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American Revolution Dbq

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Many American’s are aware that the American Revolution started, because the British Government was taxing the colonies without giving them proper representation in parliament. However, what many American’s do not understand is that the colonial protestors had many more complaints about the British Government in the mid 1770s. Thomas Paine described the colonists view of the British best when he said, “The British were thieves, literally “highwaymen” who stole American rights and wealth as well.” The years following the Seven Years War brought drastic changes for the colonists as Great Britain started taking more control over the them and with each new tax they continued to fill with rage. The most convincing evidence the colonial protestors …show more content…

Prior to the Seven Years War, Great Britain had enforced the idea of salutary neglect when it came to governing the colonies and for the most part the colonists had a good relationship with England. They left the colonists alone and did not complain, as long as they were generating revenue for the country. However, after the Seven Years War Great Britain was left with a great deal of debt and they felt that the colonists should help pay for their share considering England had helped protect them during the war. In the beginning, England was not seeking to take the colonists liberty, but as time went by and the tensions between them and the colonists increased, they began to take away more of the colonies’ …show more content…

The colonists no longer considered it be a virtuous government. As Thomas Paine said, “Government is, or at least should be, designed to “supply the deflect of moral virtue”. It is evident that in the years 1774 to 1776 that British government had become corrupt and they were forcing laws upon the colonists that they did not have the authority to do. By enforcing these laws without giving the colonists proper representation in Parliament the British government had infringed on the colonist’s rights to life, liberty, and

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