The significant attributes to the American Revolution BY RChad Rebeka Chadwell Pd. 3 10/09/13 The significant attributes to the American Revolution The American Revolution was the last thing that made the American colonists want to break away from Britain. The various people of these two places had different views on how to govern the colonies and what rights the colonists would receive. The American Revolution started in April of 1775, but catastrophic events before that sparked the start of the Revolution. The three main occurrences that motivated the Revolution was the Boston Massacre, the Intolerable Acts, and Lord Dunmore’s
Proclamation. The Boston Massacre happened in one day on March 5, 1770 in Boston, Massachusetts. British soldiers were ordered by the King to be stationed in Boston to make sure the American colonists were paying their dues on taxes and not boycotting them. Americans were furious with the idea that soldiers had to surround the town with weapons, mainly guns, pointed directly at them. Unfortunately, the Americans were the bottom line reason of why the devastating day took place. The colonists were taunting eight British soldiers by calling them names and mocking them.
One olonist thought it was a good idea to put a rock in a snowball and throw it at one of the soldiers, which caused the soldier to fire at the colonists. The colonists were unarmed, so they thought it was unjust of the British soldiers to have fired their weapons. In the process of the fghting, 11 colonists were wounded and 5 of the 11 had died. Only two British soldiers were accused of murder and they were Just merely branded on the thumbs. This proved to colonists that Britain didn’t have much care in the matter. This terrible experience united colonists with fear and atred towards Britain.
It had also influenced the desire for independence among the colonists. This created unrest in the New England colonies and is one of the things that drives the colonists to engage in the American Revolution. The Intolerable Acts, or Coercive Acts, was put into place by Britain for the colonies that was meant to punish the colony of Massachusetts for the Boston Tea Party. There was a total amount of four acts. The first act is know as the Boston Port Act, which was the closing of the Boston harbor until all the tea that was damaged had been replaced or paid for.
The second act was the Massachusetts Government Act, which put the British Parliament in sole control over Massachusetts. The third Act was the Impartial Administration of Justice act, which stated the any royal official convicted of a major crime would be tried in Britain and not the colonies. The Quartering Act was the last act and made it mandatory for colonists to allow British soldiers into their homes. The colonists saw these acts as a violation to their colonial charters as well as to their natural rights. The Americans were enraged by the British putting so much control over them.
This contributed to the yearning of independence ana a need Tor tne Revolutlon to make sure tne colonists tne Brltlsn. Dunmore’s Proclamation was endorsed on November 14, 1775. Lord Dunmore, who was the royal governor of Virginia, was in desperate need for more men, so he focused his attention on slaves. His proclamation offered freedom to slaves who would coincide with the British soldiers and fght against the colonists. At first, many slaves didn’t come because they were unsure of Dunmore. Dunmore had slaves, but did not free them, and he did not except young or old people or women.
Only 300 of the original 1,500 slaves had actually made it through to fght. Typhoid fever and small pox killed many African slaves who were trying to Join with Dunmore and his men. This proclamation angered a profusion of southern states who relied on slaves to work in the plantations. This also caused the undecided colonists to turn away from British authority. This is what cause the Southern colonies to have the need for independence from Britain. These three factors contributed to the war that was to come. All the colonists had a reason to fght for their independence.
Whether it be suppressed by the British, the harming of the colonists’ economy, or the colonists’ rights being taken away, the Americans felt that they didn’t need Britain any longer. They tried to tell the British their concerns, but it did not a thing. The King put their feelings aside and continued with his daily tasks. The only way to divide the Americans from the British was war and whoever won got to decide the ultimate decision. Bibliography Roark, James L. , et la. The American Promise: A History of the United States. Boston, Massachusetts: Bedford / St. Martin’s, 2009. Print.
