Preview

What Led Up To The American Revolution

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
724 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
What Led Up To The American Revolution
Change is not accomplished overnight, there is a long list of chain reactions that lead up to the last straw. The colonists thought that everything was starting to go smoothly, they were settling nicely, and so far, everything was starting to get easier. America may have not been the united front today if it weren’t for the little actions that helped the colonists realize they wanted change for themselves, and their future. The British thought they had complete control without knowledge of the American Revolution that was brewing. As any revolution starts, the early stages of questioning began subtly. Anything can spark mixed feelings on the subject. In 1722 an article was released telling on the different rights yielded to indentured servants compared to slaves. The abundant amount of laws the provided in defense of the servants overseas brought a question of intent of the British. Why did the intentions of the government immensely revolve around protecting the rights of their servant’s compensations rather than the rights of the colonists? Robert Beverly wrote of this new knowledge with a hint of bitterness. “Because I have heard how strangely cruel and severe the service of this country is represented in some parts of England, I can't forbear affirming, that the work of their servants and slaves is no other than what …show more content…
It was very popular, more than 500,000 copies were sold. It was published in January 1776 just a few short months before Independence Day. This letter may have been the turning point transforming the colonies from a disagreement into a revolution. The letter spoke to the American people about obtaining Independence from the British Government. Not only was this was the first time for this subject to be openly requested, but he also asked that they form a Democratic Republic. Though Paine was marked as an extremist, Common Sense helped grow the Patriot

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Thomas Paine’s powerful, widely-read pamphlet in 1776 known as Common Sense promoted colonial America’s independence from Great Britain. Thomas Paine wrote in an approach that common people can comprehend. He argued for a radical idea made into a rational idea that people agreed with. Paine argued in a forceful and powerful dialect for colonies becoming independent states and breaking political ties with the British Monarchy (stars). He stressed that it didn’t make sense for a continent to be ruled by a small distant island. Paine also thought that it didn’t make sense to pledge allegiance to a king whose government was corrupted and had unreasonable laws (stars). The pamphlet motivated, untied, and inspired the colonists to seek independence from the British government. Without the writings of Thomas Paine colonists would have never had the courage to fight in the war, better yet the war would have never occurred. After all, the pamphlet had a profound effect on the public‘s opinion. It effected effect future events, but for the better, such as the victory of the Battle of Saratoga.…

    • 404 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    With all this in mind, England needed to repair itself financially and decided to heavily tax the colonial people. This was very aggravating to most of man in the colonies. First came the Sugar Act, then Stamp Act, and finally the Quartering Act; taxing almost anything they needed, which ignited the belief that there be “NO TAXATION WITOUT REPRESENTATION”. It was unfair what England was doing, and there needed to be an end to this, but if they don’t stop appeasing they will never bring an end to the Monster…

    • 501 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Thomas Paine had published a book in early 1776 that immediately became popular and widely read. The book was titled, Common Sense. It got the American colonist skeptical of what they were fighting for. Some agreed with the way King George III ruled, others were eager to break away from English Rule.…

    • 574 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The American Revolution fundamentally changed American society in many different ways. Americans gained independence from Great Britain and began to govern themselves democratically and deal with their own dilemmas like slavery, internal revolts and rights of different groups of people without foreign interference. They utilized farming as the main labor but trade and manufacturing also picked up due to the end of mercantilism and the Navigation Laws.…

    • 676 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    It was America’s first best seller, it asked questions that had never uttered before, and it is a classic rendition of America’s cry for liberty. Thomas Paine’s essay, “Common Sense” set forth revolutionary ideas about republican government as opposed to government with a king. These ideas were revolutionary at the time because Paine dared to accuse what no one had before. He didn’t just denounce the British government but the heart and spirit of their nation, their King. Paine was able to pinpoint what exactly the majority of Americans wanted to change. Tyranny. That was the crime Paine proclaimed we Americans could abide by no longer.…

    • 403 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    They summarized what they wanted and sent a petition to George III. However, he was not in agreement to this idea. After the conflict at Lexington and Concord, the Continental Congress tried again. A lot of the delegates were still loyal to Britain at this time. However, they presented the Olive Branch Petition to George III. Not only did he not agree, but he also declared all colonies rebellious. After this, more colonists were losing their hopes of reconciliation. Therefore, when Thomas Paine published his pamphlet named Common Sense, it persuaded a lot of more people in the lower and middle classes to move toward the idea of independence. Although some colonies were hesitant, most pressed for separation. On July 4, 1776, it finally happened. The Declaration of Independence was…

    • 632 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The founding fathers rebelled against the British government and declared independence for various reasons leading up to the American Revolution. The first of many acts that led to rebellion was the Stamp Act of 1765. This act put taxes on any type of paper that the colonists used. The next acts were the Land Ordinance of 1785. The first act reserved land for American Indians that was west of the Appalachian Mountains. The final piece that led to rebellion were the Townshend Acts of 1767. This included the Quartering Act that forced colonists to house British soldiers in their homes. The founding fathers were justified in declaring independence and rebelling against the British…

    • 682 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Over the past few years’ colonist had passed out many pamphlets preaching liberty, for instance “A Chariot of Liberty”, “Oration on the Beauties of Liberty” and “Common Sense”. The Oration of Beauties of Liberty” was a sermon first, before it became a pamphlet. John Allen a preacher at the Second Baptist Church strongly opposed what he called British “tyranny”. Common Sense was a bit different. It was written by Thomas Paine and published on January Seventeen Seventy-six. Though the author was only listed as an “Englishmen”. Thomas Paine’s “Common Sense” was different because it was the first work to openly ask for independence from Great Britain. Another thing that made Common Sense so unique is that Paine’ used basic language to speak to the common people of America. Earlier political writing was usually directed to the educate. John Allen also wrote ballads to encourage the rebels. One of the war ballads he wrote was called the liberty tree song. It starts out “In a chariot of light from the regions of say, the goddess of Liberty came”. Only six months after common sense came out the Second Continental Congress decided to cut the colonies ties with Great Britain…

    • 1013 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The British Parliament’s decisions to control the colonies after the French and Indian war, generated waves of dissatisfaction in America. When Britain chose to adopt the policy of ordering the colonies to pay an increased percentage of the costs associated with keeping them in the Empire it caused the colonists to question their political liberties and freedom. When Britain decreed a series of direct taxes on the colonists such as the Stamp Act, Sugar Act, Etc., then placed trade restrictions, followed by other laws intended to demonstrate Britains authority, the colonists demonstrated exactly how unhappy they were with the “mother country”. Many of the colonists considered the laws to be unlawful and an infringement of their rights as Englishmen. They complained about their lack of elected representation in the British Parliament. They expected Britain to hear their cries and fix the problems but instead they quickly saw that their cries were falling on deaf ears. In light of these events a committee was set up in Massachusetts to publicize colonial complaints against the British and within a short period of time other colonies established similar organizations to spread the spirit of opposition and to exchange information and ideas about the latest British policies. These groups began too quickly shape the opinion of the public, which ultimately created a unified front that strengthened the patriotic cause. The colonists began to not only believe but they began to vocalize that they were being…

    • 540 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Declaration of Independence was adopted in 1776 and was written to give the colonies independence from England. The DOI explained to American colonists and to the rest of the world why the colonies were declaring their independence. The 13 colonies were upset British control due to the Parliament control, unable to sell products to other countries and the taxes placed on goods along with other expenses they were told to pay for. Because of such mistreatment the colonies decided to form their own identity, in which they formed the First Continental Congress in order to be represented in front of the King. King George did not agree with the colonies beliefs and deemed them as traitors to the British country. One man by the name of Thomas Paine wrote a pamphlet, Common Sense, which focused on the colonists’ frustrations with King George III; he also expressed that it makes sense…

    • 420 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    When he first arrived to the colonies, he worked as an editor of the Pennsylvania Magazine. During this time, he wrote and anonymously published several short articles based on his thoughts about the revolution and independence. Paine then wrote Common Sense, ensued from the battles of Lexington and Concord. In this pamphlet, Thomas Paine demanded that the thirteen colonies declare independence. He convinced the colonists that independence was practical and the solution to a bright future.…

    • 546 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The American Revolution is one of the most well known revolutions world wide. This might be because there were such a vast amount of issues that caused it. Many of which were world issues. For example, there was the French and Indian War. Then, there were the issues with the British empire.…

    • 1383 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The American Revolution was caused more by economic factors than political. Although political factors played a role in the Revolution, a greater significant portion of the American Revolution was caused economic factors.…

    • 309 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    In result of The Seven Years’ War Britain controlled American trade and territory. In order to pay for the expenses of the war several taxation acts and military presence were implemented such as the Sugar Act, Stamp Act, Currency Act, Quartering Act and the presence of British troops at the colonies. Consequently, Americans who thought these actions violated their political and constitutional liberties opposed these policies with petitions, boycotts, and resistance strategies known as the Imperial Crisis. In January 1776 Thomas Paine’s Common Sense was composed to convince Americans of the need for independence from British rule and establishment of democracy. This pamphlet was written in common language to appeal to lower class citizens, rather than written in Latin, which was aimed towards the small elite. Also, Paine made several biblical references to appeal to his the people and King George III, “the Pharaoh of England” (Thomas Paine, Common Sense). Ironically, Thomas Paine was an English immigrant; however he offered a good perspective on the importance of American independence. Thomas Paine, John Adams and Dr. Benjamin Rush consisted of a group who fought for American independence by constructing the pamphlet. Attacking the English government, Paine states, “Society in every state is a blessing, but government even in its best state is but a necessary evil in its worst state an in tolerable one; for when we suffer, or are exposed to the same miseries by a government, which we might expect in a country without government, our calamities is heightened by reflecting that we furnish the means by which we suffer!” (Thomas Paine, Common Sense).…

    • 791 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The American Revolution embarked the beginning of the United States of America. A war that lasted eight years, 1775-1783, was able to grant the thirteen colonies the independence they deserved by breaking free of British rule. The war was an effect of the previous French and Indian War, which forced England to tax the American colonist, compelling them to rebel against parliament. From the 1760’s to 1775, many factors lead up to the American Revolution such as the various acts the British Parliament passed to pay the war debt, no representation in parliament, and the American people wanting to gain their independence. “No Taxation without Representation”, a slogan used by the American colonist, was the most important cause of the colonists declaring war for their independence on the British government.…

    • 1116 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays