10/17/14
US History
Period 2
Causes of the Revolutionary War DBQ A great things started somewhere. For a powerful, free, and role model country like the United States of America started somewhere. The journey of our storied revolution and transformation to one of the world’s premier powers have its roots derived from Great Britain. Unjust colonial rules implanted by the King of England acted as the catalyst for revolution amongst the colonies. Once a happy family, key events triggered discussion about possible separation from the harsh rule of the mother country. The citizens of the 13 colonies were justified in rebelling from Great Britain due to the act of numerous grievances committed by the King, mistreatment and abuse by British troops, and unjust laws that summoned unethical actions like taxation without representation upon the colonists. The colonists had every right to declare independence from Great Britain due to mistreatment and abuse from British troops deployed by King George. The colonist’s best argument for separation is the Boston Massacre. On March 5, 1770, it was said that a group of enraged Bostonians gathered and pelted numerous British soldiers with snowballs. The document then continues to state that, “Order quickly broke down and the frightened soldiers fired into the crowd. When the shooting ended, several people were dead and more were wounded.” There are several things wrong with this event. The first being that King George deployed troops originally in the colonies for protection. This means that they should not be given quick orders to fire into an unarmed crowd just because outraged colonists threw snowballs at them; let alone kill some of the protesters. If anything, they should not be soldiers if they are frightened by a couple of snowballs. Also, colonists had to deal with unjust laws such as the quartering act. Within the excerpts from Letters From a Farmer in Pennsylvania, (1767-68) by John Dickenson, it reads that,