American Revolution

American Revolution

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nIntroduction

nThe colonialists attempts to safeguard local privileges from invasion of imperial authorities led to conflicts between Great Britain and American colonies between 1760s and 1770s. The underlying causes of the conflicts were debts from the Seven Year Wars and the Indian War for Independence (Copeland, 2000). Britain was also involved in constant warfare with France around the world and this led to enormous war debts. After these wars, British experienced massive destruction of manufacturers, general distress and fall of price of produce and of lands. Besides, there was an unsound credit-lending taking place simultaneously (Frank, 2008). Consequently, British Parliament decided to impose more taxes on the vast American colony. The colonists protested these new taxes by British Parliament to control the economic systems of the American colonies (Copeland, 2000). The indifferences between interpretation and of British constitution forced colonialist to open rebellion in 1775.

nBy the beginning of the American Revolution war, the colonialists had become financial dependent on American colonies relative to the colonies dependent on Britain (Morton, 2003). The risky investment coupled with negative balance of trade increased the unsustainability of the business for British investors (Frank, 2008). Consequently, the heavily indebted nation was on the verge of economic collapse. Therefore, many colonists felt that a costly war with the Americans was not a fight worth fighting (Copeland, 2000). Moreover, the American colonies were becoming too expensive to administer coupled by decreasing profitability. Furthermore, British colonists opinion showed that by denying the American colonies the necessary liberty, it contradicted with the British liberal thinking (Morton, 2003).

nPrior to American revolutionary war, the colonies were unsustainable to defend and maintain. The colonialist had already spent significant amount of money into defending the colonies during the Seven Years War against French attackers and Native Americans (Morton, 2003). The British enjoyed substantial support from large Native American tribes such as Cherokee and Iroquois (Frank, 2008). However, they feared the union of French with major tribes such as Shawnee and Ottawa. In this regard, the colonists were afraid that defending the colonies against French troops and their Native allies would significantly increase the expenses (Morton, 2003). Therefore, the French and Indian wars facilitated American Revolution.

nAdditionally, the colonies were becoming unprofitable relative to new empires of the British in Asia. For instance, British increased its control in its Indian colony in Bengal by the late 18th century (Frank, 2008). Furthermore, the British changed its administration system from indirect to direct rule. The military and political commitment also increased in Asia. British Indian colony had become one of the most profitable colonies. To make matters worse, the profitability of other British colonies in American such as Dominica and Jamaica were decreasing (Morton, 2003). For instance, the British Caribbean sugar was becoming less viable by late 18th century. The underlying cause of profit decline was due to exhaustion of soil on the over-utilized islands (Frank, 2008). Therefore, many Briton viewed the Caribbean and American colonies as no longer crucial. In this regard, by the beginning of American revolutionary war, the British had shifted their focus from America to India.

nOn the other hand, the colonist faced calls for liberty and self-determination. Many colonists believed that ignoring Americans demands for liberty was insincere, with regard to British liberal views in the century (Morton, 2003). The liberalism of the colonialist was based on tenets of protecting and promoting liberty by safeguarding natural rights such as property rights (Frank, 2008). Furthermore, they argued that the foundation of economic liberty depended on the free persons in a sound and prosperous society. In 1775, the British Member of parliament, Mr. Edmund Burke delivered his speech in parliament seeking to persuade legislators to grant liberties to the Americans (Frank, 2008). He proposed that British should remove some of their rights to taxation in order to solve the conflict. In his speech In Conciliation with American, he suggested that by giving more freedom to Americans, they would view them as protectors relative to deniers of their freedoms. His idea was that if Great Britain allowed more control of American colonies, they could mollify the colonists and gain from the benefits of the colonies (Frank, 2008). Nonetheless, British did not implement his idea and ultimately lost its American colonies.

nConclusion

nThe colonialist complained against British Stamp Act of 1765 both before and after it was passed in British Parliament. Other acts such as Revenue Act imposed more taxes such as customs duties, which increased the opposition (Copeland, 2000). The colonists were willing to pay allegiance to the king but they were opposed to recognize the fiscal power of British Parliament. The American colonialist faced strong conscious involvement in the local political life in their colonies (Frank, 2008). Therefore, many did not consider themselves as outsiders under imperial rule. The American colonist faced common crisis from outside such as Stamp Act hence they effectively united against the new laws (Copeland, 2000). The colonists argument caused greater resistance to the new legislations in their colonies. Therefore, they decided to rebel against the Great Britain because of poor taxation policies enacted by Parliament.

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nReferences

nCopeland, D. A. (2000) Debating the Issues in Colonial Newspapers: Primary Documents on Events of the Period. Westport, CT, USA: Greenwood Press,

nFrank, A. (2008). American Revolution (1st ed.). Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO.

nMorton, J. (2003). The American Revolution (1st ed.). Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press.