Philosophies Concerning the New Republic The American Revolution, the most important even in the history of the United States. Unfortunately, this war was not just with other countries. Forming the new republic was it challenge in itself with its founders’; George Washington, James Madison, George Mason among others. These founders did not all agree in the same ambitions for our country. It was a revolution for the rights of its citizens, including the women and blacks.
This gave colonists a sense of separation from Britain that exploded into war with a series of events starting at the Boston tea party and leading up to the battle in Concord. Each time Britain tried to gain hold of their colonies in America, the results backfired. Mercantilism was a way to keep American colonies in check but more so a means of monetary income. To Britain, their colonies were simply income of raw materials for production which equals money. To gain this money they had to export more goods than import.
This conflict is embodied in one of the rallying cries of the American Revolution: “No Taxation Without Representation.” And similar to such a cry, is the statement, “The demand for no taxation without representation was the primary force motivating the American Revolutionary movement, and for many it became a symbol of democracy;” ultimately saying that the American Revolution, as well as the colonist’s rage towards Britain, grew out of increasing, continuous restrictions placed upon the colonies by the British. The British had full power over the thirteen colonies until 1776, when the colonists formally declared their independence. But until then, the colonists felt that they were being taken advantage of economically, as well as politically. Despite the protection and opportunity that Great Britain provided, the colonists felt they were abusing their powers by creating unfair tax laws and regulations. Great Britain had one of the most powerful empires in the world.
The British were able to collect money from American colonists by imposing many new taxes and fees. In 1765 the British started taxing on all legal documents, newspapers, pamphlets, and all other printed material. This tax was known as The Stamp Act of 1765. The Stamp Act was the start to American boycotting. Many people started boycotting this tax, and they had the Sons of Liberty to support them.
Legistlative Branch was to make laws, the Executive Branch is to enforce the laws, and the Judicial Brance is to interpret the laws. The Consititution banned states from being completely independent from one another but still be able to have their rights in independence for the people. Though these branches had remanded in the plans, it also followed into the Constitution. This new government would allow for a republic to rule, where the people had the oppurtunity to voice for themselves and to be heard that would respectfully benefit everyone in the country, and not just the majority. Peple had feared the Constitution, as it could potentially threaten their rights and properties.
They thought that colonists were British subjects who should obey British law and the taxes were due to the French and Indian War which was fought to protect the colonies. They also felt colonies profited from trade with England, and that the colonies were too far away from England to have representation in Parliament. Patriots believed that they deserved rights that were not to be taken away by the government, and taxation violated those rights. They claimed to have done their part during the French and Indian war fighting, and that they could not be taxed without representation in Parliament. Patriots also believed the British were causing violence, riots, and death (Boston Massacre & Boston Tea Party).
The course of the war itself significantly affected the political and ideological relationship of the colonials to their mother country, inasmuch as the colonists found the British imposition of restrictions and its hierarchical army to be repulsive to liberty, while the British saw the need for greater imperial control. However, it was the economic aftermath of the war, which left Britain with a changing war debt and a need to raise new colonial revenues that militated most heavily against colonial cooperation with the British. The French and Indian War, called the Seven Years’ war in Europe, had its antecedents in the settlement of the French and the British in the Ohio valley region of the American continent. Both the French and British sought to control lands in the region, while the Native Americans resisted the attempts of both to settle. The Indians largely played off of both sides to maintain an uneasy balance of power, but one group eventually decided to great trading concessions to the British, giving England greater access to the interior of the continent.
Each cause brought about an effect by the other. Individuals and groups changed the course of history. The triggers of the American Revolution were primarily economic in nature in that while the British gave allowed more freedom to its colonies that the rest of the European colonial powers, they still enacted laws that favored the business fraternity in Great Britain: a situation that did not augur very well with the members of the thirteen British colonies of North America. Thus, the discontent with disparate treatment of the thirteen colonies by the Great Britain yielded to the quest for independence, which was born out of the protracted fight for independence in what is called the American Revolution. References Kelly, M. (2011).
Chapter 4 Summary The War for Independence The Stirrings of Rebellion The heavy costs of the French & Indian War convinced the British government that additional revenues should be raised from the American colonists Parliament, persuaded by Prime Minister Grenville, passed the Stamp Act in 1765, the first tax levied directly on the colonists, on their goods and services (previous taxes had been duties, or tariffs, on imports) Special stamped paper was required for documents and paper items, including pamphlets and newspapers, affecting everyone Many colonists lost respect for British authority and anger rose against the King and Parliament The Sons of Liberty, an organization formed by Samuel Adams and others, harassed British officials and protested against the tax
Stamp Act The Stamp Act occurred in 1765 and was made possible by the Parliament of Great Britain. It required that ALL printed goods such as documents, books, and pamphlets to have on it a certain tax stamp. It was this large symbol having to do with Britain. The point of it was to remind the colonists that everything there belonged to the crown of England and to not forget it. The major reason for the start of this act was the fact that England was in a lot of debt due to the Seven Years War against the French.