The American Revolution - Research Paper Example

?The American Revolution The causes of American Revolution are many and varied. The French and Indian war acted as the catalyst for the American Revolution as Britain suffered huge financial burden in spite of winning the war. The imperial policies and taxations that aimed at amassing revenue for this financial debt met strong opposition from the American colonists and this triggered the revolution. Apart from imperial policies other forces, such as the philosophies of the enlightenment and the great awakening, also played pivotal roles in the Revolution. Many of the revolutionary leaders got inspired by the Enlightenment philosophical ideas of Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and Montesquieu. Even though the Great Awakening was a reaction to the Enlightenment it also emphasized on individual freedom, equality and questioning spirit. It can also be seen that the enlightenment thoughts and the spirit of the great awakening also helped the Americans to form a shared common identity and culture which kept them united amidst crippling governmental policies. This paper seeks to explore the major causes of American Revolution and in doing so the paper evaluates how the effects of French and Indian war, philosophies of enlightenment and great awakening, American culture and identity, and imperial policies and taxations after 1783 have contributed towards the great rebellion. Effects of French and Indian War A probe into history clearly demonstrates that the huge financial burden that Britain suffered in spite of winning the French and Indian war was the starting point that triggered the American Revolution. The seven years’ war came to an end with the Treaty of Paris on February 10, 1763 whereby France was forced to yield Canada to Britain in return for Guadeloupe and Martinique. Even though Britain and its allies were victorious the long war plunged Britain into great financial debt. As pointed out by Hickman, it was “in an effort to alleviate these financial burdens, the government in London began exploring various options for raising revenues” (Hickman) and this resulted in a number of colonial policies and legislations among American colonies. Thus, “the revolution was caused primarily by the mercantile policy by means of which Great Britain sought to monopolize the trade of her colonies for the benefit of the people of the home country” (Johnson/hist Commerce V1123). With this view in mind, the British parliament imposed a number of legislations and taxations on the American colonists. Some of the major acts, in this respect, consist of the Proclamation of 1763, Sugar Act of 1764, the Currency Act of 1764, the Quartering Act of 1765, the Stamp Act of 1765, Townshend Acts of 1770, the Tea Act of 1773, and the intolerable Acts of 1774. All these acts curtailed the liberty of the colonists and made their life miserable. These colonial policies not only created unrest and dissatisfaction but also caused a sense of unity and identity among the colonists under the revolutionary leaders. Effects of Philosophies of the Enlightenment and the Great Awakening The philosophies of the enlightenment and the great awakening contributed immensely to the American War of Independence. Many of the revolutionary leaders got inspired by the Enlightenment philosophical ideas of Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and Montesquieu and it is from these enlightenment leaders that they imbibed “the concepts of the social contract, limited government, the consent of the governed, and separation of powers” (Kelly). The political theories and principles of the colonial leaders were strongly rooted in the postulations of these European enlightenment leaders. This has been pointed out by Wilson and Reill when the authors observe that the intellectual strands of the Enlightenment thinkers are “merged in the works of writers such as Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Paine, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, John Jay, Samuel Adams, Richard Price, and Joseph Priestley to create theoretical support for practical political claims” (14). The liberal and republican ideals of John Locke, in particular, were highly influential for the American Revolution. While postulating his social contract theory Locke made it clear that “legitimate state authority must be derived from the consent of the governed” and for him if “the government abuse the rights of the governed, it was the natural responsibility of the people to rise up and overthrow their leaders” (Hickman). This appealed to the American colonists the most as Britain had been overburdening them with a number of taxations and legislations without their consent or representation. Thus, Locke conceived that both the ‘citizen and government should be united by contract’ and his “idea of contract presupposed a society whose members were equal” (Outram 134). Similarly, Benjamin Franklin’s writings, Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence (1776), and Thomas Paine’s political pamphlet Common Sense (1776) had their roots in the enlightenment philosophic thoughts and ideals. For Ferguson, enlightenment philosophies convinced the American colonists of ‘the political right of self-determination’ which “incorporates the basic eighteenth-century tenets of Enlightenment thought: the primacy of reason, the reliability of human understanding, the value of individual freedom, trust in method, faith in education, belief in progress, and a corresponding disregard for tradition, constituted authority, and received dogma” (Ferguson 22). The enlightenment principles not only cherished feelings of liberty in the minds of the Americans. It also offered them the courage to question their rulers and to revolt against the government whenever it fails to perform its responsibilities. Enlightenment also convinced the revolutionaries of the significance of protecting their own natural rights. Similarly, the Great Awakening was also instrumental in triggering revolution in America. Jonathan Edwards, George Whitefield, and the Wesley brothers were the major proponents of the religious revival. Even though the Great Awakening was a reaction to the Enlightenment it also emphasized on individual freedom, equality and encouraged the believers to challenge authority. Thus, the questioning power of the individuals was promoted both by enlightenment and the great awakening. Outram, in this respect, purports that even though the puritans stressed on man’s essential sinfulness the “Enlightenment ideas of progress, optimism and faith in man’s rationality and was strongly present in the colonies due to the religious revivals or ‘Great Awakening’ (134). Effects of American Culture and Identity on the Revolution It can also be seen that the enlightenment thoughts and the spirit of the great awakening also helped the Americans to form a shared common identity. In fact, it was this commonality that the revolutionaries converted into independence during the revolution. This has been observed by Ward that “if challenged to defend against external encroachment upon their liberties, Americans were capable of translating their commonality into independence and union” (1). The American culture and identity are strongly rooted on the principles of liberty, equality and individual responsibility. The enlightenment ideals further assisted Americans to create “a republican society, with emphasis on citizen responsibility and the promotion and protection of opportunity for freedom and equality” (Ward ix). The revolution offered Americans an opportunity to look introspectively on their common ties and they all stood for a glorious common cause- ‘the defense of republican freedom’ (Middlekauff). The American culture and identity also guaranteed the individual freedom of citizens. Middlekauff observes that the language of American culture, “imbued with traditional religious meanings, made the conflict much simpler and much more clear-cut than it actually was” (Middlekauff). This American culture was later manifested through the declaration of rights that ensured individual liberties. The Declaration of Rights holds that “all men are by nature equally free and independent, and have certain inherent rights” (Ward 26) and one can find the true spirit of American culture here. It is also worthwhile to analyze the views of Aptheker who argues that the American revolutionists sought stability rather than change and that they fought for freedom rather than against oppression. Similarly, he also observes that “the Americans did not “join in the great Enlightenment enterprise of shattering the Christian concept of sin” and “did not share the crusading spirit” that one finds in real revolutionists as those of France and Russia” (Aptheker 10). Thus, it can be inferred that it was a sense of commonly shared American culture and identity rooted in liberalism, naturalism and republicanism that acted as the motivating force for the revolution. The Imperial Policies and Various Taxations after 1783 The colonial policies after 1783 acted as the immediate reason for the spreading of the revolution. Britain’s mercantile policy aimed at monopolizing the trade in the colonies created unrest and resentment among the Americans and the ultimate goal of the revolution was to “secure commercial and industrial freedom through the establishment of political liberty” (Johnson/hist Commerce V1123). As already mentioned, the French and Indian war brought about huge financial burden to the British government and in a futile attempt to get rid of their debt the British parliament imposed a number of legislations and taxations on the American colonists including the Proclamation of 1763, Sugar Act of 1764, the Currency Act of 1764, the Quartering Act of 1765, the Stamp Act of 1765, Townshend Acts of 1770, the Tea Act of 1773, and the intolerable Acts of 1774. The Stamp act of 1765 was the first attempt of the British parliament to levy direct tax on the colonies and as per the act the colonists had to pay tax stamps on all paper goods sold in the colonies (Hickman). This was met with strong protest from the colonists as it was imposed on them without their consent or representation. The colonists prevented the implementation of the “through the blockage of docks, the burning of stamps, the destruction of property, and threats against persons associated with the Stamp Act” (Ghere and Spreeman 10). Due to large protest the British parliament withdrew the act but replaced it with the Declaratory Act (March 1766) which reinforced the British ‘power to tax the colonies’ (Hickman). This was later followed by the Townshend Acts on June 29, 1767 which sought to impose taxes on ‘colonial imports of lead, glass, paint, paper, and tea’ and the “colonists responded with boycotts against these goods and with continued political protests” (Wilson and Reill 13). The colonists strongly disagreed with any taxation without representation and the colonist’s boycotting finally resulted in the Boston Massacre (1770) which became a turning point in the revolution. Ghere and Spreeman regard the Boston Massacre as ‘a defining moment’ in the revolution as “it solidified the views of some concerning British oppression while jarring others to a realization of the violence inherent in imperial confrontation” (11). Later, the Tea Act that increased tax on tea also met with strong protest from the colonists and this culminated in the Boston Tea Party whereby the revolutionaries dumped large amount of tea into Boston Harbor. The British parliament also tried to restrict the powers of the colonial representative assembly and within no time “conflict between colonists and Britain thus escalated over issues of political rights and liberties” (Wilson & Reill 13). This finally resulted in the first Continental Congress (1774) and subsequent American Revolution. The colonists’ protest against the imperial policies were characterized by the ‘idea of no taxation without representation,’ liberalization of suffrage franchise and the demand for political and economic liberty (Ward 25). It can therefore be stated that it was the imperial policies that acted as the immediate cause of the American Revolution. Conclusions To conclude, it can be stated that the French and Indian war and the imperial policies of Britain were only catalysts in the formation of the American Revolution. In fact, the seeds of the revolution were already there in the American colonies in the form of the philosophies of the enlightenment and the great awakening that had great influence in the minds of the colonists. These had already instilled in their minds a spirit of questioning, republicanism, political liberty and individual freedom. These enlightenment thoughts also helped the Americans to form a commonly shared identity and culture which got strengthened with each of the taxation policies of the British Parliament. For Ghere and Spreeman the causes of the Revolution “can be traced to the economic, political and military interactions between Great Britain and the colonies during the previous century” (9). Due to the geographic distance of the American colonies from Great Britain the colonists had enjoyed a sort of freedom until the introduction of the new imperialist policies after the French and Indian war. Thus, the French and Indian war acted as an indirect cause that stirred all other factors of the revolution mentioned above. Works Cited Aptheker, H. The American Revolution, 1763-1783: A History of the American People: an Interpretation. Reprint ed: International Publishers Co, 1960. Print. Ferguson, R.A. The American Enlightenment, 1750-1820. Illustrated ed.: Harvard University Press, 1994. Print. Ghere, D. L., and Spreeman, J. F. Causes of the American Revolution. Organization of American historians and the national center for history in the schools. N .d. Web. 5 Nov 2012. Hickman, K. The American Revolution: Causes of Conflict. About.com., 2012. Web. 5 Nov 2012. Johnson/hist Commerce V1. “History of Domestic and Foreign Commerce of the United States.” Johnson/hist Commerce V1. Vol. 1. Ayer Publishing: New York, 1915. Print. Kelly, M. Causes of the American Revolution. About.com, 2012. Web. 4 Nov 2012. Middlekauff, R. The Glorious Cause: The American Revolution, 1763-1789. 2nd revised ed.: Oxford University Press, 2007. Print. Outram, D. The Enlightenment. 2nd revised ed.: Cambridge University Press, 2005. Print. Road to Revolution 1760-1775. Road to Revolution 1760-1775. N .d. Web. 5 Nov 2012. Ward, H. M. War for Independence and the Transformation of American Society. Illustrated ed.: Routledge, 1999. Print. Wilson, E. J., and Reill, P. H. Encyclopedia of The Enlightenment. 2nd revised ed.: Infobase Publishing, 2004. Print. Read More