They thought that colonists were British subjects who should obey British law and the taxes were due to the French and Indian War which was fought to protect the colonies. They also felt colonies profited from trade with England, and that the colonies were too far away from England to have representation in Parliament. Patriots believed that they deserved rights that were not to be taken away by the government, and taxation violated those rights. They claimed to have done their part during the French and Indian war fighting, and that they could not be taxed without representation in Parliament. Patriots also believed the British were causing violence, riots, and death (Boston Massacre & Boston Tea Party).
The Townshend Acts were similar to the Stamp Act but they taxed different items, and they were put in place after the tax was repealed. Another important difference that the colonists overlooked was that these taxes were a customs duty that could be paid at American ports. All of these parliamentary laws caused uproars in the colonies. They believed that they were not fair because of the no representation of colonists at parliament meetings. The British, to colonial dismay, told them that they were represented because they had Virtual Representation because all parliament members represent all British citizens.
Jean Jacques Rousseau concluded that all people were entitled to participate in their government, as well as possessing liberties to political and legal equality (Brinkley Alan pg 142). These ideas only fed colonist’s growing discontent with their mother country, and proved the unjustness of no taxation without representation. With the aid of Enlightenment thinkers, colonists recognized the lack of stability of the British Parliament as well as the excessive power of the king. Although revolutionary issued propaganda, the pamphlet Common Sense by Thomas Paine summarized the lack of just British leadership, and alerted colonists to the country’s abuse of power. The British crown was no
Salutary neglect in its self was an undocumented, though long-lasting, British policy of avoiding strict enforcement of parliamentary laws, meant to keep the American colonies obedient to England. Or in much simpler terms, if England left the colonies alone, the colonies would have absolutely no problem with parliament. Since the imperial authority did not assert the power that it had, the colonists were left to govern themselves, therefore becoming accustomed to the idea of self-control. The effects of such prolonged isolation eventually resulted in the emergence of a collective identity that considered itself separate from Great Britain causing the American Revolution. The end of salutary neglect meant the American colonies were not happy with England.
The American Revolution was fought because colonists felt the tyrannical government of Great Britain was abusing their authority, and directly affecting their way of life and happiness. The succession of the Confederate States was a peaceful way of saying to the United States that they felt they were using their power in an inappropriate way. The Confederate states were tired after years of regulations and acts that directly affected their way of life
Although after the American Revolution, Americans wanted to change how they wanted to govern their society, Americans reverted to a more centralized government like the British after breaking away from what they thought was a corrupt government. The uneducated masses didn’t experience a lot of change though the ideals from the revolution still guided some to seek better financial opportunities. Women, slaves, and loyalist experienced a considerable amount of change in society as women experienced more freedoms, some slaves were set free, and loyalist left America. Therefore, America didn’t experience a lot of economic change, but it did experience women and slaves becoming more apart of society. Although America broke free from the British and Americans wanted their government to be nothing like the Britain’s government at all, America went through changes in the government but went back to having a centralized government like what the British had set up.
Britain was like a splinter in the American people--limiting, but not completely impairing despite any of its efforts; the noticeable agitation was there in America, but the root of the problem wasn't "taken care of" until the physical American Revolution--physical being that there, too, lorded among the people an inner Revolution in each one of them. Various movements of Britain, the mother country of America, brought attention to its selfishness over time and thus the American people began to see their own potential as an individual country. Being people from Europe as they had recently made their voyage to America, the colonists relied on Europe for certain things (i.e. technology) as they had not yet adapted to the new-found land and lifestyle.
The Stamp Act, and the Intolerable Act affected the Lawyers. American Revolution and Its effects The American Revolution was a minority movement before 1776 because most people either felt indifferent or still respected the king. Deceleration of Independence Equality clase means that all men are equal before the law. Natural right are right you are born with. The Deceleration blamed King George III for the colonist's problems.
This gave colonists a sense of separation from Britain that exploded into war with a series of events starting at the Boston tea party and leading up to the battle in Concord. Each time Britain tried to gain hold of their colonies in America, the results backfired. Mercantilism was a way to keep American colonies in check but more so a means of monetary income. To Britain, their colonies were simply income of raw materials for production which equals money. To gain this money they had to export more goods than import.
Paine also calls hereditary succession an abdominal practice. He criticizes the people who were in favor of British Empire saying that Britain watched America only for economic well-being. He also says that British don’t deserve American loyalty because they have been attacking American colonies. According to him, the solution to this problem is independence from the British and for that he also proposed the form of Government which had equal opportunities for all. Paine directly appealed to colonies to separate from the British Empire.