The colonist reacted against the Stamp Act by rioting and destroying stamped paper. In 1773 the British Parliament passed the Tea Act. In response the Sons of Liberty dressed up as Indians and boarded British ships in the harbor, then dumped 90,000 pounds of tea into ocean. These are some of the ways the colonists radically reacted to the British taxing the colonies. When the colonies started to revolt against England, England decided the take military action against the colonies.
British Pigs in Powdered Wigs The disorganized and disconnected British rule on the thirteen American colonies created situations that led to the Revolutionary War. Through unwarranted taxes, unwanted wars, and an overall mismanagement of the colonies lead the colonies to view Britain as an incompetent government. These complicated times brought thoughts of a revolution which was critically evaluated by leaders in the colonies. Leading up to the revolution men voiced their opinion through writings and speeches similar to Patrick Henry, John Adams, and Samuel Seabury. Small disagreements between the English Empire and the colonies continuously went unresolved until thoughts of rebellion started to become a serious topic in the colonies.
In 1773 was the dumping of tea in the Boston Harbor and in June of 1774 the Coercive Acts, also known as the Intolerable Acts, were created which frustrated the colonists. The way the English had so much rule over them was one of the main reasons why they wanted to declare independence. The battle at Lexington and Concord was April 19, 1775 with the formation of the Second Continental Congress being in 1775. John Dickinson, the author of the document, was a delegate in both the First and Second Continental Congress. He was an esteemed writer who helped Thomas Jefferson write a Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms, and also wrote Olive Branch Petition, an appeal to King George III to resolve the dispute.
The American Revolution was a result of the colonists unrest caused by their abhorrence towards their British Mother Country. For several centuries the colonies had been subject to rule by the English Crown and it’s Parliament. They no longer wanted to be controlled by a country an ocean away, and in turn sought independence. A huge factor in the start of the American Revolution was the French and Indian War that changed the age-old bond between the colonies and England. Decades of conflict followed, starting with the revolt as a result of the Stamp Act in 1765, leading to the eruption of war in 1775.
The book begins in Britain where the King and Parliament are expressing their concerns on engaging in a war with their colonies. “America must be made to obey.” America was in open revolt, they declared, and they denounced as traitors those who labored to agitate the people in America. There was a conspiracy going on. All the time they had been professing loyalty to the parent state, they were preparing for rebellion. Opposing ideas were being expressed in the parliament in England, some supporting others against the war.
Similarly, a statue of the king was burned before a large crowd in Baltimore, amidst cheers and acclamation (Jasanoff, 44). James Hubard, a patriot who initially supported the revolution, was appalled by the direction the revolution was taking. He began to have doubts about the direction the protests were taking and refused to take the oath of allegiance to Virginia. As a consequence, he was imprisoned briefly, his successful law practice was destroyed, and his family reduced substantially in circumstance, forcing them to flee to New York (Kelly). He longed for peace and a just system of law above all else.
There are certain aspects of this revolution that are traits of a civil war. Some traits of the American Revolution that qualified for a civil war for example they had different societies, they were in support of a different type of government, and it was a major dispute between these groups which belonged under the english empire, and considered themselves Englishmen. However other aspects regard this conflict as just a dispute between two different countries. Overall it is more accurate to call it a civil war, however other aspects make it a dispute between to separate countries. Since the colonies were part of the British empire, you can classify it as a civil war because part of a nation was succeeding from the empire.
The Boston Tea Party happened in 1773. It all started when the British decided to start taxing the colonists in many ways, including a tea tax, as a way to get back their war costs. The colonists refused to pay some of these taxes and therefore England had to retract the taxes; all the taxes were taken back except for the tea tax. Parliament decided to get their tea from somewhere else rather than from where their tea was being taxed. This plan, however, backfired when the ships at the harbor were to have their tea goods sent to a warehouse where it was stored for three years.
The Colonists thought if they complained loudly enough that Parliament would get rid of the taxes. But any taxes Parliament repealed were soon reinstated with other taxes or duties. England was trying to raise money to pay for the French-Indian war and was heavily taxing the Colonists. Things got really bad when the British taxed the favorite drink of the Colonist’s, tea. Tea was really popular at that time, kind of like coffee is today.
One of the regulations that Parliament passed was the Stamp Act of 1765. This taxed all printed documents, including: wills, newspapers, and pamphlets. The colonists felt they were not fairly represented because they held no seat in Britain's parliament. The rallying cry for the colonists became "no taxation without representation." After years of boycotting and peaceful protest the American colonists could no longer stand the abuse from Great Britain and decided that they had had enough.