The Political and Econimical Causes of the American Revolution
The revolution began after many years of unrest between England and the American colonies. England's taxes, tariffs and new acts, imposed greatly upon the new American people. Large tariffs were placed on non British imports. British goods were more expensive, but they did not carry the high taxes that were imposed on foreign goods so they seemed economical. However British goods were of a lower quality than the foreign goods which made them difficult to sell. Unfortunately the American people depended on England and other nations for all modern commodities because they had not yet set up factories to manufacture their own. The English took advantage of this fact in every way possible. It was their thirst for political power and domination over the American economy that sealed their fate. England passed many acts to entice the Americans into buying their goods. One of the first to be passed was the Molasses Act of 1733. This act stated that molasses coming from the French or Dutch sugar islands was to have on it a six pence tariff per gallon. Instead of encouraging people to buy British molasses this act bred dishonesty. Merchants, who distilled the
The Townshed Acts infuriated the people. The Acts included more taxes and new rules concerning imports and exports. One of the final acts passed was the Tea Act of 1773. Under this act the citizens could only buy tea from the East India Company's agents. This was an effort to save the prestigious company. It greatly upset people because it took away business from the traveling trade merchants. The Tea Act of 1773 prompted the Boston Tea Party. In the Boston Tea Party a group of men dressed as Indians and stormed a cargo ship loaded with Tea. The ship was docked just off Griffin's Wharf. The men threw 90,000 pounds of tea, worth 10,000 sterling pounds in to the Boston Harbor. This sent the message to the British that the Americans wanted their independence. In response the British imposed new laws and taxes. They greatly feared American conspiracy. Finally on March 5, 1770 a crowd gathered to disturb the ten guards at the customs house. The guards began firing. At the end of the night 11 people were shot 5 died. The press hyperbolically called it the Boston Massacre to further encourage an abhorrence of the British in the hearts of the Americans. It was a success. molasses to make rum, claimed that the British supplier
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Approximate Word count = 838
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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