What were the main causes of the American Revolution?

Answer 1

Here are answers and opinions from WikiAnswer contributors, organized by general category of response:

MIXTURE OF CAUSES

(1) Many, many things caused the revolution. From the economic problems, to the discontent with autocratic rule.

(2) Between the settlement of Jamestown in 1607 and the French and Indian War the colonies have been isolated by the mother country due to the policy of salutary neglect in which the king argued that colonies should take care of their own affairs, as the British were busy fighting foreign wars. In 1763 the foreign wars ended in British victory, now the mother country has the time to focus on the colonies and restored its empire by taxing the colonies. Over 150 years of self - rule, yet loyal to the mother country, the English colonist will be imposed to follow laws and policies that violates the principles of their natural rights, and the principle of no taxation without representation The Proclamation Act of 1763 marked the beginning of the American Revolution as prohibited the colonists to advance further of the Appalachian Mountains thus begins the resentment in the colonists. Followed by several policies in years to follow imposed by King George III increased the tensions and resentment of the colonists towards the mother country, eventually leading to the American Revolution in 1776.

(3) There were many reasons that lead to the American Revolution. The main and more known reasons are: 1. taxes imposed on the colonist by England to pay off the French Indian War debt infuriated the colonists; 2. colonists would no longer stand for "taxation without representation" and 3. the Age of Enlightenment - colonists began talking about freedom and questioning whether everybody was important. However there were other less noble causes: 1. Racism - colonists wanted Britain out of the picture so that they could tear up the Indian land treaties and use the land; 2. Greed - the merchant class thought that the acts eg, the Sugar Act, would ruin them; 3.Smuggling-colonists were trading with other countries even though England forebode them to. and 4. Mercantilism - that basically means money = power.

(4) I do believe that the main reasons for the American Revolutionary War were great ones. One reasons I think contribute to the start of the American Revolutionary War was, again, the fact that the colonists were getting taxed without any representation in Parliament. Another reason that I think contributes to the start of the American Revolutionary War was that the English government was governing them from so far away, across the Atlantic Ocean.

(5) The citizens of the Thirteen Colonies, although British in many respects had begun to create a new and unique identity. They had a desire for land and slaves that was unconnected with their mother country. There was also the development of a more relaxed culture where the formalities that defined the interactions between British nobility were seen as overdone. Simplicity and practicality became dominant modes of thought. In many aspects such as war, trade, and law, much of authoritative power for these decisions came from a country far beyond the horizon. The British in Europe had no real idea about the productivity of America and the incredible proliferation of smuggling ships to get the most basic goods. Nor were they terribly aware of the brutal European-Native Conflicts all along the Appalachian Mountains. As to be expected from a far-off power, the British responses to discovering the extent of the smuggling and amount of violence on the Western frontier led to the British harshly curbing both. The effects of these restrictions effected much of the American elite, but few commoners save those isolated settlers in the far West.

As a result, many of the American elite who wished to take direct control of the future of their lands had to couch their move for dominance in American Affairs in language that could motivate the majority of British colonists to forsake their loyalty to the only sovereign they had ever known. They chose the taxes imposed on the American colonies after the Seven Years War (much of which was fought to protect American lives and territory). Even though these taxes were the lightest in the entire British Empire, the imposition of these new taxes was enough to begin a general trend to towards desiring American independence. Liberty, which today is construed politically (freedom of speech et al.), was originally purely economic and was the focus of this revolt. Interestingly, most of the major American cities south of Providence (New York, Philadelphia, Richmond, etc.) were Loyalist bastions and it was the countryside that responded most fiercely to this propaganda, likely due to the large relative effect that the taxes would have on them. Contrary to what is often taught, Americans did not dedicate themselves to fighting for any of the major rights in the Bill of Rights prior to the Revolution and many of those rights are a direct result of either the circumstances of the war (Amendment 3 - No Quartering of Soldiers) or were lifted from State Constitutions that existed in the colonial period (Amendment 8 - No Torture).

(6) There were many causes . The inevitable cause was the size and the virtually unlimited and varied potential for growth of what is now the US. It is impossible for me to imagine a US still controlled by England-- sooner of later, the US would have become independent.

However, why the revolt occurred when it did , was the high-handed attitude of the king and Parliament. The special taxes aimed at the colonies to get more revenue for British projects without any government services coming back in return. Then the forceful ,

measures to enforce the collection of these taxes, including such atrocities as the forced quartering of government troop in private home . Things got worse and worse and people in Boston started shooting-- the British overreacted- people were massacred and all the colonies raised militia and began to think of life without the British rule.

TAXATION

(1) Reasons for American Revolution: Taxation without representation in parliament. Colonials thought the English could not control colonies from so far away. (across the pond) Money, people like John Hancock did not want to pay taxes on his goods being brought into the docks or sent to England, import and export.

(2) The "shot heard round the world" was fired when British soldiers marched out from Boston to seize the guns and ammo we Americans held at Concord. (Let that be a warning to those would do the same today.) For Parliament to tax us was also an irritant. We had no representation in that body and hence no way to limit those taxes. Many years after the fight, one of the Massachusetts men, asked why he fought, said something like: We had always governed ourselves; the British intended that we shouldn't. (Sorry for the lack of a direct quote; it is somewhere in "Paul Revere's Ride," by David Hackett Fischer.) The causes were many, but I think they all boil down to that one: self - government.

(3) I believe that the cause of the American Revolution was taxation.

(4) Colonists wanted to separate from England and get rid of taxes.

(5) The biggest cause of the American Revolution started with the French and Indian War. In this war, Great Britain went into much debt. To fix this problem, what they did was pass taxes onto the American colonies which the people were very unhappy with. Those causes resulted in new government, new constitutions, and an independent nation.

(6) There were many causes of the American Revolution, but most were due to taxation. There was the Tea Act, The Stamp act, the Townshend act, the Boston Massacre, the Boston Tea Party, and The intolerable act. American colonists responded to the Sugar Act and the Currency Act with protest. The Acts that the Great Britain created upset the colonists. Stamp act, the navigation acts, the quartering act and the proclamation of 1763.

(7) The British government had long imposed taxes to pay for the cost of troops stationed in the colonies to defend against French forces in Canada. When the British gained control of Canada from France fewer troops were needed. As troop levels were reduced and to soften colonial unrest, except for a tax on imported tea all others were removed. Colonials had no representation in the British parliament and they saw this as, "taxation without representation. One tax protest took the form of a raid on a ship in Boston harbor by men crudely disguised as Mohawk Indians. They threw the entire cargo of tea into the water. The British sent troops to put down the resistance. When the British attempted to confiscate the colonials arms violence resulted and over time conditions escalated into organized armed conflict as the colonials struggled for freedom from the oppression of the British government. See: Declaration of Independence, the basic statement of the principles of the American government.

(8) The English came to this new land and settled here. They worked hard and did their best to make a good life. However, the English throne wanted their cut of the money. The new Americans were being taxed too much and they got tired of it. They revolted, declared themselves independent from England and went to war to form their own country now known as The United States of America.

(9) Americans were angry at the British for taxing them without giving them a representative in the British government. They felt that they were only used for resources, but not considered equals. Eventually, tensions escalated to revolution and the Americans established a society where, at least initially, everyone was equal.

ECONOMIC RESTRICTIONS

(1) Also, the colonies were not allowed their own economy to flourish, not letting the colonials print legal tender money which also in turn, since any monies printed was not considered by the King, it made it much harder to pay royal taxes. After the Boston Tea Party, came the Coercive Acts, or the Intolerable Acts on Boston, which really upset them and made them want to take even more action, rather than just using effigies (dolls made to look like the redcoats and used to scare the redcoat's and boycotting.

SALUTARY NEGLECT

(1) It all started with Salutary neglect. If Britain had kept some kind of authority over the colonies then they would have no way to revolt and if they did it would have happened differently.

ETHNIC DIVERSITY

(1) The overwhelming population growth, through in no small part the immigration of Germans and Scots - Irish meant that cultural ties to the Mother Country were gradually being severed.

FREEDOMS

(1) We wanted freedom, we were sick of being told what to do by a king. Look how it has payed off!

(2) The British were being unfair to the Americans the Americans wanted to live the way they wanted to be free.

(3) The colonists were tired of being controlled by the British.

(4) After the French lost the French and Indian War, the 13 Colonies wanted to be free and independent of England and govern themselves. They felt oppressed and treated as third class citizens of England. England was on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. The 13 Colonies wanted their freedom. Americans wanted independence but, the British didn't let them have it so they had a fight. America won and then the people wrote the Declaration of Independence.

(5) The colonists were responding to many abuses by the English Parliament and King George III of Great Britain of their God given rights as human beings. When Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, he included a list of grievances the colonists held against the King. Some of those grievances include overruling the colonists legislatures, dissolving their legislatures when they challenged him, over regulating them, taxing them without their consent (consent for taxation was a long standing part of English law), waging war against the Americans and many others.

EVENTS

(1) The following events, while not the only events, may be considered major causes of the conflict that developed between Great Britain and the American colonies resulting in the Americans declaring independence from the Mother Country and the American Revolutionary War. For more detailed information about each event, see the sites listed below. 1. The Colonial wars for Empire, in the 1600-1700s, ending with the French and Indian War (Seven Years War) 1763. 2. The British Policy of Salutary Neglect--failure to enforce the Navigation Laws. 3. The slow but steady erosion of British control over the American Colonies. 4. Pontiac's Rebellion and the Proclamation of 1763. 5. The Sugar Act of 1764 6. The Stamp Act of 1765 and the Stamp Act Congress in the colonies. 7. Colonial virtual representation versus actual representation in Parliament. 8. The Boston Massacre, 1770. 9. The Gaspee Affair, 1772 10. The Tea Act of 1773 and the Boston Tea Party. 11. The Intolerable (Coercive) Acts, 1774. 12. Meeting of the Continental Congress in 1774. 13. The Battles of Lexington and Concord.

(2) Some of the causes for the Revolutionary War was the Boston Tea Party: In 1773, parliament passed the Tea Act. It allowed the East India Company of Britain to sell tea in America at a very low price. Merchants had avoided paying taxes by snuggling tea into colonies for many years. The Tea Act made taxed tea cheaper thn snuggled tea. The colonists would be paying a British tax at the same time if they bought the expensive tea. The colonistsdid not believe that the parliament should tax them without an agreement. They also did not want only one company to control the tea trade. Another cause for the Revolutionary war is the Intolerable Acts: In 1775, many coonists felt that the Intolerable Act was too harsh. There were more than 3,000 British soldiers in Boston. The British Navy blocked Boston Harbor to keep ships from entering or leaving Boston.

(3) Here are some causes of the Revolutionary War:

1. The colonists had no say in what the English government did

2. The colonists were taxed because England had to pay for the taxes and instead of them paying for it, they taxed the colonists with the Tea Act, Sugar Act, Quartering Act, and the Townshend Act (these events are not in order)

3. "Taxation without representation." - Patrick Henry

4. Boston tea party

5. Boston massace

6. Common Sense

7. Olive Branch Petition

8. Declaration of Independence

9. The Townshend act, an act where people were ordered to take in soldiers, they were required to take care of them.

Answer 2

Among the long-term causes were the French and Indian War, the Proclamation Of 1763, and increased taxes on the colonies. The colonists resented being bound and shackled by the chains and control of King George III, and the English Parliament.

Such things as: constant taxation; no representatives to speak for the colonists; no fair hearings, trials, or the allowance of juries to decide cases; financial intrusion of the churches by the British government; being bullied by the British troops; the Boston Massacre are just a few of the things that led to the American Revolutionary War.

Background to the war

Britain and France had just finished the French and Indian War, with the British winning the Ohio River Valley. But Britain had gone into debt. So they needed money so they taxed the colonists. The colonists had no say in this or no representation. "No taxation without representation." And pretty soon Britain started making all these laws on the colonists so it forced the colonists to want to be independent. Here are some laws Britain passed on the colonists.

PROCLAMATION OF 1763:

since Native Americans and Englishmen were rivals and fighting, King George said to split the Native Americans and English apart, so he cut the two between the Appalachian Mountains, English on the right, Natives on the left. The English were furious! They had just fought this huge war and gained the land left of the Appalachians, but they couldn't settle over there. This showed King George was inconsiderate of the colonists.

TOWNSHEND ACTS:

a tax on items like glass paint and tea. Colonists were furious because they had no representation still, "no taxation without representation"

TEA ACT/STAMP ACT:

A tax on tea. Colonists loved tea as it was the drink of that time. This is when coffee became popular. This lead to another event called the Boston Tea Party.

A tax on paper. You were required to buy a stamp for every piece of paper.

* As a result of the Stamp Act, Boston men threw over 300 chests of tea into Boston Harbor, which put Britain into more debt. As a result of this the Intolerable Acts came into being.

INTOLERABLE ACTS:

A result of the Boston Tea Party, Massachusetts was punished by 4 laws by Britain. Of them they were:

1) Massachusetts under complete British control of government.

2) More troops in the colony.

3) Boston Harbor be closed until the tea is paid off from the Boston Tea Party

4) Any British soldier accused of murder was to be tried in Britain, not the colonies.

The Boston Tea Party

The event that lit the fuse for the war, was the Boston Tea Party, that occurred in Boston Harbor, on December 16, 1773. Colonists dressed as Indians made their way to the huge English ship called, "The Dartmouth," by the use of row boats. The men boarded the Dartmouth, and dumped 342 chests of tea into the harbor.

In retaliation, England's new Prime Minister, Lord North, and the Parliament passed what is known as the Intolerable Acts of 1774. The American Colonists finally had enough. By 1775, they had developed a substantial militia force. When the British sought to seize their weapons by force, the US decided to fight.

(see also the related link below)

Answer 3

The American Revolution was caused mainly by increased British taxes without any representation of the colonies. This was more British intervention in their daily lives, and economic reasons.Ê

Answer 4

list of the causes of the American Revolution are-The stamp act

-The tea act

-people did not want to pay taxes

and people did not want to go to war

maybe this was not enough help but I saw this on website and I was looking for these answers for history class.

(argivs)

i think its not the tea act it is actually the Boston tea party and i think there is a couple more im not sure if it is the right answer but i think there is a treaty of paris that was signed that ended the french and indian war

and the french and indian war was to attack the british but when the war was over the british lost and the british had to raise taxes to make up for what they had done and then the colonists got mad and decided to make the boston masacre. and how that started was the British only wanted the colonists to pay for the british products. and that made people mad because the tea wasnt made by the british i think so then the boston tea party happened and that happened because the british loved the tea. and some of the colonists dressed up as some indians that were called mohawks and then when the ship landed on board the colonists threw the tea in the harbor.

Answer 5

1. The Intolerable Acts.
2. Taxation without representation.
3. The presence of British Troops.
4. Restrictions on who the Colonists could trade with.
5. Restrictions on where the Colonists could settle.

Answer 6

The citizens of the Thirteen Colonies, although British in many respects had begun to create a new and unique identity. They had a desire for land and slaves that was unconnected with their mother country. There was also the development of a more relaxed culture where the formalities that defined the interactions between British nobility were seen as overdone. Simplicity and practicality became dominant modes of thought. In many aspects such as war, trade, and law, much of authoritative power for these decisions came from a country far beyond the horizon. The British in Europe had no real idea about the productivity of America and the incredible proliferation of smuggling ships to get the most basic goods. Nor were they terribly aware of the brutal European-Native Conflicts all along the Appalachian Mountains. As to be expected from a far-off power, the British responses to discovering the extent of the smuggling and amount of violence on the Western frontier led to the British harshly curbing both. The effects of these restrictions affected much of the American elite, but few commoners save those isolated settlers in the far West.

As a result, many of the American elite who wished to take direct control of the future of their lands had to couch their move for dominance in American Affairs in language that could motivate the majority of British colonists to forsake their loyalty to the only sovereign they had ever known. They chose the taxes imposed on the American colonies after the Seven Years War (much of which was fought to protect American lives and territory). Even though these taxes were the lightest in the entire British Empire, the imposition of these new taxes was enough to begin a general trend to towards desiring American independence. Liberty, which today is construed politically (freedom of speech et al.), was originally purely economic and was the focus of this revolt. Interestingly, most of the major American cities south of Providence (New York, Philadelphia, Richmond, etc.) were Loyalist bastions and it was the countryside that responded most fiercely to this Propaganda, likely due to the large relative effect that the taxes would have on them. Contrary to what is often taught, Americans did not dedicate themselves to fighting for any of the major rights in the Bill of Rights prior to the Revolution and many of those rights are a direct result of either the circumstances of the war (Amendment 3 - No Quartering of Soldiers) or were lifted from State Constitutions that existed in the colonial period (Amendment 8 - No Torture).

Answer 7

the main cause of American revolution is taxation.

Answer 8

Britan's attempt to standerdize government in the colonies. Also their taxation and lack of freedom in government [and everything else] in the 13 colonies.

Answer 9

taxes and refusal to give colonist representation in Parliament.

Answer 10

The Revolutionary War was started by the Boston Tea Party. It was the colony's reluctance on paying taxes to the British Royal Crown. It was basically all about being free and independent.