American Revolution Research Paper

1281 Words6 Pages
The roots of the American Revolutionary War of 1775, a political uprising by the united thirteen colonies of North America against Great Britain, can be traced back a decade earlier, as the British monarchy and Parliament attempted to impose strict control over the colonies. Their once harmonious relationship began to disintegrate as Britain, burdened by a debt from the French and Indian War, aimed to generate revenue by taxing the colonies and gradually infringing on their natural rights. These injustices were met with heated protests by the colonists, who not only resented the economic burdens placed upon their shoulders, but more importantly were outraged by the political and social ideologies of a monarchy that attempted to stifle their…show more content…
The absence of this collection of freedoms led to an outrage and eventually contributed to the American Revolution. The Intolerable or Coercive Acts passed in response to the Boston tea party in 1774 by the British Parliament violated many liberties of the colonists because they thought themselves truly British. These series of laws limited colonial power, eliminated commerce and trade, enforced the housing of British soldiers in private colonial homes, and limited expansion towards the west. The Quartering Act, a component of the Intolerable Act, required American colonist to provide housing and food for British soldiers who had fought in the French and Indian War. In response to these unfair laws, Colonists drafted a document entitled Declaration and Resolves of the First Continental Congress, which addressed and refuted the laws and demanded many liberties. Responding specifically to the Quartering Act, the ninth resolution of this Declaration stated, “That the keeping a standing army in these colonies, in times of peace, without the consent of the legislature of that colony, in which such army is kept, is against law.” Colonists were drawn to the principles of liberty, as they refused to be forced to take soldiers into their homes. Enforcing colonists to provide shelter and food…show more content…
Inspired by enlightened thinker John Locke’s Social Contract, republicanism promoted equality of all men, the idea of society before self, the natural right of man to overthrow the government if it disregards the rights of citizens, and the cultivation of virtue as its fundamental guiding principles. Colonists viewed the British monarchy as a self-serving controller, as they were gradually taking away their natural rights. By placing burdensome taxes, limiting colonial power and commerce, limiting expansion west of the Appalachian, the British crown aimed to eliminate the natural autonomy of Americans. Thomas Paine echoed this sentiment in his popular and well-received pamphlet entitled Common Sense. Paine wrote, “A government of our own is our natural right… (And) that it is infinitely wiser to form a constitution of our own.” Paine, believing that Britain’s failure to provide colonists their natural rights, advocated for settlers to unite and overthrow the government. Republicanism ideology also rejected the corrupt system, which had plagued the British government. The colonists believed that corrupt governments would not only take away liberties, but also amass wealth on the backs of colonists and become increasingly power hungry. Paine,
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