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What Caused The American Revolution Dbq Analysis

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There were many causes for the outbreak of the American Revolution. Following the French and Indian War, the American colonies were taxed heavily by Great Britain with acts such as the Stamp Acts and the Townshend Acts. Britain felt that the taxes were just because they believed the colonists were at fault for the war when they moved into the Ohio River Valley and so the war was fought for colonial protection. However, the colonists felt differently, believing that the taxes were unjust and infringed on their rights. This is due to the fact that the colonists had no one to represent them in Parliament, effectively giving them no say in whether or not they would be taxed. In addition to the heavy taxation, American colonists were also subject …show more content…

John Dickinson, a Pennsylvanian political leader, stated that “[The Townsend Acts claim the authority] to impose duties on these colonies, not for the regulation of trade… but for the single purpose of levying money upon us” (Dickinson, Document 2). Up until this point, Dickinson believed that the taxes the British put on the colonists were reasonable because they were put in place to regulate trade. However, now taxes are being put on the colonists just for the sake of acquiring money from them. In doing this, the British government display their tyrannical nature, choosing to tax the colonists just because they can. Additionally, the colonists have no say in the passing of the Townshend Act, or any other act for that matter, because they had no representation at Parliament. “[The British declare] that parliament can ‘of right make laws to bind us all in cases whatsoever’” (Dickinson and Jefferson, Document 5). Another reason why American colonists were justified in waging war on the British is because of the growing acts of British violence against the colonists. “Order quickly broke down, and the frightened soldiers fired into the crowd. When the shooting ended, several people were dead and more were wounded” (Document 3). “No man was a warmer wisher for a [peaceful settlement] than myself, before the fatal nineteenth of April,

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After the French and Indian War, Great Britain went into serious debt. Great Britain’s debt caused them to tighten their control over colonial America. One way that Great Britain tightened their control over the colonies was by enacting many taxes. The colonists met these acts with much resistance, and protests. This went to show that the main cause of the revolution was tighter British control for the colonists.

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The French and Indian War helped cause the American Revolution in many ways. It also affected the outcome of the war. The french and Indian war helped cause the American Revolution because that war was the reason that Britain was in debt and started to tax the colonists. The taxes the British imposed on the colonist were the starting point of the rebellion that led to the revolution.

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Britain also had to pay for more armies in order to protect the colonies against French and Native American attacks. Since Britain was constantly losing money, they began taxing the colonies. “British leaders believed the colonists should pay part of the debt” (page 146). In order to do this, Parliament passed many acts. The Sugar Act, the Quartering Act, the Stamp Act, and the Declaratory Act upset the colonists, so they protested.

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During the initial development of America officially gaining its independence from Britain, there were certainly some very high tensions growing within the colonies against English rule. With Britain enforcing taxes that the Americans deemed unfair and the Americans responding with protest, looking back retrospectively it seems that American independence was almost inevitable. The first example of British taxation in the colonies was the Sugar Act which imposed a higher tax on foreign imports; however, this kind of tax was not seen as unreasonable in the eyes of the Americans, it was what came after that stirred up the most trouble. The Stamp Act of 1765, the very first direct tax in all of colonial history, was the turning point for many Americans

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There were many causes of the French Revolution. People were unhappy with the current political, social, and economic condition and sought after change. Enlightenment philosophers brought new ideas and views of government. The Revolution affected mostly the middle class and higher estates. There was a great social aspect that caused the French Revolution.

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500 Words | 2 Pages

At first, the American colonies were happy to be control by the Great Britain, The British Parliament didn’t bother the colonists very much. However, after the French Indian War, The Great Britain need money to repay a huge debt. The British Parliament said the purpose of the Great Britain to fought the war is to protect the American Colonies from French, so the American Colonies should help to pay the debt for the war. For this reason, the British Parliament has been passing laws to place taxes on the American colonies. However, most American colonists didn’t agree to help the Britain to repay the debt.

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715 Words | 3 Pages

The colonists were not only angry because of the taxes. They had no power to represent to British that they did not like the taxes. They adapted a saying (“No taxation without representation”) to say that the British can not tax without

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714 Words | 3 Pages

They believed they had the right to “assemble, consider their grievances, and petition the king” if they found the grievances against the British to be many (Document 6). The colonists must have risked their lives, money, and pride in order to achieve equal representation and total liberty rather than just attaining lower taxes and lowering trading restrictions. Even before the American Revolution, the colonies had viewed themselves as self governing. However, once the British ended the salutary neglect the colonists had blissfully enjoyed, it became clear that the British were beginning to restrict their local representations by shutting down their town meetings and placing soldiers everywhere as an attempt to stop the smuggling of goods and to enforce their taxation acts by issuing the Quartering act, which obligated the colonists to house the British soldiers. As a result of these new acts imposed by the parliament, nine colonies sent out a representative to New York in 1765 to discuss these acts with each other.

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The Causes and Effects of The French Revolution “Man is born free, and everywhere he is in shackles.” -Jean Jacques Rousseau Imagine being a peasant of the third estate in the French Revolution era. How would you feel being taxed a lot more than the others estates, just because of some “title”? Or being treated unfair because you couldn’t read well, or you weren’t wealthy enough? Well, that’s what life was like for the peasants.

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In document C, John Dickinson explains to his fellow colonists that Parliament never considered imposing taxes in the colonies until the period following the French and Indian War. Document A implies that the reason being was simply because Britain had dug themselves into a pile of debt due to aid from other countries and the expenses of war, and because the British felt that the colonies owed them for enabling them to freely use the Mississippi River, Parliament believed that imposing taxes for revenue from the colonies was just. However, Patriots believed otherwise. Salutary Neglect has been an active law in the colonies since 1696, and up until now they have been perfectly fine not enforcing British acts and policies, but all of a sudden colonists are forced into paying revenue on everything from paper (Townshend Act) to stamps (Stamp Act). Parliament even placed tax on British tea imports.

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During the Colonial Era (1492-1763), colonists were justified in waging war against Great Britain; due to the inequitable Stamp Act, the insufferable British oppression, and the perceived tyranny of King George III, the king of Great Britain, however, the colonists were unjustified in some of their actions. In Colonial America, colonists were justified in waging war against Great Britain, because the Stamp Act was unfair and viewed as punishment. Because of the war, Britain had no other choice but to tax the colonists to pay for the debt. For example, according to document 2, the author states that the act was not only for trade but for “the single purpose of levying money.”

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The taxes that the British imposed on the American colonies were the main reasons why the revolution started and the colonies wanted to become their own nation. Throughout

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539 Words | 3 Pages

The colonists wanted representation when it came down to being taxed, but the British government would not allow it. The government wanted full control over the people, so they made sets of acts and laws that were placed on taxation. For example, the Stamp Acts of 1765. These acts taxed all papers, pamphlets, newspapers, and cards. The Townshend Acts of 1767 were also a large part of taxation.

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762 Words | 4 Pages

Taxation was the most important cause of the American Revolution because the colonists stuck to the quote ’Taxation without Presentation’. They thought it was unfair to be taxed a ridiculous amount of money by a government they didn’t elect 3,000 miles away. Besides the outrageous taxation caused by the

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405 Words | 2 Pages

The American Revolution was a major conflict in the new world in which people fought for self-government, constitutional rights and independence from the British. Throughout the revolution, the 13 colonies that existed in that period were able to change their social, political and ideology approaches. However, the American colonists began to feel betrayed by the English government based on the multiple acts that were passed during the revolution. In order to comprehend why colonists were taking sides, we have to look back at the events that lead to their current beliefs. After their victory in the seven years war, the British government had to pay back a huge war debt.

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