Causes of the American Revolution History Essay Example

After the end of the Seven Years’ War, Britain had amassed itself a debt that it could not pay off, resulting in the enforcement and increasing of taxation on the colonies. Britain had tightened its leniency towards trade violations and introduced acts, such as the Sugar act, to reduce smuggling. This was a major change for the colonies after they had faced years of  “salutary neglect.” During this period, new ideas started to develop and popularize among the colonists. Republicanism, for example, was the idea that you should value the groups’ interests over your own private needs. Republicanism would, by nature, conflict with the ideas of monarchy and authoritarian structures. Another idea was liberalism, defined mainly through the political perspective of the radical Whigs. The Whigs believed that the king was a threat to liberty, that they should stand against corruption, and that they should be “eternally vigilant” against anything that might strip them of their freedoms (Kennedy et al. 127). All the while, Britain was using the colonies to fulfill its mercantilist ideas, that wealth was power, by taking the colonies’ raw materials and selling them back as finished goods. With the rise of these three ideologies, along came mismatching goals, the unity of the colonies, and the emerging American identity causing the American Revolution.

The political goals occurring in the colonies were different from what Britain thought the colonies wanted. The Proclamation Line of 1763 declared that the colonies were not allowed to expand past the Appalachian Mountains and only approved merchants could trade with the natives. Parliament passed this in hopes of limiting the conflict between the settlers and the natives, especially after the events of Pontiac’s war. However, Parliament did not understand that the goals of the colonists for the Seven Years’ War were to get more land and expand westward. The proclamation ended up angering some of the colonists in the southern colonies, and some others just ignored it and kept expanding (History.com). This could have led the colonists to believe that parliament and the British king were corrupt, and due to the rising popularity in the Whig party, they may have thought they should begin thinking about separating from Britain. Britain would also view the colonies differently than the colonists viewed themselves. 

The British Parliament viewed the colonies as another source of income whereas the colonists sought to be equals with their British counterparts. For example, when Britain first began practicing its mercantilist ideologies, Parliament banned any non-British vessels from going to and from the colonies. Parliament also made it so that before traveling to the colonies for commerce, traders had to stop in Britain so that tariffs could be collected. They also made it so that the colonies could not sell tobacco to anyone except Britain (Kennedy et al. 128). Due to the consumer revolution and the rise of an increase in consumption of goods, this would result in the colonies going bankrupt, running out of gold and silver, and resorting to paper money. However, due to angry British merchants, Parliament would ban the use of paper money and stop the “indulgent” bankruptcy laws. These actions would also go against the colonists’ ideals of republicanism. Since Britain was placing the needs of the top percent of the population overall of the colonists, who believed themselves to be, or at least equal to, Britishmen. This would result in the colonists thinking that “their welfare was being sacrificed for the well-being of British commercial interests” (Kennedy et al. 128). Parliament clearly only sees the monetary value in the colonies and refuses to recognize an emerging nation when they see one.

As the colonies grew closer, they drifted away from the British. At first, between the Glorious Revolution and the Treaty of Paris, the colonies began to grow closer both geographically and institutionally, while, at the same time, remaining loyal to the British crown. However, Britain, not recognizing this, began to worry about the possibility of a revolt. In order to stop this from happening, Britain would begin to place acts and force the British government into their lives. The colonies beforehand had no thoughts of leaving the Empire, instead, they were hoping to create a better Britain, maybe even one day the King and Queen could move to the colonies (Murrin). After implanting the thoughts of a revolution, the colonists would use the ideas that were in British papers. In New England, they would read about republicanism and how group interest was more important than self needs. They would read about the Whig party and how they believed the crown was a threat to freedom. This would lead to the forming of the Sons of Liberty. The Sons of Liberty believed an old saying that came from a debate between the English King John and his feudal Barons, “What touches all, must be approved by all” (Melega). The Sons of Liberty initially believed that they should not be taxed without representation, until after the Second Continental Congress meeting where King George called them traitors. From there on they wanted independence. 

Similar events would happen in the southern colonies. The southern colonies would also read about the British political ideas and expand their own ideas onto them. They would also read some of the northern colonies’ propaganda about the ruthlessness of the British, for example, the Boston Massacre. However, these events would not phase the south as much as they did the north. Instead, events like when the Royal Virginian Governor Lord Dunmore took colonist guns a couple of days after a slave rebellion occurred in 1775, infuriated the colonists. The southern colonies assumed that the British were trying to stop them from defending themselves against the slaves. Believing that the King was trying to take their weapons, this would have agreed with the liberalist idea that you cannot have true freedom when there is a corrupt king in power. This idea may have led to the southern colonists wanting to join the northern colonists after they hear about what's going on in the north. In reality, this may have been Dunmore’s response to the Battle of Lexington and Concord, but the colonists did not know at the time. Britain did not recognize this but as the colonies grew closer together, so did their ideas of what a new nation should look like. 

The colonies were developing a new identity for themselves. American values were ironically deeply rooted in British history and its constitution, as well as British political ideas. Britain’s constitution was a living thing. It was not just a single piece of paper, it contained multiple legal papers and documents, it was constantly changing. After the events leading to the development of the Magna Carta, two legal principles were founded in Britain. The first legal principle was “the Rule of Law” stating that Kings must follow laws and are not above them. The second was no taxation without representation. In the 1600s, some new legal principles were introduced, such as the right to petition, trial by jury, and no retroactive laws (Melega). These ideas reached American identity because it seemed as if Britain was repeating its own mistakes on the colonies. No taxation without representation specifically highlights the original problem that the colonies had with Britain. However, as the colonies began to read more about political ideologies such as liberalism and republicanism, they also started to form an American identity around them. They believed that a king is faulty to corruption and that the need of the group is more important than the need of one. Through these ideas, the American identity was born and it seemed by nature to be against the idea of a monarchy/hierarchical structure, thus causing the American Revolution.

Overall, the American Revolution was caused by multiple circumstances occurring at the same time. If Britain had not invoked the idea of America to the colonists then the Revolution may not have happened. The political ideas of the British inspired the colonists to fight for their own freedom. Britain pushed laws on the colonies hoping to stop them from leaving, instead, this forced the colonies to leave.