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Causes of the American Revolution

The colonists initially supported the British king but grew unhappy paying taxes without representation in Parliament. The British wanted the colonists to help pay the costs of defending them during the French and Indian War. This led to acts like the Stamp Act and Tea Act that directly taxed the colonists. The colonists protested these taxes with slogans like "no taxation without representation" and acts of rebellion like the Boston Tea Party. In response, Britain passed the Intolerable Acts, closing Boston's port and removing Massachusetts' right to self-govern, further angering the colonists and pushing them towards revolution.

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107 views2 pages

Causes of the American Revolution

The colonists initially supported the British king but grew unhappy paying taxes without representation in Parliament. The British wanted the colonists to help pay the costs of defending them during the French and Indian War. This led to acts like the Stamp Act and Tea Act that directly taxed the colonists. The colonists protested these taxes with slogans like "no taxation without representation" and acts of rebellion like the Boston Tea Party. In response, Britain passed the Intolerable Acts, closing Boston's port and removing Massachusetts' right to self-govern, further angering the colonists and pushing them towards revolution.

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Topic 1.

1 Events Leading to the American Revolution


At first the colonists of the British colonies were loyal to the British King but
eventually wanted their independence from their mother country.

Great Britain thought htat the


colonists should help pay for the
expenses the British Parliament had
to pay to protect the colonists
during the French and Indian War.
The French and Indian War was a
war between France and England
over the lands of the Ohio River
Valley. The Native Americans joined
on both sides of the war. Great
Britain helped the colonists fight the
The land in red was the land that was fought for French and the British eventually
during the war. The area to the east in white was won.
the established English Colonies.

Paying taxes was not a new idea to the colonists. They had been paying taxes
to the British Parliament on imported goods (things that were brought from
Britain to the colonies). However, the colonists believed that only their colonial
assemblies had the right to tax them directly for the purpose of raising revenue
(money).

Stamp Act
The Stamp Act was the first direct tax placed upon
the colonists. The colonists had to pay tax on paper
goods such as, newspapers, playing cards, and
legal documents. The colonists became very angry
and protested (spoke against) this tax with saying
No taxation without representations!

The colonists could not have representation in British


Parliament. They did have representation in their
own colonial assemblies. It was these assemblies
that colonial citizens favored to govern (rule) them.
Colonists protests included boycott (to not use) of British goods which led to the
repeal (taking away) of the Stamp Act.

Tea Act
The Tea Act was NOT a tax. The tea act allowed the British East India Tea
Company to have a monopoly (control of the industry) on tea trade. This
allowed for the company to provide tea cheaply to the colonists. The colonists
responded to the Tea Act by boycotting the British tea.

Colonial leaders feared colonial consumers (would


be tempted to purchase the cheap tea and the
boycott would be broken. So, in Boston,
Massachusetts and in Charleston, South Carolina
there were tea parties. In Boston, a group of
colonists called Sons of Liberty dressed as Mohawk
Native Americans and boarded English ships and
threw chests of tea into the Boston Harbor. In
Charleston, the colonists took the tea and stored it in
a warehouse so it could not be sold.

Intolerable Acts
England became very angry and punished Boston and its colonists by passing
the Coercive Acts. The colonists called these acts the Intolerable Acts. The law
closed the port of Boston so, goods could not be shipped in or out of the port.
These acts also took the right to self-govern away from the people a of
Massachusetts by dissolving (eliminate) the colonial assembly.

In responses to the Intolerable Acts, the colonists agreed to send representatives


(people who share the voice of others) to the First Continental Congress. At this
meeting, the representatives sent a letter to the King of England pledging their
loyalty but stating their opposition (to be against) to British actions. Meanwhile,
South Carolinians sent the Bostonians rice and money to help them survive the
closing of their port.

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