Edward Ortiz
HIST 310
Professor Dilley
November 21, 2018
Essay Question
The reason for America becoming a United national country or a divided country swung greatly back and forth because of the wars of the American Revolution. In 1765 the American Revolution began, which will forever change the independence in US history. This war really shows what it means to be an American and how much this country showed unity. “The Revolutionary War (1775-83), also known as the American Revolution, arose from growing tensions between residents of Great Britain’s 13 North American colonies and the colonial government, which represented the British crown. Skirmishes between British troops and colonial militiamen in Lexington and Concord in April 1775 kicked off the armed conflict, and by the following summer, the rebels were waging a full-scale war for their independence. France entered the American Revolution on the side of the colonists in 1778, turning what had essentially been a civil war into an international conflict. After French assistance helped the Continental Army force the British surrender at Yorktown, Virginia, in 1781, the Americans had effectively won their independence, though fighting would not formally end until 1783”(HISTORY.RevolutionaryWar). In other words, the American Revolution basically was the american people rejecting the british and wanting to become a self-governing country. We wanted to be the people who favored independence. Which was ultimately true, the american people were tired of living in their own country and having to have the British always on their back telling them what to do. The American people knew what they wanted and that was simply independence and the people would go as far as war to get it. This American Revolution shows how much unity us americans had when we all came together to fight for what we believe in.
This war was years in the making of tensions that had been building between colonists and the British authorities. With Acts like the Stamp Act of 1765, The Townshend Tariffs of 1767, the Tea Act of 177, and the Boston Tea Party of 1773. The Boston Tea Party on December 16th, 1773, also the creation of the first continental congress and allie in 1774 was a great example that shows the American people’s unity. “The Boston Tea Party was a political protest that occurred on December 16, 1773, at Griffin’s Wharf in Boston, Massachusetts. American colonists, frustrated and angry at Britain for imposing “taxation without representation,” dumped 342 chests of British tea into the harbor. The event was the first major act of defiance to British rule over the colonists. It showed Great Britain that Americans wouldn’t take taxation and tyranny sitting down, and rallied American patriots across the 13 colonies to fight for independence”(HISTORY.BostonTeaParty). The British were so deep in debt that they made the British Parliament impose a number of taxes on the Americans just to help pay those debts. The American people did not agree with that because they had no say in what they believed in. The series of taxes on the Americans was simply designed to gain revenue for the British.
The Stamp Act of 1765 was another act that lead up to the American Revolution, where the British Parliament took advantage of American Colonists. “The Stamp Act of 1765 was the first internal tax levied directly on American colonists by the British government. The act, which imposed a tax on all paper documents in the colonies, came at a time when the British Empire was deep in debt from the Seven Years’ War (1756-63) and looking to its North American colonies as a revenue source. Arguing that only their own representative assemblies could tax them, the colonists insisted that the act was unconstitutional, and they resorted to mob violence to intimidate stamp collectors into resigning. Parliament repealed the Stamp Act in 1766, but issued a Declaratory Act at the same time to reaffirm its authority to pass any colonial legislation it saw fit. The issues of taxation and representation raised by the Stamp Act strained relations with the colonies to the point that, 10 years later, the colonists rose in armed rebellion against the British”(HISTORY.Stamp Act). The British Parliament taxed American colonists on literally about every piece of printed paper they used, from playing cards and business licenses to newspapers and legal documents.
The Townshend Acts of 1767 went a step further, taxing essentials such as paint, paper, glass, lead and tea. Basically the British Parliament was definitely abusing its power. The Townshend was one of many acts that created tension that led up to the Revolutionary War, but this was the last act before the war. The American colonies wanted to start produce their own goods rather than paying duties on imports. The British did not like the idea of that because that meant no revenue for them. “The British sent troops to America to enforce the unpopular new laws, further heightening tensions between Great Britain and the American colonies in the run-up to the American Revolutionary War”(HISTORY.)
These acts meant something to the American people. The acts brought American colonists together to fight back in what they believe in.
In Conclusion, the Political arguments at the heart of the American Revolution caused tension between the American Colonists and its citizens and the British. The American Colonists wanted to have the ability to self-govern themselves with zero interference from the British but the British imposed its power with the Navigation Acts of 1763, Sugar Act of 1764, Quartering Acts of 1765, and the Stamp Act of 1765-1766. The Americans fought against the Stamp Act by taking mob action with violence and boycotts. From a political side of the reaction to the Stamp Act they formed petitions. The Stamp Act was hated the most because it was a tax on every printed document which the Americans did not like, which led to the Stamp Act crisis. The Stamp Act crisis was the frontrunner for the American Revolution which became the start of many rebellious acts by the Americans. The Americans eventually showed more rebellious action during Boston Tea Party, dumping British Tea into the harbor, and The Boston Massacre. The Americans were objecting the British power and all its Acts that came with it because they felt that they were being taxed with having any representation in the colonies. The Americans finally decided on Independence as a goal because they knew that they could start this country and run the colonies without help from British and felt that it was their natural right to self govern themselves, which Thomas Jefferson wrote in the Declaration of Independence. Thomas Paine also wrote his book Common Sense which essentially explained that ordinary people could participate in government and that kind was not needed to rule over the people.
The Americans shown true unity throughout the years leading up to the war and even after. Which led to the approval of the Declaration of Independence on July 4th 1776. Which was a huge moment in American History where the americans all came together accomplish one goal, independence. The Declaration of Independence was agreed upon by the Second Continental Congress, which declared freedom from British control. The Declaration of Independence stated that if the government was out of control or being unfair then the people had the right to change and alter the form of the government, which is essentially what the Americans did with the power of the British. “The purpose of the Declaration of Independence isn't just to say that the colonies are now independent from Britain, but also to rationally explain why such a separation is necessary. (The "rational" part is uber-important: they can't just say "Because Britain sucks.")First, Jefferson first discusses the inherent rights of human beings, and how government is meant to protect those rights. The text contains big ideas about the role of government in relation to the people, as well as historical reasons why the colonies need to be independent. Jefferson and the other Founding Fathers are looking for government created by the people for the purpose of their protection, which is what they say will be implemented in their new country. In other words, go away King George; we don't want you in our club anymore. You're breaking way too many of the rules and it is not cool”(Shmoop). This was the start of great change in America. The country’s production and successfulness now rested on the people. We live by the declaration of independence still to this day. All men are created equal which means women,men, infants etc. in which there is certain rights even the government should never violate. If you take a stroll down memory lane of US history, the road was not pretty but because of the people before us, it is they we should thank. As much as this world is evolving, we must continue to adapt in order for this country to continue to be great.