Major Causes of the American Revolution

The Revolution first started because of the different taxes Britain charged on America. One of these taxes was the Stamp Act which taxed books, newspapers, and everything made of or with paper. This really upset the colonists because reading was their main form of entertainment and news source. When acts like this got repealed, Britain always replaced it with another tax like the Townshend Act. The Townshend Act taxed tea, lead, paint, glass, and paper. This was eventually repealed and replaced with a tax only on tea. This tax on tea led to the Boston Tea Party, where colonists dressed up as Native Americans and threw 342 chests of British tea overboard cargo ships. This “tea party” led to the Intolerable acts which were basically like the shelter-in-place orders we have today. The colonists did boycott British goods because of how outrageously expensive they were due to the taxes, but also because they didn’t get representation in Parliament. All in all, these taxes on the colonists was what fueled the colonies’ and Britain’s anger for each other.

Although the American Revolution started with all the unjust taxes, denying peace petitions was another reason why the colonists sought independence from Britain. The Founding Fathers did this by writing a document now known as the Declaration of Independence. The Second Continental Congress first decided that they should be free from Britain, after the battles at Lexington and Concord, when they created their own army. Parts of the committee debated over whether it should be written and who should write it, but they decided that Thomas Jefferson should write this document that showed that the colonies were their own country. When they sent a copy of this document to King George, he ripped it up like a dog gnawing on his chewy toy. Even though many Americans opposed this war, the few battles that the colonies fought in had started the war, and there was no turning back.

Even though the Revolutionary was thought to be impossible for the colonies to win, Washington led America to victory by tricking the British in many ways and won battles that were important to America’s victory. One significant battle was the battle of Trenton when on Christmas, Washington and his troops secretly rowed across the Delaware River to ambush British troops. Another important battle in the American Revolution was the Battle of Saratoga, where after America won, they gained support from France. Although there were many victories in the battles during the American Revolution, there were many hardships also. The winter spent at Valley Forge was where American troops stayed and trained under Officer Baron von Steuben. Though no battles were fought here, more than 3,000 American troops died from the cold, hunger, and disease. The final battle, that completed the American Revolution, was the battle of Yorktown when British troops ran low on supplies, but ships that would give them reinforcements were blocked off by the French. This battle was won because Washington’s army and French militias outnumbered The British army causing them to surrender. After a long and hard war, It was all finally over, and America had gained its liberty from Britain and had become a nation of its own.

As you have previously read, America had gained its independence from Britain with a document, and Britain finally surrendered leaving America as the victors of this war. Britain eventually signed a document, The Treaty of Paris, that officially ended all the fighting and gave America the land of the colonies. America fought to the end and never gave up on their life, liberty, happiness, and hope for a new life. Finally, the colonies became America, our own nation, and would become one of the most advanced countries in the world.