The Navigation Acts Of Thomas Paine And The Revolutionary War

These are the times that try men’ssouls.”This was a quote from Thomas Paine and it was a horrifically true one. There were many things that could drive a man to his knees from the absolute lack of independence, leading to the Revolutionary War. There were the Navigation Acts of 1660, he French and Indian War, Pontiacs Rebellion and The Proclamation of 1763, the Sugar Act, the Stamp Act, the Declaratory Act, the Townshend Act, the Boston Massacre and Tea Party, and lastly the Intolerable Acts. These were all things that take a man , and drive him crazy making him become and act savage. Many gave in , but the strong stood still waiting for the time that their service was needed. The first of these tests was the Navigation Acts.
Imagine being able to trade cards with only one person. That would be horrible. The Navigation Acts of 1660 were sort of like that, but the Navigation Acts only allowed trade from the colonies to go down with Britain. First, the British stopped colonies from trading certain items with any other country.
Second, the colonies had to use English ships to trade. Lastly, all colonial items had to pass through English ports to be taxed or have duties placed on the items. As you can predict colonists acted towards this with offense. The colonists protested that they shouldn’t have to abide by the acts. This led to illegal trafficking of these items. The smuggling was clearly a defense or rebound from the British’s actions. Guerilla warfare. This concept hit the British and the colonies smack in the face. The French and Indian War was the first time it was introduced to the British. The French and Indian War was a win for the British an colonies, but afterwards the British left an army inside the colonies. This led to high taxes (enforced by Britain) to help pay for the war and protection from Natives. This angered the colonists, the colonists had already started to feel independent , and like they didn’t need Britain standing over their shoulder. Later on, the colonists felt like they had no voice if representation in Parliament. They soon felt like they had no voice in taxation. This led to a popular phrase. No taxation without representation. Would
you like it if your home, job, and lifestyle was suddenly taken from you? Well, after the French and Indian War was over the French handed land that didn’t belong to them over to the British. The Natives decided to keep fighting even after the end of the war. This was known as Pontiac’s Rebellion, and it was being brought on by the sudden expansion of all the colonists headed west. During all of this, the British were going to use the land and fur trade they had received to pay off war debts. The only thing was that the British hadn’t planned for the Native uprising against them. The British financially and physically thin had to wave the white flag by signing the Proclamation of 1763. As a result the British ordered all settlers out of the Ohio River Valley. The colonists reacted poorly to this and disobeyed the kings orders, because they felt they needed more expansion. As a result Britain became furious since the colonists disobeyed the Proclamation. Whenever you talk about the Sugar Act of 1764 you can almost compare it to fundraiser. The only problem is that the colonists didn’t look at it that way. See, Britain placed this act on the colonists to help pay for the protection, that they were receiving, from the Natives. This led to more distrust aimed at Parliament; the colonists felt they hadn’t started the war so they shouldn’t have to help in payment, through taxation, of the war. The colonists eventually founded a committee of Correspondence to help improve communication of all colonies that disagreed with the act. Sam Adams was the one behind the committee. It was probably just attempt to anger and rouse the colonies. The slogan “No taxation without representation.”became very popular. In America today we use lot of paper, even with all of today’s technology. Well, the stamp act was a tax put on all paper goods by the British. Back then paper was an item that you used every day. The Stamp Act was an expansive tax; that the colonists had to pay anyway. Although there were several articles created claiming the Stamp Act violated colonists rights. This may have been true because colonists had to pay tax for protection that some wanted and others didn’t. This like many other British acts or taxes greatly angered colonists due to the fact that paper was a necessity. In 1766 Parliament repealed the stamp act. Imagine if you had to follow a rule that was goofy, and had no say in its change or destruction. Well the Declaratory Act gave Parliament the permission to make any laws for the colonists in any and all cases. The colonists started to feel like they had lost all control over their colonies. The colonist had no t only felt that they had lost control over the colonies, but that wich is their everyday lives. They felt the king believed they couldn’t make decisions. They also felt that he thought they couldn’t form their own court cases. This was the Declaratory Act. In modern times in America today an act like the Townshend Act could potentially cost thousands if not millions. Many modern house have a lot of glass and paint. The Townshend Act placed a tax on many of these items. This could potentially be the bankruptcy of many Americans today. S o back the many of these items would be a way of life. So, if you were buying paint, wich has lead in it, yo would be paying two taxes. The colonists reaction to this was to boycott these items. In 1770 the Townshend Act was repealed to relieve tension due to the Boston Massacre. Even in today’s world the crime of murder can sometimes be twisted fromthe original story.
Well in the year 1770 the Boston Massacre happened. It started with colonists verbally insulting a British soldier stationed at a street corner. This later led to a physical assault acted upon the British soldier by the colonists. Eventually when more soldiers showed up to help aid their fellow soldier, they too were physically assaulted. This led to the soldiers firing into the crowd of colonists. The colonists were able to protest, and put the soldiers on trial. In the midst of all of this, Parliament pulled the Towshend act to release tension. In the end, the British soldiers were proven to be free of guilt. This is what ended the great commotion of the Boston massacre How would you feel if you had your favorite drink taken away from you? Many people could and may become very angry. In 1773 the Tea Act is passed making British tea cheaper than colonial tea. Eventually colonists were forcefully made to buy British tea from the East India company. In the backlash of all this, many colonists decided to dump boatloads of British tea into the Boston Harbor. Many men who took part in the event went to the taverns dressed as natives still. Many even went and boasted that if anyone wanted tea to take their cup out to the harbor and dip it out there. This protest was later called the Boston tea party. For many colonists, the Intolerable acts were the final push they
needed to push back. Even John Adams decided to hop on the boat for independence. First, the British decided to keep Boston Harbor closed until the tea was paid for. The Massachusetts charter was canceled. Later on royal officials had to be sent to Britain for trial. This last thing is what pushed peacemaker John Adams over the edge. Since Britain felt they were losing their people, they mad Gen Thomas Gage governor of Massachusetts. Even though they debate between diplomatic, or physical war, the resentment was still rising for Great Britain. The colonists were starting to practice their options of separation. Many of the things leading as the Road to the Revolution were taxes. Some times they were good others not. There were instances like the Boston Massacre that reflected poorly on the British. There was the Navigation Acts of 1660, he French and Indian War, Pontiacs Rebellion and The Proclamation of 1763, the Sugar Act, the Stamp Act, the Declaratory Act, the Townshend Act, the Boston Massacre and Tea Party, and lastly the Intolerable Acts. All of these were stone in the Road to the Revolution.