My 5 main causes of the American Revolution -- Ashleigh Duffy
Stamp act This act, which was the first to throw tax right at the American people, was passed by Parliament in 1764 All materials that were printed were taxed as a result. Ex: - legal documents - almanacs - newspapers - licenses - playing cards - bills etc…
People rose up in protest against this, seeing it as yet another measure of unnecessary control over them. All it did for them was make life more difficult and expensive since many of these documents were required. In other words, they were ordered by the British Parliament to pay for living.
Sugar Act of 1764 This act increased duties on items such as sugar, coffee, textiles, wines etc… Why? - Parliament was deep in debt after the French and Indian War. - Needed to pay for the expenses of running colonies and territories.
This was just another expense to living that was unexpected and aggravating. The Americans did not believe that they should have to pay for some war across an ocean that they had near to nothing to do with.
Massachusetts regulating act It’s one of the Intolerable Acts thrown at civilians to restore ‘order.’ Massachusetts was known for their right to elect a council, so the King took that away from them and for himself.
This made everyone angry for they believed in a more democratic system, even if it was local. Also, their freedom of speech was in a way taken from them because the king in choosing the council chose the governor, and no one could hold a town meeting without his consent.
Boston Massacre 1770 This is incredibly exaggerated by propaganda. What happened was some British soldiers who were stationed in Boston were being harassed by a mob, and responded by shooting point blank into the crowd. They killed 5 and injured 6.
This enraged the people and threw up yet another brick wall between Britain and America by showing how hostility could easily become actions.
The Tea Act/Boston Tea Party The Tea Act gave a monopoly to the East India Trading Company over all transport of tea. All of it was to be unloaded in Boston. On December 16 (1773) a group of mean calling themselves ‘The Sons of Liberty’ held a boycott against the Tea Act. On this evening they boarded several ships (while wearing Mohawk outfits) and dumped 45 tons of tea into the Boston Harbor.
This gave a bit of heart and will to rise up. This was one of the actions that showed that the people could do something in protest.
Why these I chose these five points not necessarily because they were the most famous, but because I believe that without these, the rebellion would not have been the same. These particular points were events that hit home, no one could expect the people to just overlook and ignore them. I think that if anything had been different, the US would not be the way it is today. It’s where you start the fire that determines what burns first.