Revolution in America (Essay Sample)

Names
Course
Prof
Date
Revolution in America
In the 1750s, the relation between the American and Britain colonies started to deteriorate, marking the beginning of the American Revolution. When Britain imposed taxes and policies on American colonists, who were not involved in parliament, the relation between the two colonies became tenser. The taxes led to uprisings of some colonists making the British occupy America, leading to more rebellions. The revolutionary war was caused by the rift in the relationship between the British and colonists. Eventually, it led to the formation of a new country and the independence of America in 1776 (Smith, 51).
Bailyn in “The ideological origins of the American Revolution” states that the Stamp Act was the main reason for American Revolution. The Stamp Act stated that the American colonist to be taxed to recover the war debts. However, the colonist was against this. They believed that the war was not meant to benefit Americans instead it was to strengthen England's empire and also increase its wealth. They felt that they were not involved as they did not take part in parliament voting. They felt that the lawmakers in England, could not understand the problems the colonists were going through and what they needed. Therefore, they had to advocate for independence. The “No taxation without representation” became their theme as they believed that the parliament had no right to take their money through taxation (Smith, 55).
The Tar Heel farmers were also in support of American independence. They led the largest armed rebellion against the England colony intending to regulate the corrupt government officials. The officials were seizing property and charging huge fees. Also, the African and Indian Americans had a low position in the society that was dominated by whites. The white colonist believed that the two groups would support England colonists to gain more control of their lives in case a war between America Colonists and England colonists broke out.
Estimations show that a third of the American colonial population opposed independence. These were the Loyalists who supported the British monarchy during the war and opposed the Revolution for several reasons. One, some of the loyalists believed that the parliament had the mandate to request the colonies to help to pay the cost of their protection. However, the colonists refused to do so and hence the loyalist believed that the British Parliament had the right to tax the American colonies to recover the debt, even though the colonies had no direct presence in the parliament. Middlekauff in “The Glorious Cause: The American Revolution “says that most of the people who supported the British government held public offices under it. Others, especially the black Americans and Black slaves who were working in patriot people plantations, responded to the government support invitation to win their freedom. Wealthy Merchants remained loyal to the British government. Some religions such as Anglican Ministers, especially those who were in Puritan New England and several German immigrants, were loyal to the British Parliament mainly because George III originated from Germany
The other reason why these people opposed American Revolution was that they wanted to have a peaceful protest. Some of the Loyalists were educated, and they were also against the Stamp Act as they supported Locke’s theory of rights and limited government. However, they believed that violence and civil war would lead to the rise of tyranny and mob rule. When the War broke, they remained loyal to the government advocating for peaceful protest. In addition, some of them believed that American Independent shall cause the country to lose the economic benefits gained from its membership in the British mercantile system.
The Boston Massacre
The image portrays the Boston Massacre Street war that happened on 5th March 1770. The war was between a team of British soldiers and revolution patriots who were throwing stones, snowballs, and sticks. In Boston, the British troops were increasing. More than 2000 soldiers inhabited the city and executed the tax laws while the American colonists revolted against them (Smith, 59). Several citizens attacked a British sentinel causing marking the beginning of the riot. In response, Captain Preston a British officer brought additional soldiers who were also killed. As a result, the soldiers fired into the mob killing five, and injuring others.
Later, a meeting was held for the trial of Preston and his soldiers and the removal of the British. Surprisingly, John Adams, who later became American President defend Preston leading to their release. The Boston Massacre played a major role in the relations between American and Britain colonists. It was a signal event that made American colonists who were already against British rule fight for independence. The colonists continued their rebellion against the British government. They staged the Boston Tea Party, founded the first Continental Congress hence effectively launching the American Revolution. Throughout the colonies, it brought the Revolution to armed rebellion.
The Stamp Act
According to Otis in “The rights of British Colonies asserted and proved”, in 1765, the England congress started passing laws by enacting taxes on colonists because of the Indian and French War that was meant to protect the Americans from the powerful French in Canada. The war was long and expensive, and it left the Great British with a huge debt that needed to be recovered. Therefore, they decided to tax American colonists through Stamp Act, Sugar Act, and other laws that were supposed to help them pay the war bills.
The Act threatened freedom of the press, American Liberty, and mob attacks through the colonies. The Act made American colonists come together and protest against it. The image above symbolized the death of the press due to the lack of freedom from the Act. This led people like Patrick Henry to attack