Alike to the writings of the late Thomas Paine, historians today believe America’s independence was inevitable and the only necessary means of keeping peace. Throughout the duration of the Seven Years’ War many of the colonists participated in illegal acts; they violated trade laws and smuggled goods with the many enemies of Great Britain at the time. The deliberate violation of British law and the debt from the war led to the first taxation of many, the Sugar Act. The Sugar, Stamp, Townshend, and Tea acts were all put into effect to raise revenue at the expense of the American colonists’. Not only did these lead to conflict, they led to the Boston Massacre and the Boston Tea Party. To say one of these events solely caused the American Revolution would be baseless, but in terms of importance; the Boston Massacre was detrimental to any sense of unity between the colonists and Britain.
Nearing the American Revolution many colonists were defying the Parliament, but this was nothing out of the ordinary. As Smith (2017) noted,” In 1763, the British government estimated the value of commodities smuggled into the colonies at 700,000 pounds annually” (p. 11). Parliament had a monopoly on American trade since the beginning of the seventeenth century. At this time, it was a matter of “What Mother England doesn’t know won’t hurt her.” because the colonists believed in free trade. Many merchants used the wartime to their advantage and made profits off of illegally trading with France. Once the war came to an end, loyalists’ like Prime Minister George Grenville found it their mission to reinforce the British laws. “He soon became infamous as the man responsible for the Sugar Act which ultimately led to the loss of the colonies” (Eccleshall, 2002). The deliberate violation of the trading laws infuriated George Grenville, he proposed what is now the Sugar Act to the parliament in hopes of raising revenue and putting an end to smuggling.
The Sugar Act was the first tax imposed on the American colonies; many colonists felt that their rights were violated. As Ridpath (1898) quotes in his history series,” taxation without representation was tyranny,’ or, ‘that expenditures of public money without appropriations by the representatives of the people, were arbitrary, and therefore unconstitutional” (p. 83). Simply put, the colonists gave no consent to their own taxation and could not argue against it because they had no representation in the Parliament. Despite their disapproval of the Sugar Act it was not until the Stamp Act that the Americans heavily protested British taxes. The Stamp Act demanded a tax payment on all legal papers, newspapers, and even playing cards (Kiely, 2011). In the 17th century the world was paper; every single person was impacted by the tax. Printers were affected to a greater degree, they were the first of many to assemble and oppose. Others’ who opposed decided to take it a step further,” New organizations sprang up everywhere, and these Sons of Liberty used violence and threats of violence to pressure stamp distributors to resign” (Smith, 2017). Although The Sons of Liberty were aggressive, they were equally affective; the Parliament repealed the Stamp Act in March of 1766.
Given that England was deeply in debt at the time it wasn’t long before Parliament taxed the colonists once again. A man by the name of Charles Townshend proposed the Townshend Revenue Act to Parliament in 1767, a brief year after the failed Stamp Act. In the words of Smith (2017),” This act levied new import duties on all glass, paper, paint, and tea entering the colonies” (p. 43). Parliament passed this tax in the hope that Americans would be willing to pay an external tax; but once again the reoccurring issue here is taxation without representation. This was the mindset of the Americans following that of John Dickinson (1767),” In short, if they have a right to levy a tax of one penny upon us, they have a right to levy a million upon us: For where does their right stop?”. The Americans were becoming increasingly unmanageable; smuggling became the way of the land and customs officers were quickly losing their authority, notably in Boston, Massachusetts. Consequently, British forces were sent to keep a watch over Boston for fear that the citizens would revolt.
On March 5th, 1770 Private Hugh White was guarding the Custom House in Boston when he was pelted with snowballs and ice. As the Bostonians got increasingly rowdier, Captain Thomas Preston sent soldiers over to ease the situation. However, this did exactly the opposite; the Bostonians taunted the soldiers to fire and began to close in on them. One of the officers fell down and shot into the crowd; ultimately leading to the death of five Bostonians. (Alexander, 2011, p. 105). Shortly after this incident the Townshend Acts were repealed and only the tax on tea remained; henceforth colonists boycotted tea and coffee. The Tea Act of 1773 was set to resolve this by removing the tax on tea whilst limiting the colonists to one British owned tea company. Another bad move on England’s part, as the ships arrived to the Boston Harbor the colonists gathered a crowd. The crowd consisted of well known protestors such as Samuel Adams and the Sons of Liberty, it wasn’t until that night that they took action. The members of the group snuck onto the boats and dumped £10,000 worth of tea into the harbor (Miller, 2012, p. 1754). To reiterate, it was not until the Boston Massacre that relations between the colonists and Britain became so atrocious; every event following the Boston Massacre further proves the deteriorating relationship.
The first battle of the war occurred in Massachusetts likewise to the major events that led up to it. Lexington and Concord was a success for the Americans and a reality check for the British forces as they underestimated the Americans,” The British army called the colonials a chickenhearted race of farmers, dry goods dealers, and slave drivers” (Royster, 1979, p. 10). In their defense, all odds were against the American troops; they were outnumbered, ill-prepared, and fighting against the best military in the world. One of the biggest factors that brought the Americans their independence was their support from other countries including France, Spain, and the Netherlands. Without France the war would’ve had a significantly different outcome; France provided the colonies with military assistance, money, and plenty of supplies. France’s help was a result of the Battle of Saratoga; this was known as the turning point in the Revolutionary War. From this point it was a matter of who wanted it more, and that was the Americans. The Americans’ driving force was much stronger; they were fighting for their independence and liberty in contrast to the British fighting for control.
In the final analysis, the eight-year fight for independence has left many lasting effects. The Declaration of Independence and Treaty of Paris both ended the Revolution and stated the reasons America separated from Great Britain. Today in America, we abide by the constitution; the constitution established our national government, laws, and human rights. All concepts that were unattainable under British rule, America becoming independent changed every aspect of this new nation.