Brycen Romero
Professor Parker
HIST-B17A
March 4, 2019
Midterm Essay 1
The American Revolution was the fight for independence between the 13 colonies and Great Britain. This revolution was not caused by one particular event but instead caused by many events that led up to the war. Many factors were taken to play in why colonists wanted to create their own state. Britain leaders had not seen the daily lives of the colonial people, so how would they know what rules and laws should be put into place. Economic, geographic, and political factors were the most commonly known causes of war erupting. Events such as The Boston Massacre, Currency Act of 1764, The Stamp Act of 1765, and the Boston Tea Party also take into the effect of the revolution. So what went wrong? Why did the colonial people disagree with Britains treatment and policies?
Geographically the colonists were separated from Great Britain and didn’t have much contact with its leaders. It had an effect of independence already and colonists wanted to explore the Americas without restrictions. When the French and Indian War ended, the colonization across the Appalachian Mountains happened. The Proclamation of 1763 tried to stop this colonization, but the colonists mostly ignored the rule. This was one of the starting points of separation from the colonies and Great Britain in 1763.
Economic problems within the colonies had been heightening after the French and Indian War. The war cost a lot of money and there was no way to pay for all the debt up front. So, Britain did the one thing the will regret, tax the colonists and increased trade regulations. This action did not help Great Britain's following of their governmental control. The actions of the Sugar Act, which increased taxes on molasses and restricted exported goods, and the Currency Act, which prohibited money being printed in the colonies and relying on British currency/economy.
Years following the French and Indian War protest groups formed known as the “Sons of Liberty.” The group was formed to protest against the new Acts put in place for the colonies and successfully had it repealed but the Declaratory Act was soon put in place. The Declaratory Act was just the right to tax colonial people once again. The Townshend Act also put taxes on many different goods and taxed the colonies against their will. Colonials where so persistent, customs officials in Boston asked for military presence. Through 1770 military men stationed in Boston and the colonial people started to boycott goods, preventing from paying the tax.
Ebenezer Richardson, a customs official, killed a man named Christopher Seider who was apart of a mob that...