. The Sugar Act was truly just a restatement of old customs laws in an effort to raise money. The Stamp Act was a tax in which anything formally written or printed would have to be on specially stamped paper which was shipped from London. The colonists would soon pay taxes "at every stage of a lawsuit, that diplomas and deeds, almanacs and advertisements, bills and bonds, customs papers and newspapers, even dice and cards, would all be charged," (Morgan 19). The colonists reacted very violently to these taxes. They protested and boycotted throughout the nation and the British Parliament soon repealed the tax. Radicals began to proclaim the fact that there should be no taxation without representation. This meant that colonists should be represented in Parliament if they were going to be taxed by them. The British stated that every member of the Parliament was there to represent the whole Empire, not just the electors he represented. Therefore, the Americans would have no representation in Parliament. In 1773 the British decided to tax tea. They granted the British East India Company to ship their goods