There is a lot of debate and disagreement on whether the American Revolution was an actual revolution, but rather a civil war. A revolution implies that there was a total change in government and rule of a country, and a civil war is a war that occurs in a country between groups of people from the country. There may have been a vast amount of tension between the colonies and the British, but the occurrences during the American Revolution had little to do with the changing of the government.
There were many things that the colonies were expected to do and pay for. These were called colonial grievances. The colonies were expected to pay a lot of money for tea, sugar and stamps. The money would go to the British. The area they were allowed to live and stay in was also very restricted as they were not allowed or able to move westwards. This is because the British wanted to control the colonies and this is easier to do if the people are restrained to a smaller area. The colonies also had no one voicing their opinions and needs in the British Parliament, so all the decisions concerning the colonies were made by the British. The soldiers had power over, and controlled the colonies. The colonies began to feel anger towards the British because of their lack of rights, freedom and say in the way they were governed. Resentment grew and these made the colonies more aware and open to the idea for fighting against the British. The colonies wanted to be able to govern and rule themselves. The tension in the colonies was not enough to cause a revolution, but rather a civil war.
The Boston Tea Party was when the Americans dressed up as Mohawk Indians and threw all the English tea into the harbour. They dressed up as Indians to symbolise how they were more American than British, and as a disguise. The throwing of the tea into the sea symbolised how they were not willing to pay taxes and were not willing to be ruled and