causes of the american revolution Flashcards
what were the causes of the American revolution?
- “No taxation without representation”
- Enlightenment Ideas
- The Boston Massacre
- taxation
what are the three main points in essay’s
- taxation
- ideology
- British policy
Intolerable Acts
In response to Boston Tea Party, 4 acts passed in 1774:
- Port of Boston closed: bad for the economy
- reduced power of assemblies in colonies: royal officers took control and 1 town meeting a year
- permitted royal officers to be tried elsewhere: Britain or other colonies, colonists felt it was unfair
- provided for quartering of troop’s in barns and empty houses: Colonists were force to give supplies
what was the stamp act
- A 1765 tax on printed materials that required colonists to buy special stamps, sparking widespread protests
- used to pay debts
- led to Declaration of Rights and Grievances
- The tax applied to legal documents, newspapers, magazines, pamphlets, playing cards
what was the Proclamation of 1763
- A British law that prohibited colonists from settling west of the Appalachian Mountains to avoid conflicts with Native American
- It recognized Native American land rights and stated that only the British government could negotiate land purchases.
- increased tensions with colonists as they wanted to expand
what did Lack of Representation in Parliament entail
The colonists had no direct representatives in British Parliament, fuelling the slogan “No taxation without representation”
what were the Townshend Duties
- 1767
- A series of British taxes on imports like glass, paper, and tea, which angered American colonists and fueled resentment toward British rule.
- used to pay of debt from 7 year war
- created the Board of Customs Commissioners to collect tax and prevent smuggling
- Britain repealed most of the taxes in 1770
impact of Townshend duties
- Increased tensions by reinforcing the idea of “taxation without representation,” leading to more protests and boycotts.
- Led to increased British military presence, which escalated tensions and resulted in the Boston Massacre 1770
what was the Boston massacre
- 1770
- A deadly confrontation where British soldiers killed five American colonists after being harassed by a crowd due to British troops enforcing acts like the townshend acts
- The British soldiers involved were put on trial
what was the impact of the Boston massacre
- Used as propaganda by revolutionaries to fuel anti-British sentiment and unite colonists against British oppression.
- The trial of the British soldiers involved in the massacre created political divisions
- 2 soldiers were guilty, 6 were not guilty
what was the Tea act
- 1773
- A law allowing the British East India Company to sell tea directly to the colonies, undercutting local merchants.
- this was cheaper than the price of merchants even with smuggling and avoiding the townshend duties
- even though it lowered the price of tea there was still a tax ‘no taxation within representation’
impact of the tea act
- despite tea being cheaper, colonists saw this as an attempt to assert control and tax without representation
- Led to the Boston Tea Party, which fueled tensions even higher
- gave British East India Company a monoply which harmed merchants
what was mercantilism
- an economic policy where a nation’s strength depended on its wealth, which was measured by the accumulation of gold and silver.
- Under this system, colonies existed to benefit the mother country (Britain) by supplying raw materials and serving as markets for manufactured goods.
what was Lexington and Concord
- A 1775 conflict where British troops marched from Boston to Lexington with orders to arrest colonial leaders and destroy military supplies in Concord.
- a group of about 70 colonial militia opposed them and shots were fired
- 8 colonists were killed, and 10 were wounded
- British continued marching to Concord
- a skirmish with 400 colonists broke out
- Britain forced to retreat with 300 casulaties due to guerrilla warfare
what was a loyalist
A person who supported the British during the American Revolution
what was a patriot
A person who supported the colonists during the American Revolution, a colonist who wanted to break free from Britain’s rule
what was the Molasses Act
- 1733
- Imposed a 6 pence a gallon tax on sugar and molasses imported from non-British Caribbean colonies
- attempted to force American colonists to buy from British sugar plantations.
- Molasses was used to make rum, which was a major part of the colonial economy
- The Act was poorly enforced as merchants used smuggling
impact of the molasses act
- Led to widespread smuggling and bribery.
- led to the creation of the sugar act 1764 which lowered the tax on foreign molasses but increased enforcement to reduce smuggling.
- this caused for the beginning of more aggressive taxation, leading to growing colonial resistance.
