The American Revolution
The American RevolutionThe colonists living in America had enjoyed relative freedom from England since they arrived. They came to the New World, after all, to escape England, for whatever reasons they may have had�religious, economic, or social. So when England decided in the eighteenth century that they were going to crack down on the colonies, the announcement was not met with open arms. In fact, rebellion was inevitable.
Parliamentary taxation was a main source of the colonists' anger. With the Sugar Act of 1764, they were forced to pay one-third of Britian's French and Indian War costs. The Stamp Act was exorbitant for the colonists as well, but was met with much more hostility. They rebelled against these taxes because they were being taxed without representation in England; they felt the British had no right to tax their colonies when they themselves had no say in how they were ruled.
The civil liberties of the colonists were also restricted. The colonists were discouraged from buying foreign products and had restricted production as a result of mercantilism. In the hated Admiralty Courts, colonists were shipped back to England to be tried in a jury-less courtroom, assumed guilty until proven innocent. The British took advantage of the colonists, as became apparent with the Quartering Act: people in America would be forced to house and feed British soldiers any time they demanded it. This limited the colonists' freedom and only spread more anger and defiance throughout the colonies.
The British military was unpopular in the colonies for many...
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