The American Revolution evolved from rising tensions between the British government and the 13 colonies who wished for independence. The people of America essentially wanted to be separated from Britain and desired self-government. An abundance of factors caused Americans to distrust Britain and there is not just one reason but many. The experiences of the Americans at the time, are what caused them to long for separation. Many people wonder, what were the most important causes of the American Revolution?
Thomas Paine used God and heaven to explain to the people that the taxing and tyrannic power is wrong (Doc. 7). Thomas Paine says that Britain has “an army to enforce her tyranny”, but he argued that the colonists shouldn’t have to pay taxes that others don’t to a king that is an ocean away (Doc. 7). Thomas Paine says such things to support Patriotism and to call for greater colonial support of the Revolution (Doc.
John Locke was a key figure in the Enlightenment (which was at its peak at the time of the revolution), who stated that the government’s duty was to secure the rights of the people with the consent of the governed. If the government fails to do its duty, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it, and to create a new one. Essentially, this was what the American Declaration of Independence revolved around; it calls out King George III on his acts that violates their values of equality and their unalienable rights and declares the independence of the thirteen
The First Conflicts are five main sources of contention that eventually lead to the American Revolution. They are the Stamp Act (March 22, 1765), Townshend Acts (June 14, 1767 - July 2, 1767), Boston Massacre (March 5, 1770), Boston Tea Party (December 17, 1773), and the Intolerable or Coercive Acts (May 14, 1774). The Stamp Act was a tax enforced upon colonists which was intended to pay British troops stationed there. The Townshend Act increased payment to officials stationed in the colonies. This was meant to ensure that the governors and judges would comply with Britain.
The colonist who had been dealing with lot of their own affairs developed certain feeling of independence. However, that feeling was shattered after the French and Indian wars the British raised taxes in American colonies. The revenue was raised by implementation of various Acts to pay off the war debts and to finance British troops in the colonies. With the introduction of these acts, such as Sugar Act or the Stamp Act, started the unrest in the colonies in form of gatherings and organizations which eventually led to the American Revolution. With a specific end goal to contend my case, I will first discuss Sugar and Stamp Acts and the resistance created as response to the British taxation.
The writings of Thomas Paine and Patrick Henry both use metaphors, include rhetorical questions, and serve the same purpose. The first similarity between “The American Crisis” and “Speech in the Virginia Convention”, is the use of extended metaphors. Thomas Paine states in his essay, “Britain, with an army to enforce her tyranny, has declared that she had a right (not only to) TAX but “to BIND us in ALL CASES WHATSOEVER,” and if being bound in that manner is not slavery, then is there not such a thing as slavery upon earth.” Here, Paine is comparing how Britain treated the colonies to that of a slave and slave owner. Britain has used its power to take full control of the colonies, placing them under laws and rules they have not agreed to. Another metaphor in “The American Crisis” is, “Not all the treasures of the world, so far as I believe, could have induced me to support an offensive war, but I think it murder, but if a thief breaks into my home, burns and destroys my property, and kills or threatens to kill me, or those that are in it, and to “bind me in all cases whatsoever” to his absolute will, am I to
From an American’s view, the revolution was justified and the birth of a free nation. From an English view point, the British empire has lost the only foothold they had in the New World that would have brought them more trade items and benefits their stance as a dominating world power. The task of defining a Legend becomes difficult when a person realizes that there are no answers only
This angered the American colonists who wanted to keep their local government control and expand into new farmlands. To the American colonists, it seemed Britain was taking the side of the Native Americans, increasing tensions between the colonists and the British. Therefore, with other failed policies of the British government, such as the Sugar Act (1764), this inspired the American War of Independence. Due to American success, the Treaty of Paris (1783) ended the War and Britain agreed to new boundaries of the American nation. Independence enabled colonists to create a new constitution based
Born from a fiery rebellion against tyranny, the American Revolution created a national identity built on division. The Revolution divided America from Britain, while separating white Americans from African-Americans. Of course, America fought for its freedom as a nation: whites, African-Americans, and others united against British authority. When the Revolution succeeded and the United States came into being, a new national identity arose founded upon liberal ideals that promised equality and opportunity to all citizens: the American Dream. However, the new nation excluded one fifth of its population from its new ideals.
However, the American Revolution and the French Revolution are arguably the two most significant revolutions in world history. But what makes them so comparable, and what makes them so contrasting? The main similarity between the two revolutions was their overall purpose. The American Revolution occurred with the intention of severing ties with a “foreign” nation and establishing a new government that would enact policies and taxes that were more actively responsive to the current conditions of the colonies. Most Americans did not desire complete autonomy from their motherland, but rather the right to self-govern.