Causes of The American Revolution

The American Revolution has been studied widely both by students and historians in a bid to understand the revolution.  Just like any other revolution, various things made the Americans rebel against the British colonialists. The British colonialists had ruled the country for quite some time, and as such, the emergence of the revolution was a blow to their colonialization. The role of British in facilitating the Americans to rebel is one aspect that has been extensively documented. Some scholars argue that although there were other factors that led to the revolution, British poor administration as well as their activities within the US played a major role in causing the revolution. This is to say that had it not for the poor governance, the revolution would not have happened at the time it happened. In particular, British’s poor governance which includes but is not limited to their control and corruption, their policies on the economic troubles they faced at the time, which was to introduce taxes on the American colony resulted to the American revolution. If the British had not made the mistakes in governing the American Colony, the American Revolution could not have happened at the time, perhaps later.

Causes of the American Revolution

The first aspect in regards to the British role in causing the revolution is both their control and corruption within the American colony. Historical evidence shows that the years just before the emergence of the revolution, the colonialist’s control on the Americans had increased which in turn facilitated massive corruption throughout the country (Middleton, 1775-1783).  For instance, there was the ‘Writ of Assistance,’ which was embedded on regulating trade to the extent that the British soldiers had the mandate to carry out searches that would see goods and properties that were perceived to either been smuggled or illegally acquired are seized (Middleton, 1775-1783). In so doing, the British soldiers were able to enter various places such as ships, private homes as well as warehouses and carry out searches. However, it turned out that many of the soldiers given the right to carry out the searches or seizure abused their powers, and as such, the whole process angered many Americans (Middleton, 1775-1783). This is evident by the fact that James Otis, a Boston based lawyer filed for a petition in 1761 challenging the legality of the acts. According to him, the whole process violated the constitutional rights of the Americans. To the disappointment of many Americans, Otis lost the fight, increasing the level of rebelliousness among the Americans (Middleton, 1775-1783). In addition, another amendment was put in place allowing American locals to house British soldiers. The locals found the measure not only costly and inconvenient, but the experience of housing a soldier after various attacks had occurred within the country appeared to be traumatizing for the locals (Middleton, 1775-1783). Owing to these factors, the Americans became more defiant against the colonialists and ready to start a revolution.

            The other mistake the British made in regards to governing their American colony and would later cause the American Revolution was to try to solve their economic troubles through the colony (Conser, 299-317). The British economy just before the revolution was not doing quite well. The reason for her economic challenge resulted from the fact that she had engaged in two major wars, that is, the Indian and French war, which consumed much of her funds. The only way to get through her economic troubles was to introduce new taxes as well as raising trade control on the colonists, in this case, the US. There were many taxes introduced, which include the Tea Act, the Sugar Act, the Stamp Act, the Currency Act, the Coercive Act and lastly, the Townshend Acts (Conser, 299-317). It is important to look at the impact of these acts.

            To start with, the Sugar Act, this one was introduced in 1764 as the beginning of increasing tax brackets in the colonies. In particular, the Act aimed at imposing tax on molasses and sugar that were imported into the country. This sparked huge resentment among the Americans who viewed it as inappropriate and illegal in the sense that they had no representatives in parliament and as such, it was not correct to introduce something they did not participate in its creation (Conser, 299-317). Although there was resentment, one would not consider them as high but rather, a bit moderate.

            The second Act the British imposed on the Americans in a bid to raise revenue collection was the Currency Act introduced in 1764. The Act intended to control paper money by banning the US from issuing paper money. This brought about huge resentment among the Americans because they perceived it as an attempt by the British to have control over their monetary policies (Conser, 299-317). Also, the Americans considered the British request for the Americans to use either silver or gold to be impossible, especially, because the two precious metals were continuously being removed from their country. Therefore, the Americans united together to devise ways in which they could put an end to the growing dissatisfaction towards the colonial masters (Conser, 299-317). It is worth noting that the British attempt to redeem their economy did not stop at the introduction of the Change of the Currency Act, but would continue introducing other Acts to the US, further infuriating the Americans. For instance, the Townshend Act was introduced in 1967 as a way of taxing imports. The Act consisted of a number of Acts all aimed at imposing taxes on imports. For instance, there was the revenue Act which was meant to increase or rather introduce taxes on goods imported from British into the US. The goods included but were not limited to paper, paints, lead, tea, and glass. Owing to growing concerns among the Americans on the introduction of the introduction of Townshend Acts, and its subsequent effects, the Americans in return organized boycotts on all British goods imported into the country (Conser, 299-317). They also argued that the fact that they are not represented in parliament to approve the Act makes it unacceptable.

            The other Act they resented and still under the Townshend Acts were the Vice-Admiralty Act for it made it possible for those who violated the maritime law, especially, smugglers to be tried in admiralty courts and the absence of juries. This followed by another wave of resentment and defiance activities. For instance, the Massachusetts Assembly would in 1768 issue a letter calling for all colonial assemblies to unite against the Townshend Acts (Wood, 34). The resentment was so massive that it made the secretary of State in charge of colonies to send about four thousand troops in a bid to contain the situation in Boston which was now becoming hostile.

            The British did not stop at the Townshend Act and would introduce the Tea Act in 1773. The Act allowed for shipment of tea at duty-free charges, which was relatively good but widely resented by the Americans since it came with a small tax (Wood, 43). The idea that the Americans were being taxed without having a representative in parliament to be part of those approving taxes was a major concern and would make Americans consider all taxes introduced, irrespective of whether they had little effect or not, as wrong and thus,  needed to be resented in the strongest way possible (Wood, 47). Also, the British East India Company that was in charge of supplying tea was viewed as a threat to the locals for it was positioning itself to achieve the monopoly on the tea trade. The rebellion the tea Act caused was evident when hundreds of protestors destroyed British tea worth millions of dollars at Boston Harbor.

            The last oppressive Act the British introduced on Americans as a way of trying to contain the situation in the colony as well as increase revenue collection was the Coercive Acts introduced in 1774. The Acts were also known as the Intolerable Acts and consisted of four acts. The main goal of the Acts was to not only restore peace and stability in Massachusetts but also put punitive measures against Boston for its resentment activities (Wood, 53). There were five of these acts which are; the Quebec Act, the Quartering Act, the Administration of Justice Act, the Massachusetts Government Act and lastly, The Boston Act.

            To start with, the Administration of Justice Act, this was intended to make the British official not to be prosecuted in Massachusetts, primarily, by making them immune to prosecution. The second Act under the Coercive Acts was the Massachusetts Government Act which was meant to restrict town gatherings (Wood, 63). The Quartering Act, on the other hand, put pressure on the locals to house British troops when necessary. This proved to be highly costly and inconvenient for the locals and was one of the reasons that united them against the British, and subsequently gave rise to the revolution. The fourth one is the Boston Act and ensured the port of Boston remained closed to allow the Boston Tea Party get paid before it could be reopened (Wood, 54). Lastly, the Quebec Act allowed Catholics from Canada the right to worship freely in America. The locals resented this move as they had already regarded the Canadians Catholics not supposed to worship in their territory. The main goal of coming up with Coercive Acts, as mentioned earlier was to suppress the rising resistance in Massachusetts. However, the Acts began to be viewed as more oppressive to the already dissatisfied locals that other colonies came to Massachusetts to discuss on the way forward in regards to the rising number of oppressive acts (Wood, 66). The first congress was thus formed and focused on establishing a resistance movement against the colonialists. The colonies were of the view that the recent developments were indications of the government bigger plan to come up with even more repressive acts in the near future, and as such, becoming prudent to act fast and stop the government from future oppression.

            On the other hand, it would be incorrect to argue that British poor governance and their activities were the only major cause of the revolution. It is worth noting that at the time, philosophers, as well as other thinkers, began questioning the politics of the time. The revolutionaries that helped form the resistance movement had extensively studied the works of John Locke, Thomas Hobbes and Boron de Montesquieu (Greene, 93-102). Others such as John Adams and Benjamin Franklin embraced the teachings of Presbyterians and Puritans. Therefore, this was the drive, in addition to other factors stated earlier, behind the emergence of the American Revolution (Greene, 93-102). The assumption that the poor British governance caused the American Revolution appears to be correct as demonstrated by a number of historical evidence and activities carried out by the British. Although there were other factors, such as the rise of American independent thinkers questioning the politics of the country, they did not carry much weight to propel Americans to rebel as compared to the introduction of British oppressive acts, their control as well as corruption.

Conclusion

The discussion reveals that the economic troubles of the British, their control and corruption led to the American Revolution. There were a number of acts introduced to increase revenue collection in the colony and were highly resented by the Americans making them start thinking of forming a resistance movement against the British. The role of the British in leading to the American revolution suggest that if they could have managed the colony well, perhaps the revolution would not have happened or waited until a much later time.

Works Cited

Conser Jr, Walter H. “The United States: Reconsidering the Struggle for Independence, 1765–1775.”Recovering Nonviolent History: Civil Resistance in Liberation Struggles(2013): 299-317.

Greene, Jack P. “The American Revolution.”The American Historical Review 105.1 (2000): 93-102.

Middleton, Richard. The War of American Independence: 1775-1783. Routledge, 2014.

Wood, Gordon S. The radicalism of the American Revolution. Vintage, 2011.