Firstly, the social aspect seems be what began the undercurrent of anger. It has been said that the birthplace of the Revolution was in colonial cities; more specifically, it was in taverns and coffeehouses. People could go there to debate the top issues of the day to share ideas and grievances. It was during these "therapy sessions" that people realized that there was a general feeling of discontentment with British rule, and thus it went.

Another earlier social change occurred during and after the French and Indian War. This war had a profound effect on the American colonists. Over 1756-1757, the British issued orders to the colonists and forcibly enlisted them in the fighting (also known as impressment).

The resistance to all of these acts built up over time into frustration with the British government, and the frustration was eventually released during the Boston Tea Party, where 150 men went aboard three East India Company tea ships and heaved the chests of tea into Boston Harbor. The "Boston Tea Party" was one of the main events leading up to the Revolutionary War.

There were many intellectual ideas behind the Revolutionary War. These ideas were more than likely shared in one tavern or coffeehouse between individuals. Then these individual ideas were transferred to another tavern or coffeehouse and shared there, and then in another, and so on. By the time this pattern reached back to the very first tavern, the individual idea had become a universal idea. Such was the case of the ideas of John Locke. In the 1760s, the British imposed certain policies that were opposed by the colonists. The colonists justified their opposition by citing biblical and Lockean justifications for opposing tyranny. The Bible suggested that people could resist as well as overthrow unjust rulers. John Locke believed that the power to govern was obtained from the permission of the people. He thought that the purpose of government was to protect the natural rights of its citizens. Natural rights, according to him, were life, liberty, and property. All people automatically earned these rights simply by being born. When a government did not protect these rights, the citizen had the right and the obligation of overthrowing the government. In other words, if resistance proved ineffective-if a government was so tyrannical and unjust that it couldn't be reformed-then the citizens had the right to revolt against it (a "right of revolution").

There were numerous political causes of the Revolutionary War. To begin, there was the fact that Britain had virtually neglected colonial affairs for many years. Until the reign of George III, colonial legislatures generally held the authority in the new nation, not the royal officials. In fact, the American assemblies had claimed the right to levy taxes, make appropriations, approve appointments, and pass laws for their colonies. These assemblies had enough control over the royal officials through their controls of the colonial budgets. They could repass disallowed laws (by the Privy Council in England) in altered form. In other words, they had beaten the system and were using their successes to their advantages. However, the successes were short-lived; the British found out the colonial goings-on and pulled tight on the proverbial leash. The national feeling of resentment of the British in turn grew, as did the national feeling of concert and unity against a foe.

This social view of the problems leads us back to the acts passed by the British. All of the acts angered the colonists, for reasons they named as "taxation without representation." They learned to tolerate most of the acts; but then Britain enforced the Townshend Duties. These duties were taxes on various goods imported to the colonies from England: lead, paint, paper, and tea. In the eyes of the colonists, their purpose was the same as the purposes of the other acts: to raise revenue from the colonists without their consent. Something more had to be done than simply boycotting. In the lead for opposition was the Massachusetts Assembly. The assembly circulated a letter to all the colonial governments and urged them to stand up against every tax imposed by Parliament. But then the secretary of state for the colonies, Lord Hillsborough, issued his own letter, stating that assemblies endorsing the Massachusetts letter would be dissolved. Massachusetts stood firmly, and the other colonies rallied to their support. This social strength would get them through

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Approximate Word count = 2560
Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page double spaced)