Road to the Revolution4th PeriodBryce SandersParagraph #1Introduction Have you ever heard of the “Road to the Revolution? ” Well, the “Road to the Revolution” is what led up to the American Revolution. Many factors including: the Navigation Acts of 1660, the French and Indian War: 1754-1763, Pontiac’s Rebellion and Proclamation of 1763, the Sugar Act of 1764, the Stamp Act of 1765, the Declaratory Act of 1766, the Townshend Act of 1767, the Boston Massacre of 1770, the Boston Tea Party of 1773, and the Intolerable Acts of 1774, all helped lead and start the American Revolution.
As you can tell, all of these acts made the colonists really mad. The one that started their hatred for the British was the Navigation Acts of 1660, however, this was just the first of many taxes to head to the colonies. Paragraph #2- The Navigation Acts of 1660 How would you feel if you could only get certain items from the U. S. A. and Britain, but no other items from any other country in the world? You would be pretty mad, right? Well, that’s how the colonists felt about this act. The Navigation Acts were a series of acts limiting colonial trade by using the system of mercantilism.
The Navigation Acts were created by the British and sent to the colonies; hence why the colonists were so mad. Not only are the colonists being taxed, but another country is telling them what they can and can’t do. When the British wrote the Navigation Acts, they made three rules clear. First, the colonists could only trade specific items such as sugar and cotton with only England. Secondly, the colonists could only use English ships to transport goods. Lastly, all trade goods had to pass through English ports, where duties were added to the items. With these horrendous terms, the colonists reacted in many different ways.
For one, many colonists protested to stop this act, but the King never listened and let up the act. However, the second, and illegal, thing done to prevent this act was smuggling. The colonists smuggled trade items because it was easier, even though it was illegal. However, the Navigation Acts were just fuel to the fire, and the French and Indian War was the explosion. Paragraph #3French and Indian War: 1754-1763 Boom! This is the sound of cannons and guns going off during the French and Indian War. What in the world caused the British and the French and the Indians to fight?
Well, control of the fur trade started the war, and the possibility that the British could get a lot more land was appealing to them as well. During the ten year war, a lot of bloody battles occurred, with many deaths in each battle. This war was costly to everyone partaking in it, but ultimately, the British won. The British won by gaining the land of Quebec, the fur trade, and all lands east of the Mississippi River, except for New Orleans. Even though the British thought that the war was over, the British started having issues with the colonies.
Eventually, the British leave a permanent army to help and protect the colonists from Native American attacks. In the long run, Prime Minister George Grenville requested Parliament to give the colonies higher taxes to pay for their protection and for the war. However, the British needed the colonies permission to begin taxing them, just because the colonies felt independent. Moreover, colonists started to speak out against the “no taxation without representation” slogan because the colonists concluded that they really had no direct representation in Parliament.
Paragraph #4- Pontiac’s Rebellion and Proclamation of 1763 Have you ever wondered what helped end the French and Indian War, but start the Revolution? Well, you might be surprised that it was Pontiac’s Rebellion and Proclamation of 1763. As you may or may not know, Pontiac was a Native American Chief who was sided with the French. As you can tell the, Pontiac didn’t like the British. He disagreed with Britain’s expansion into the frontier, which is where the Native Americans primarily belonged and lived. So, of course, when the British started expanding into his home territory, he was mad.
With this, Pontiac went around burning down British forts, and in total, he burnt down seven. With this, the British didn’t want anymore conflict because they were financially and physically broken. As a result, they agreed with Pontiac to stop conflicts from settling west of the Appalachian Mountains. The document Pontiac and the British signed was called the Proclamation of 1763. However, many colonists did not follow the order from the King of England. They felt like they needed more land to expand, and the King became furious with the colonies because they disobeyed him and violated the agreement in the Proclamation of 1763.
Paragraph #5- The Sugar Act of 1764. How would you feel if an everyday item that you needed was suddenly almost double the price? Well, you would be pretty upset; hence why the colonists were mad as well. As you can tell, the Sugar Act of 1764 was an act on, you guessed it, sugar. The Sugar Act of 1764 was also an act for the colonists to help raise money in order to pay Britain for protection from Native American attacks. However, the colonists didn’t like this. Even though they needed protection, they didn’t expect a tax on an everyday item like sugar.
Now, the colonists feel hurt and feel like they have no representation in Parliament. With this, the Committees of Correspondence, created by Samuel Adams, is born. The Committees of Correspondence is a group of people who help communication between the colonies and the mother country of England. The slogan “no taxation without representation” also becomes popular in the colonies at this time. Paragraph #6- The Stamp Act of 1765Have you wondered why we have a stamp in the corner of every piece of mail that we send and receive? Why did the stamp come around in the first place?
The Stamp Act of 1765 was an act placed on licenses, newspapers, colonial paper products, etc. Britain was in major debt from the French and Indian War and the Seven Years’ War; therefore, the Stamp Act of 1765 was placed on the colonists by Britain. However, the colonists started rebelling and saying that the Stamp Act of 1765 was unconstitutional. With this, a series of resolutions are published stating that the Stamp Act violates the rights of colonists. The rebellions and complaining last for only one more year until the King of Britain and Parliament had had enough.
Finally, the Stamp Act of 1765 is repealed by Parliament in 1766. With the Stamp Act of 1765 gone, the colonists finally felt happy to not pay so many taxes, but another tax was being written by Parliament, and the colonists would not be happy when the tax greeted them. Paragraph #7- The Declaratory Act of 1766What in the world is the Declaratory Act of 1766? Have you even heard of this act before now? Well, the Declaratory Act of 1766 was an act to simply show the colonies that the British had ultimate authority over them, and that they could make any laws at the time to give to the colonies.
This act showed Britain’s brutal and insensitive side during the 18th century. Out of allof the acts, however, I believe that this was the harshest one. This act brought the colonists to their knees, making them feel that they were losing all direct control over the colonies. This act also made the colonies feel as if the British crown didn’t take the thirteen colonies seriously. The British crown, for example, didn’t believe that they were capable of making their own laws and hearing their own court cases. However, with this act being harsh, the next act was unimaginably harsh as well.
As you can tell, the colonies were fighting their hardest to get up and win this war with Britain. Paragraph #8- The Townshend Act of 1767 Have you ever wondered why our everyday items are taxed? Well, you can thank the Townshend Act of 1767 for our taxation of everyday items. The Townshend Act of 1767 was a tax, created by Parliament, on glass, lead, paint, and etc. for the colonies. As you can tell, this was just one of many taxes sent to the colonies, and this tax in particular infuriated the colonists.
To the colonies, they viewed this taxation as an abuse of power, and it finally resulted in the passage of agreements to limit mports from Britain. With this, the colonists boycott these items. Three years after the tax was given to the colonists, the Townshend Act of 1767 was repealed because of the tensions as a result of the Boston Massacre. So far, everything was verbal, but with the Boston Massacre, things finally turned lethal. Paragraph #9- The Boston Massacre of 1770Have you ever wondered what caused the Boston Massacre of 1770? Well, the Boston Massacre was a killing of five men that helped the Sons of Liberty gain more followers throughout the colonies.
The Boston Massacre was started by the colonists. The colonists taunted and insulted the British soldiers, which made the soldiers mad. Supposedly, the British soldiers heard the word “fire” from their leader, who was behind them, and they shot into the crowd, ultimately killing five men. With this, the colonists protest and eventually bring the soldiers to trial. To ease tensions between the colonies and the British, the British repealed the Townshend Act of 1767. However, they would keep the tax on the tea, ultimately leading to the Boston Tea Party of 1773.
Paragraph #10- The Boston Tea Party of 1773 Did you know that the Boston Tea Party was actually a show of rebellion? Why would the colonies rebel against Britain? Well, the colonies rebelled against Britain for one thing: the price of tea. Back then, tea was an everyday item that mostly everyone loved; so when tea was taxed, the colonists got mad. In addition, Parliament made British tea cheaper than colonial tea. With this, the King of Britain made the British East India Company the only place colonists could purchase tea.
Not only do the colonists have to pay taxes on tea, but they have to wait on their tea to be delivered, which could take up to three months. After the colonists thought of a rebellious plan, they put the plan into action. At night, the Sons of Liberty went incognito, dressed up as Native Americans, and dumped hundreds of shipments of British tea into the Boston Harbor. After this, the British finally said that enough was enough, and Parliament then made new laws and acts to punish the colonists called the “Intolerable Acts f 1774″Paragraph #11- The Intolerable Acts of 1774 What kind of discipline would the colonies have received from Britain after the Boston Tea Party? Well, the colonies were disciplined in many ways; however, the Intolerable Acts of 1774 were possibly the strictest ways the colonies could’ve been punished. The Intolerable Acts had multiple punishments, and not just one. The punishments included: the Boston Harbor is closed until all the spilled tea was paid for, British troops could be quartered in the colonists’homes, Massachusetts’ charter is cancelled, royal officials accused of crimes would be sent back to Britain to stand trial, and Gen.
Thomas Gage became the new governor of Massachusetts. As you can tell, the colonists were mad, and they reacted in a few different ways. In fact, the colonists’ resentment towards Britain only builds more. Of course, the colonists start to consider their options of separating from Great Britain. However, they are still hoping to work out their differences diplomatically. Paragraph #12- Conclusion In conclusion, many factors led up to the beginning of the American Revolution.
These factors and events include: the Navigation Acts of 1660, the French and Indian War: 1754-1763, Pontiac’s Rebellion and Proclamation of 1763, the Sugar Act of 1764, the Stamp Act of 1765, the Declaratory Act of 1766, the Townshend Act of 1767, the Boston Massacre of 1770, the Boston Tea Party of 1773, and the Intolerable Acts of 1774. As you can tell, all of these factors had a huge impact on the future growth of the U. S. A. These factors all influence our everyday lives and how we live them. Remember the words “Road to the Revolution? ” Well, now you know what they mean and what the “Road to the Revolution” was actually about.