Reasons The Colonials Revolted

The American Revolution has great importance on the way the United States views itself. Contrary to popular belief, Americans were not separate people subject to British tyranny. A large portion of American colonialists thought of themselves as British. There are many ideas and causes as to why the American Revolution began. Differing political traditions, both parties economic interest, trading interest of those involved in transatlantic commerce, Britain’s large debt that accumulated during the Seven Years War, mutual misunderstandings, and the Great Awakening are many of the reasons that the colonist began to revolt against England.

New England was in a religious revival, intended to preach salvation, and had given rise to political and social unrest that challenged the traditional roles in society that both lay people and clergy had lived by for many years. The Great Awakening made clear the interests of The New Englander in fundamental law, his belief that any violation of it by those in authority was tyranny and that revolt against such tyranny was legal and not only legal but a religious duty.

Most political theories in the American Enlightenment were gotten from John Locke's Two Treatises on Government and the works of English radical political theorists, and for sure a radical republican group called the "commonwealthmen." Colonists’ political thought was a confusing and uneasy mix of Scottish common sense philosophy, Enlightenment thought, English law, Puritan thinking, and the unique experience of colonial life. With Enlightenment, they came up with political ideas centering around John Locke. They stated that when the British government took away their liberties, the British had severed the political bonds that tied America and Britain together. The Americans believed in representation, contractual government, and natural rights. Radical English thought was distributed in America and American political thought was enthusiastically distributed throughout Britain by the radicals. The "commonwealthmen." were the most important among the English radical thinkers that influenced American political thought. They believed that the monarchy should be abolished in favor of a republic ruled by a representative government. They thought of the English Parliament as hopelessly corrupt and opposed parliamentary taxation and the existence of standing armies.

By the year 1763, British colonies have been in America for over 150 years. The Seven Years war had just ended and British colonies were prospering. The Seven Years War drove out the French and pushed the Spanish to the west. The threat from their rivals was removed. Westward expansion was halted though due to British response to Indian raids. A Proclamation Line was drawn along the Appalachians which prevented settlement west of the line.

The original purpose of the colonies was to act as exporters of staple goods and raw materials to Britain along the protected trading lines of the Navigation Act. The colonies have attracted many immigrants by the 1760’s and there was a lot of land that was being used to support the new population. The colonies now contained large urban centers like Philadelphia and Boston and had a growing number of manufacturing industries. The American colonies were now becoming less dependent on Britain and they were able to function on their own.

English settlers left England most likely for economic opportunity, to set up a new life for themselves, or to escape religious persecution. The settlers were bound to have strong feelings about keeping their relative independence. The settlers that led the American revolution were very aware of keeping their rights as “freeborn Englishmen.”

The colonist had a lighter tax burden than the average British person. Over 99% of the duties were not even paid because of widespread corruption and smuggling. The British were not happy with this situation. As far back as the 1750’s there was concern about the growing independence of the American colonies. The Seven Years War gave Britain a good reason to get involved since they acquired so much debt. Britain decided that they needed to collect a meaningful contribution from the colonies. They started collecting tariffs on imports and exports more aggressively. The Sugar Act caused customs collectors from Britain to be forced to go to American posts and enforce the act. The Sugar Act clearly was an attempt to reassert British authority.

The Stamp Act was passed in 1765 and was different than the Sugar Act. It gave Parliament the right to collect an internal tax from the colonies. The colonist viewed this act as more of a direct intrusion. All official documents, even playing cards had to be on special stamped paper. Resistance to the Stamp Act was much stronger than the Sugar Act. Colonists believed the only taxes they should pay should be enforced from their own elected officials. Assemblies began to condemn the Stamp Act. Resistance to the British was moving away from the political scene and was starting to take to the streets. The “Sons of Liberty” acted as a channel for grassroots anger. A mob from the “Sons of liberty” burned the effigy of the local loyalists stamp distributors. Throughout the colonies,