How Did Freedom Cause The American Revolution

The belief of earning freedom was a motive that caused the American Revolution, and the Battle of Lexington and Concord bolstered the confidence and tentative independence of the colonies. The French and Indian War had laid groundwork for a revolt from the colonists, especially when the British marched to Concord to destroy the weapons stored there and capture two sons of Liberty. During 1775, the colonies began believing in their united power against Britain and started to rebel against the harsh taxing and laws that the British enforced. The British were ordered to reinforce these laws and keep the colonies opposition in check. Their ways were brutal: five years before was the Boston Massacre, in which 5 Bostonians were killed simply for
It was just in the midst of Spring, in April, when the order was carried out. The General placed Colonel Francis Smith in charge of the assignment. The mission: destroy the weapons and ammunition that were stored in Concord while capturing two of the Sons of Liberty (a group of men fighting for freedom) residing in Lexington (Miller 2003,1). Luckily for the colonists, the Sons of Liberty; John Hancock and Samuel Adams; were warned beforehand by Paul Revere and William Dawes, on Revere’s famous ‘Midnight Ride’. The minutemen of Concord (they were ready to fight in less than a minute), were awaiting the British’s arrival from their spies warnings(Selesky 2006, 2). With seven hundred-nine hundred men, including some grenadiers, the British marched a total of nighteen miles to Concord. When Colonel Smith arrived, seventy to seventy five men were awaiting them on the Lexington Green(US. HISTORY 1999, 2). “Stand your ground! Don’t fire unless fired upon. But if they mean to have a war, let it begin here.”- Captain John Parker(Miller 2003, 1). They faced off. Then an unknown man fired a shot known as the ‘shot heard round the world’ because it signified the very start of the American Revolution (Selesky 2006, 3). It quickly escalated into a battle. The British left having wounded or killed a total of almost eighteen
The very idea of freedom motivated the settlements greatly. In the years after 1775, the colonies were attacking and spying on the British bases and forts. The fierce battle was causing a war between the colonies and Britain. It was a revolution. As the colonies found their power, they fought hard. They allied with the French against the British. The power that the colonies found made them want more rights, laws, and separate decisions. They could only have this by having freedom, and so they needed a leader to be stay organized. The colonists were organized and had the advantage of knowing land and scattering their men instead of just putting them in the rows and columns which was the British style. Using as many advantages they could, and with spies and information, the colonies rebelled against the British and their ways of taxing. The battle had only just begun. During the Battle of Lexington and Concord, the British had more men, yet the colonists had secrecy and surprise. So the fact that the Colonists forced the British to retreat works to their advantage, because the British might doubt themselves. The belief of gaining freedom and rights was the cause of the American Revolution, and the Battle Of Lexington and Concord nourished the hope of freedom as well as