The Revolutionary Era

By: Gabriel Hernandez

                Before being an independent country, United States over went through a whole series of events that lead to the Revolution. They were plenty of events and hard times for the British colonists; they felt they were not being treated like free men and women. Instead, they had this feeling of them being treated like slaves. This sentiment of lack of freedom accompanied by anger led the people to speak up and start the Revolution.

                One of the main reasons, if not the only main reason for the Revolution were the taxes. Great Britain’s government was in great debt due to the French and Indian War, also known as the 7 year war. High amounts of money were spent in warfare and Great Britain had no money to pay for it. Therefore, it was decided to “charge” the colonies with their debt. Evidently, the colonists didn’t agree with this and started to protest, disenfranchise, and even boycott all things related to the British crown.

                Getting more in depth with the French and Indian War, the British and French waged war in order to gain control over eastern North America. Great Britain resulted to be the victor of this battle with its colonies by the side. Even though they succeeded, they were some negative effects of the battle. For instance, the arrogance of many royal officers insulted leaders such as George Washington. Other thing that angered the colonists was how the British viewed them. Under British eyes, the colonists were nothing more than inferior beings and they felt the right to be treated equally or at least better. The fact that the Englishmen were taxing them due to their economic depression worsened things even more.

                The British Parliament passed a law called the Sugar Act in the early 1764. Its purpose was to raise funds provided by the colonies by a change in the tax on molasses. The act signaled an end to Britain’s salutary neglect of its colonies. George Grenville intended this law partially to defend and support the American colonies. It required that all legal documents should have an attached paper stamp. The stamp just showed that a required fee had been paid. The colonists refused to buy the stamps therefore, the Parliament backed down.

                By 1770, growing numbers of Americans were convinced that British politicians were robbing their money through taxation. Protest groups such as the “Sons of Liberty” complained that the British were taxing them in order to take away their property and somehow enslave them. After the Stamp Act, more British actions followed. British troops occupied Boston in the late 1760s to aid a soldier and fire into an angry mob. Five colonists were killed as a result which included an African American and four other colonists. Later on, the British government announced that it was going to sell millions of pounds of tea at discounted rates directly to the American public. The colonists rejected this and didn’t allow any cargo ships into the harbor. The Boston Tea party came as a result from this since the colonists threw into the ocean the cargoes of several ships.

                In response to the Tea Party, the Parliament passed the Intolerable Acts. The acts were the following; the Port Bill, it closes Boston’s port until payment is made for the destroyed tea. The Massachusetts Government Act imposes a new form of government on the colony. The Quartering Act forced colonists to quarter British soldiers in private homes. Finally, the Administration of Justice Act giving royal officials in Massachusetts the right to trial in a court outside the colony. In order to enforce these acts, four thousand troops are sent into Boston.

                After the series of events that colonists went through the British, it came the idea for a war for independence. This meant the creation of a new society committed to such powerful ideas as equality and democracy. There were two main documents that spread democratic ideas among men and women from the colonies. “Common Sense” by Thomas Paine and the “Declaration of Independence” by Thomas Jefferson. Common Sense was democratic in both style and substance, it was a direct assault on the whole idea of government by kings and aristocrats. The Declaration of Independence declared that the colonies were cutting ties with their parent country. Both of these documents raised a spirit of democracy among everyone and encouraged people to be part of the Revolution.

                It took the Americans eight years to reach their freedom. The British were not pleased of the idea of letting go their colonies at least without a fight especially if those colonies were prosperous. The Americans had some disadvantages from their side. They had no navy, no army, and over all they had no real government. They were divided by state or regions. Other mayor disadvantages for the Americans were the so called Tories. These individuals preferred to remain loyal to King George, even if they disagreed with the policies of his officials. Tories were usually merchants or well established people with connections with the British government.

                The Americans were not the only ones with problems; the British had their own too. One of their mayor disadvantages was the distance. They were fighting against an enemy that was thousands of miles away across the ocean. It was not an easy battle for the British troops since they had to be in constant movement.

                Many American people were pleased with the highly democratic state and national governments created during the American Revolution. However, there were some individuals that there was too much social disorder in the new nation. These group of people were looking for a stronger national government therefore, they were in the pursuit of a strong leader.

                The road towards independence was not easy for the Americans. However, through hard work and perseverance many things were accomplished. Thanks to the founding fathers of democracy, the United States has been the country with more years of having democratic principles with their type of government.