American Revolution: Centered on Property Rights and Equality
Ali Rahal
Period 1
10/13/14
LEQ American Revolution There are many events that could be named the cause of the American Revolution. Many historians could put the cause of the American Revolution to an earlier date, but many other historians believe that the French and Indian war, known as the Seven Years War in Europe, was the true cause of it. After the British won the war, they gained a lot of debt and decided to use the colonists to gain revenue. This led to the Stamp Act of 1765, an act that placed a tax on printed goods. Afterwards, the British imposed new taxes and laws that followed the Stamp Act, these taxes and laws were known as The Townshend and Declaratory Acts. These enforced policies enraged the colonies and eventually fueled the American Revolution. The event that really sparked the Revolution was the Boston Tea Party and the Intolerable Acts, otherwise known as The Coercive Acts of 1774. Although the American Revolution was the focal point of change in American history, it was not truly revolutionary in nature. It is understandable why some historians believe that the American Revolution was, indeed, revolutionary because the colonies became an independent sovereign nation and separated from Britain. However, the colonists were already feeling that they were separated from Britain because the colonies were already self-governing and suffered from the salutary neglect Britain gave them. One of the ideals that was central to the revolution was property rights. The government that was later created was based around that idea, which was outlined in the Articles of Confederation. The Articles gave the government no power to tax, which had the effect of making sure that people who had property were able to keep it because they never had to pay the government for the right to own and use it. It was probably not coincidence that most of the people who wrote and signed the Declaration of Independence were property owners. This means
Period 1
10/13/14
LEQ American Revolution There are many events that could be named the cause of the American Revolution. Many historians could put the cause of the American Revolution to an earlier date, but many other historians believe that the French and Indian war, known as the Seven Years War in Europe, was the true cause of it. After the British won the war, they gained a lot of debt and decided to use the colonists to gain revenue. This led to the Stamp Act of 1765, an act that placed a tax on printed goods. Afterwards, the British imposed new taxes and laws that followed the Stamp Act, these taxes and laws were known as The Townshend and Declaratory Acts. These enforced policies enraged the colonies and eventually fueled the American Revolution. The event that really sparked the Revolution was the Boston Tea Party and the Intolerable Acts, otherwise known as The Coercive Acts of 1774. Although the American Revolution was the focal point of change in American history, it was not truly revolutionary in nature. It is understandable why some historians believe that the American Revolution was, indeed, revolutionary because the colonies became an independent sovereign nation and separated from Britain. However, the colonists were already feeling that they were separated from Britain because the colonies were already self-governing and suffered from the salutary neglect Britain gave them. One of the ideals that was central to the revolution was property rights. The government that was later created was based around that idea, which was outlined in the Articles of Confederation. The Articles gave the government no power to tax, which had the effect of making sure that people who had property were able to keep it because they never had to pay the government for the right to own and use it. It was probably not coincidence that most of the people who wrote and signed the Declaration of Independence were property owners. This means