American Revolution. Events in American Revolution - Essay Example

?American Revolution Revolution is usually defined as a forcible overthrow of a government or social order in favour of a new system Revolution also takes place with desire for independence. There are thinkers present in every society who give direction to the thought process of the society. Born in every era they shape the history of the country. American Revolution was guided by many such people who led the revolution from the front and made it successful. However the events that trigger the revolution are merely momentous and act as a trigger. Reasons for revolution get accumulated over a period of time. The societal unrest reaches its peak. Any event that occurs after that triggers the change that has been so desired. The causes that led to American Revolution were many. As we look back we see them as many dots which could be connected now to make the event logical. Social Structure of American society at the time of Revolution - American society at the time of Revolution was divided into multiple classes at the time of revolution. While some of these classes participated in the revolution, there were also others who were dissociated from the revolution by virtue of their social status. There was nobility from England members of who were self-made land owners in America. They were resourceful and wealthy. Tradesmen, merchants and land owners looked at freedom of enterprise for expansion and growth. This was growing middle class and was an active participant in revolution. The lower strata comprised workmen, indentured prisoners and Indians. This lower stratum did not really care about revolution as they were unable to relate with the new found freedom and were not expecting the change in government to bring about change in their lives. World over rise of leadership for revolutions and rebellions has always been through middle class. American Revolution was no exception. Leaders from this class were enlightened by thoughts of leaders of French and European revolutions. They yearned to bring about same changes in American society as well. Rule of British Parliament - Parliament of Britain thought of America as a colony, one amongst many they ruled. Naturally they wanted to impose their rules and regulations over America. Although Britain had emerged victorious in French and Indian War, her economy suffered badly. Wanting to recover a debt-ridden economy, Britain demanded more revenue from colonies. Even if French were defeated, the colonies did not trust Britain for their protection. Series of Acts - From 1763 to 1769 Britain passed series of legislation imposing new taxes on America as a colony with the primary motive of generating more revenue. Some significant acts passed were as follows: Sugar Act (1764) – increasing duties on sugar imported from West Indies Currency Act (1764) – banning American assemblies from issuing paper bills or bills of credit Quartering Act (1765) – colonists to feed and house British soldiers. Stamp Act (1765) – direct tax imposed on marriage licenses, playing cards, newspapers etc. the revenue generated from this tax was meant for colonies to pay for their defence. Townshend Acts (1767) - colonial officials were given independence to impose their own taxes apart from the ones that are already imposed by British parliament. This independence further incurred taxes on glass, tea, paper etc. These taxes created unhappiness and furore in American society and were viewed as unjust and uncalled for. These acts severely restricted freedom of enterprise shrunk the size of profits or revenue earned and along with that came additional burden of feeding and housing British army. This resentment kept boiling for more than seven years and finally erupted into a revolution. People in America viewed themselves as citizens of New World and they strongly demanded that they should have legislative authority to decide what is best for them. According to them these acts were merely for additional revenue generation without consideration of people on whom these acts were imposed. They did not have voice or representation in British parliament. This non-representation gave the ground to American thinkers. There cannot be taxes imposed on the American people if they were not represented in British parliament. However for Britain, America being another colony, it would never have had a representation in British parliament. Perhaps most important, in rejecting taxation without representation, colonists were asserting their rights as Englishmen. In establishing their own nation, however, they rejected the traditional form of government, monarchy, and developed a wholly new form of republican government that was best suited to their situation. Although textbooks are generally accurate in describing this transition, they fail to convey was what was new, different, and radical about what the American revolutionaries were doing.2 Geographical distance –Because of geographical separation, American people developed a strong independent streak. They sought freedom of enterprise and wanted to be masters of their own development. British parliament being far away would not have been able to recognize the needs of American society and respect their will. Hence need of independence became all the more evident. America was already dynamic and capitalist, full of people pursuing their own happiness, waiting only to embark on the economic development that the nineteenth century brought. Like Canada and New Zealand but unlike Kenya or Tanzania or India, the United States was a ‘neo-Europe’.3 Events in American Revolution – The laws enforced from the year 1763, brought unrest in American society to surface. Various other factors such as geographical distance, leaders coming forward from middle class who had very clear views of how their country should be run etc. had created grounds congenial for revolution. However the actual revolution took place almost in 1770 with Boston Massacre triggering it. It was followed by Boston Tea Party, battles of Lexington, Concord, and Saratoga etc. finally resulting into proclamation of American independence. In a course of revolution there are always events which provide ignition to revolution. One needs to understand while studying a revolution is the forces beneath the surface that actually gradually lead to ultimate overthrow of the system. We see skirmishes have happened or unpleasantness harboured during various acts imposed very clearly. But none of these reasons were individually forceful enough for people to get provoked. This could also have been because of by and large tolerant attitude of people towards various severe acts and regulations. This unpleasantness accumulated when series of such acts was passed by British parliament. The force of intellectual argument of independence was created by leaders of American Revolution. The free and independent spirit of people wanted to break free from rules and regulations unfairly imposed upon them and the basis was further created because of various extracting acts passed. All these came together to create American Revolution. Individually these forces would not have freed American people. Each of these forces played its own role in the revolution and hence while there was unpleasantness, while there were skirmishes it really did not culminate into an overpowering change. History has proven that revolutions are not merely bloodbaths or wars and fights. The ground is first created by intellectuals, by sowing seeds of freedom in minds of people by creating confidence in their own capabilities. Post which it takes circumstantial reasons to take the cause forward to its logical conclusion. Therefore Boston Massacre is not American Revolution but a trigger to American Revolution. References www.oxforddictionaries.com, 14 Dec 2013. Web. Countryman E. The American Revolution. New York. Hill and Wang 2003. Print Martin K. Causes of American Revolution: The colonial mind-set and events that led to revolt. http://americanhistory.about.com/od/revolutionarywar. 14 Dec 2013. Web. Zagarri, R. Causes of American Revolution. http://teachinghistory.org/history-content/beyond-the-textbook. 15 Dec 2013. Web Read More