American Revolution Dbq

During the years leading up to the Revolution, the British monarchy applied a variety of tactics to create an obedient America. As time went on and both the population and territory grew, British authority began to slip and in order to create obedience and retain control, Parliament imposed unjust legislation that often resulted in monetary punishment in the form of high taxes. Unfortunately, the tactics used created more animosity and tension than they did harmony. After a long series of various tax acts, the British administration pushed colonists to the point they had to make a choice between living under the oppression of Britain, or standing up and fighting for freedom. Although there were many different causes that lead up to the Revolution itself, some of the most important causes that influenced the war were the various tax acts and the colonists ability to fight back for freedom

[4] Riots and violent outbursts became routine against British representatives and they were hard to ignore. Colonists protests resulted in attacks against the stamp men, the capture of British customs vessels and property destruction. Andrew Oliver, a British Stamp Man, was just one such instance of mob violence. His place of business and his home were destroyed in defiance, his person was threatened. One governor wrote, that the “violent, licentious measures that have been taken here to prevent a submission to the Stamp Act” were such a cause for concern, he suggested that new stamps had to be put under the protection of British warships for landing and security purposes [5]. After months of riots, injuries to both people and property, as well as the disdain and flat out refusal to pay, the Stamp Act was repealed. Although a victory for the colonists, it was short lived as the Townshend Act shortly took its