American Revolution in 1770's period - Literature review Example

American Revolution The American Revolution was one of the major events in the American history. It is also referred as to therevolution war. It was the most important event because it made what America is today. The revolution brought to an end the British rule that has colonized the country for over two centuries. The revolution was disturbing while other times exhilarating, there was a time where the colonies were progressing and a time when people suffered dislocations. The difficulties and the negativity that colonists experienced during colonization brought the agitation for independent. This essay outlines the causes of the war and the chronology of event that resulted to the declaration of independence. Pre-1775 In the period between1754 and 1763, the British engaged the Indian and the French in a war that started as early as 1600s. During the 1750s, the French and the British were in the war with each other in Europe, but the war even spread to North America. The British colony wanted to take over the territories and fur trade that French had in North America. The American Native joined the French to fight against the occupation of British in the French land. The Native feared that the British would to take their land and for them to protect themselves, they had to join the French in battling the British soldiers. In 1779, the British General Wolfe captured Quebec and brought the war to an end. In 1763, a peace treaty was signed, and British got almost all of the French land. Moreover, the British introduced taxation to cover the cost of the war (Colin, 1991). The American native began their quest for independence long before the revolution, but before the start of the revolution, the American population has increased to about two million. In the time before the war, the colonies have urbanized, and road were now connecting the diverse colonies. In addition, the media has grown, and newspapers kept all the colonies informed. At this time, the colonies were enlightened and were thinking of themselves as Americans. The colonists, both the rich and poor differed on the issue of independence. George Washington who owned huge chunk of land and other businessmen like John Hancock agitated for independence. They did not want the British to control over their businesses and their lives. However, some other wealthy colonists feared the agitation of independence would affect their wealth if the revolution began. The wealth of these colonists was connected to the British government and its trade. The poor colonists could not relent from control of the rich colonists. Over a period of time, people had seen the disadvantages and the advantages of colonization. The call for independence began, and people complained due taxation which they could not have authority to question for its purpose. The lack of representation was a big issue among the Americans people. The king of England governed some colonies while other colonies governed by themselves. In their effort to control over all colonies in North America, the King sought on the creation of a law that would put in place the colonies under him. In the process of creation of the law, the British approved the bills that were in their superlative interest and not for the concern of the colonies. The Navigation Act disallowed the colonists from competition with the British businesses. The laws also forbid the colonists from trading with other countries other than Britain. The British government restricted the colonies from trading with the Spanish and French. In exercising their control over North America, the British refused to give colonies government even a single person representation in their government back in England. They believed that only appointed authorities, by themselves could adequately represent the colonies. After for some times, the colonies disagreed with the British control, and they created laws that put their interest while ignoring the British laws. This move brought tremendous tension between the colonies and the Britain. The American colonies were not only large but also costly and expensive to govern. The Britain had come from a war with the French and the Indians; moreover, the war gave England power over Canada and some part of land east of Mississippi. The war awakened England of the need to find more resources to cater for the soldiers in the new acquired territories. In 1764, England decided to share the cost of running the colonies by introducing taxation. All the sugar that came from the Spanish or French was taxed. After this, the British introduced t Stamp Act, which required legal document and all newspapers to a stamp duty. The taxes made the colonists to revolve against colonial government. The colonist’s objection to the Act made the British to eliminate the Stamp Act and lower tax on sugar. In 1767, the colonial government passed new taxes on tea, paper, paints, glass, and goods that were shipped to the shores of colonies from Britain. The prime minister at the time, Charles Townsend needed money to keep up the administration and the cost of defending the colonies. His taxes were named after him, the Townsend Acts. After the passing of the Townsend acts, the colonists refuted them, and in solidarity, they boycotted the purchase of the British goods. The colonists were against taxation without representation, and for this reason, they rallied for “no tax without representation”. On this occasion, the British shelved all the taxes except tax on tea. The issue of taxation and control of colonies by the British created too much tension between the Britain and the colonies. The tension first broke out in Boston when the people defied the soldier for treating them badly. They also argued that the soldiers abused them physically and verbally. On March 5, 1770, the buildup tension broke out. On the evening, people went on the street protesting and insulting the soldiers on duty. And after a huge crowd had gathered, the soldiers called for reinforcement from his colleagues. Nine soldiers and with them was Captain Thomas Preston came to rescue there colleagues. The crowd while still throwing snowballs and shouting insult created a security crisis. Still in this state of commotion, somebody in the crowd shouted ‘fire’ and the solder killed two town people while other two died there after out of injuries. The people of Boston called for investigation of the killing, but the soldiers were put on trial and later acquitted (Colin, 1991). . After the repeal of the Townsend Act, the British brought a two year relief and peace in the colonies, but the tension remained a life. At sea off American shores, the customs ships patrolled the sea coast. The British merchant ships checked for illegal goods and ensured that all customs and taxation were enforced. A British Navy ship called the Gaspee was assigned to enforce custom duty. On June the 9th, 1772, the Gaspee chased a merchant ship near Providence, which was believed to be smuggling goods. And the next night a group from Providence attached the lieutenant commanding the Gaepee at the time and set it ablaze. Investigations were started, but no one was accused. In order to gain more control of the colonies, the British government started to pay salaries of governors. The move to pay the salaries of administrators was to gain control of colonies by withholding their salaries at will. This move also angered the colonist because they feared that the British want to control them more than before. The event leading to the formation of the Tea party was another reason and sign of a continuous agitation for independence. The British imported teas from India through the British East India Company. The British abolished all other taxes, but tea tax remained effective. For this reason, the colonies boycotted buying tea from the company and instead relied on smuggled tea from Europe (Holland). The British East India Company faced a verge of collapse and running out of business. The British government passed the Tea Act. The Act allowed the East Indian Company to sell tea directly to consumers without involving the wholesaler’s merchants. This move made the company tea cheaper than the smuggle tea that the merchant sold. The Tea Act revived tension among the colonialist, and they demanded the abolition of the tea tax. Moreover, the dock workers rejected to unload tea from ships, and in December 1773, a group of young men invaded the Boston Harbor, boarded three British ships, the Eleanor, the Beaver, and the Dartmouth, destroyed more than five ton of tea. The attack is known as the Boston Tea Party (Bruce &John, 1971). The Boston Tea Party provoked the British, and they responded with passing various acts that the colonies referred to the ‘Intolerable Acts.’ The British government called for the closure of the Boston Harbor while pending Boston people to pay for the loss of tea and the taxes that accrued to the five ton of destroyed tea. The British also sacked the Massachusetts elected officials and replaced the officials with the Kings appointment. They also gave the appointed official and the governor more power to control public meetings. The British changed the Justice Act that required the offender of violent crime be tried in England. The Quarter Act was repealed, and the British troops housed in private homes. The British passed the Quebec Act to prevent the growing of colonies. The Act extended the borders of Canada up to the Ohio River thus taking away the land that colonies claimed to be theirs. The acts after the Boston party were brought to make an example to all the colonies that opposing the British rule could lead to dire consequences. However, the colonies were not afraid, and they termed the acts as intolerable. In addition, the acts gave the colonies a reason to unite against the British rule (Bruce &John, 1971). 1775-1777 The first congress meeting was convened after the Boston Tea Party and the passage of four various act referred to by colonies as intolerable. The meeting brought the representative of thirteen colonies except Georgia to discuss the ‘intolerable acts.’ The meeting was convened in Philadelphia, but the governor of Georgia managed to block representative from that colony. The meeting was to discuss the relationship between the colonies and the British government. Their main aim was to unite the colony and get independence from the British. After the first confederation meeting, the colonies agreed to boycott the British goods and moreover, they asserted their colonial rights and privileges (Joseph, 2003). The battles The American Revolution had many battles as people tried to fight out for their right. However, the battles for the colonist’s right ended up being the fight for the American independence. The British government was more superior in considered to the American native. They had so many people than the colonist, were wealthier, and had a strong military and navy. During this time at the start of the revolution, the American had untrained soldiers and had never had a military experience. Furthermore, in the revolt and the struggle for their right, the loyalists American were not in support for a revolution. Nevertheless, the might of the British did not deter the American to fight, and given that they were on their own land and new the terrain well than the British, they were able to fight brilliantly. In addition, the leadership of George Washington turned out to be one of the bravest and brilliant leaders (Lisa, 2004). The first battle of the revolution started in Lexington, Massachusetts. Thomas Gage, the British general deployed seven hundred solders to Concord to destroy the colonist ammunition and arrest the leaders of the movement for independence. These leaders included John Hancock, Samuel Adams, and other of their friends (Robert, 1996). The patriots moved to capture Fort Ticonderoga in 1775 after the battle in Lexington. They captured the port without struggle and with no single shot fired. In the port, the Green Mountain Boys were involved in capturing the port captured also artillery and cannons which they later used to drive away the British away of Boston (Robert, 1996). On June 1775, George Washington was elected the continental army commander, and thereafter, the battle of Bunker Hill started. The war in Breed Hills injured the British heavily, but they eventually won and controlled Breed’s Hill. The need to have a peaceful colony made the American extended an Olive Petition, in order to have a peaceful ending of the revolution. On July, the Congress wrote the Olive Branch Petition. In the petition, the American addressed their concerns, and requested the British government to address them. The King of England refuted their concerns, and believed that the American rebellion could be ended by his military might (Lisa, 2004). The patriot won the battle in Boston while they drove away the British from Boston Harbor. The British headed to Canada after they lost Boston. Moreover, the patriot on November 1775 attacked Canada to defend the land of New Canada. In December, General Montgomery led the patriot in attacking Quebec, but they were outnumbered and forced to retreat to Canada (Lisa, 2004). The British took over New York after they lost Boston. The British managed to fight the patriot and took over the city. However, George Washington marshaled his troops and crossed Delaware River where they defeated the British in Trenton. George Washington needed to win in Trenton to boost his troop after they lost New York. Furthermore, he was aware of the British in New Jersey and Trenton could at any time attack Philadelphia. Boosted by the victory of wining Trenton, Washington on January 1777 to the battle to Princeton and again managed to defeat the British (Lisa, 2004). The battle at Saratoga on September of 1777 was a turning point of the revolution war. The British lost, and General Burgoyne surrendered to the American forces. On May 10, 1775, the second continental congress was held in Philadelphia, and among them were Thomas Jefferson of Virginia, Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania and John Hancock from Massachusetts. The Congress at this time, recognized the militia as the continental army, and they should work for all the thirteen colonies. In the second Congress, the thirteen states approved the Declaration of Independence. Moreover, the work of a government is to serve the people and the people must give their consent. The second Congressional meeting created the roadmap to democratic governance. On March 1781, the Articles of Confederation were adopted. For a long time, the colonies had no central government, and there was the need to have one that would replace the British government. Therefore, the articles were drafted to harness trade, defense and foreign policy (Stewart, 2001). The British leading the war in Yorktown postulated giving up and surrender. The idea of losing the war brought uproar in the house of Common. The British prime minister resigned fearing defeat, and Lord Shelborne replaced him. Lord sent Oswald Richard to meet the American John Adams, John Jay, and Benjamin Franklin in Paris. It was this meeting between the American representative and Richard Oswald that signed the Treaty of Paris in September 3, 1782. The treaty was later ratified on April 1783, and for the first time it recognized American independence (“The coming of the Revolution”, 1996). References “The coming of the Revolution.” (1996). Son of the American Revolution.. Retrieved from http://www.connecticutsar.org/articles/coming_revolution.htm Bruce, L & John, H. (1971). The American Revolution. New York. American Heritage. Colin, B. (1991). The American Revolution. Charlottesville. University Press of Virginia. Joseph, C. (2003). The American Revolution. New York. Greenwood Press. Lisa, F. (2004). The American Revolution: Chronicle of America’s Wars. New York. Learner Publishing Group. Moss, J. (1996). Son of the American Revolution. The Share of Connecticut in the Revolution. Retrieved from http://www.connecticutsar.org/articles/share_ct_revolution.htm Robert, L. (1996). Son of the American Revolution. An Alarm from Lexington. Retrieved from http://www.connecticutsar.org/articles/lexington_alarm.htm Stewart, R. (2001). The American Revolution. London. Evans Brothers Limited. Read More