Causes of the American Revolution War (Essay Sample)

THE CAUSES OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION WAR
Student’s name
Course
Tutor
Institutional affiliation
City and state
date
The Causes of the American Revolution War
The American Revolution was a political conflict which occurred between 1765 and 1783. During this period, the thirteen American colonies with the help of the French troops, opposed and overthrew the rule of Great Britain and gained their independence to become the United States of America. The major causes contributing to this conflict included political and economic shifts in the American government and populace.
The reintroduction of the colonial trade laws by the imperial government in London in 1763 sparked the American Revolution (Boucher, 1990). Patterson (1988) noted that for many years, England had passed colonial trade laws, which were intended to profit the mother country. These laws limited the American colonies to trade with English merchants only. Also, the laws compelled the American colonists to exclusively use English containers to ship their goods, even though the colonists could profit more by engaging in overseas trade. The imperial government in London had ignored these laws until 1963 when they were reintroduced. By this time, the colonies were already used to the British beneficial neglect of the laws, and their corruption in smuggling, bribing or completely ignoring the trade laws. When the laws were reintroduced, the American felt that their freedom was being violated and their rights as free Englishmen were being denied. They, therefore, started the protests which eventually progressed into the American Revolution.
The imposed taxation on the American colonies led to economic shifts that culminated to the American Revolution. Boucher (1990) noted that the British won the 1754 French and Indian war; which was the determinant of who would rule North America. Despite their victory, the British were left in numerous debts. They, therefore, came up with the Quartering Act of 1774, which mandated the American colonies to financially maintain the British soldiers. The colonies did not have the resources to cater to the imposed responsibility. As a result, they incurred numerous debts, a situation that negatively affected the economy of the people. In 1765 British introduced the Stamp Tax which financially drained the colonies. The Townsend Act of 1767 imposed taxation on the commodities which were economically important to the colonies at that time. These commodities included lead, paper, tea and paint (Wood, 1992). The heavy taxation led to the decline of the economy. Moreover, the passing of the Boston Port Bill had resulted in the closing of the Boston port which was one of the