Britain’s policy of salutary neglect would be discontinued and the would bring about tighter control on the colonies. Conflict started as the Proclamation of 1763 was implemented, which forbade the colonists from expanding west. This angered the colonist which felt that they had won the land and it was entitled to them Great Britain already regulated the economies of the colonies through the navigation acts and the mercantilism policies. Conflict escalated between Britain and American on who should pay off the 7-year war. British stated they fought to preserve the colonies therefore colonies should repay the favor.
Disagreements erupted over how the colonies felt that they should be treated and the way they were actually treated by Britain. The British stance was that the colonies were created for the benefit of Britain and the Colonialists wanted more say in their own existence. One main cause of the revolution was that the Colonists wanted more representation within the British government hence “no taxation without representation”, (Hickman n.d.), Britain was unwilling to do this. Another factor was the geographical distance between Britain and the Colonists, this created a sense of independence with in the colonies. Britain therefore tried to tighten control over the Colonists through a series of acts designed to quell any sense of rebellion.
When they won the French and Indian War, England had to make a few reforms. King George III declared the Proclamation of 1763, which forbid American colonists from settling west of the Appalachian Mountains in an effort the stabilize relations with the Native Americans. However this angered many colonists who had land grants there and in turn, the Proclamation Line was ignored. This was the start of a series of disagreements between the two lands, as the American citizens began to gain a stronger taste for independence. Enlightenment writers such as John Locke, who patented the idea that it
Americans grew to believe that the many taxes were levied for the enhancement of British capital at the expense of American welfare. Britain was keeping the Americans in a position of economic youth by denying them economic freedom. Such economic control dates back to before the French and Indian War in a period referred to as “salutary neglect.” This term was adapted because, although Britain did regulate trade and colonial government affairs, the British for the most part stayed out of the Americans’ way. What makes this description of salutary neglect disputable is the British policy of mercantilism, which was enforced in this time. Mercantilism allowed for the belief that wealth was power and that a country’s power could therefore be measured in gold and silver—placing wealth at the forefront of their minds.
The French however were trying to cause a true revolution, a reason to overthrown their king and remove all the inequalities there was. The American Revolution, beginning in 1776, had started with tensions between Britain and its colonist due to the debt that the Britain’s accrued from the war with the French and Indians. Up to this point the colonist had elected their own assemblies and had grown accustomed to running their own affairs. The British began passing legislation, which increased the taxation of American colonies, tightening their control over the colonists. One of the regulations that Parliament passed was the Stamp Act of 1765.
A revolution is a total or radical change. Did the 18th century American Revolution bring about change? Many historians would say that it did, however, there is much evidence supporting the opposing view. The question is, should the American Revolution be thought of as a true revolution or merely a civil war where there was a change in power, but the elements of daily life remained the same. Contrary to popular belief, the American Revolution did not bring about change, because the rights, class structure and government remained the status quo in the colonies.
The Battles of Lexington and Concord in the spring of 1775 marked the beginning of open hostilities between the Colonies and Britain. These battles were the culmination of difficulties between England and the American colonies. The Colonists were fighting against the economic exploitation and political oppression of Parliament. The root cause of the revolution was the fact that Britain refused to believe that the colonies had outgrown, both economically and psychologically, their former status. Many, many things caused the revolution.
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 colonists were in support of a different governmental structure. In the Declaration of Independence, it says That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government. The colonists believed that the British government was destructive towards the colonies because it was implementing taxes the colonists believed to be unnecessary with out colonial representation in parliament. Since the colonies were a part of the British empire they believed it was necessary for them to have direct representation in parliament.
The colonies debated England's power to tax them and did not wish to be taxed without representation. Consequently the American Revolution began, and the probability of the colonies winning was not bright, but the patriots were willing to fight to become a free, independent nation. The Patriots used several different strategies to defeat the “Lobster Backs.” During and after the war, people began thinking of extremely radical ideas that were exceptionally revolutionary of the time. There were numerous, significant people that contributed to military intelligence of the American Revolution. With the odds against the colonies, George Washington kept the revolution alive by staying one step ahead of the British.
The colonists believed that they should have separate laws from Britain because they are not directly represented in parliament. When the colonists continued to disobey the new laws, Britain enforced a harsher set of laws, known as the intolerable acts, to show the colonies that Britain was angry for the Boston Tea Party. This further angered the colonists and caused them to rethink the idea of a rebellion. The colonies as well violated the rights they were fighting for, by