American Revolution?

Question

What was the Revolution really all about? The amount of taxation? The right of parliament to tax? The political corruption of Britain and the virtue of America? The right of a king to govern America? The colonies' growing sense of national identity apart from Britain? Was the Revolution truly a radical overturning of government and society-the usual definition of a "revolution"?



Were all American grievances justified, or were the British actually being more reasonable than most Americans have traditionally believed?

Answer 1

Its actually a combination of the factors you listed, with the tax issue being the flashpoint.

The British were not particularly reasonable, and the rejection of the Olive Branch Petition proves that. They didn't have to be reasonable. A group of disorganized militias were going to defeat the British military? Hah! Fat chance.

Funny how history can work out...

Answer 2

It wasn't a revolution. It was an American War of Independence. The Declaration of Independence clearly stated that it was becoming necessary for one people to dissolve the bonds which connected them with another people. It also laid out a set of grievances against the British Crown, including taxation issues, governance at a great distance without consulting those who were being governed, turning a deaf ear to any redress of the grievances felt by the colonists, etc.
It did not fit the usual definition of a revolution. It was, in fact, secession. A similar tactic was tried 84 years later by 13 of the United States who seceded from the rest of the American Union. Their efforts were met with military force.

Answer 3

It really depends on whose book you read. Even 'neutral' historians see it different ways.

Originally it was about taxation. George III was in a long war with France and needed money. The colonies were much more prosperous than expected, in fact there were manufactured goods coming from the colonies that were able to undercut English manufacturers, even despite the cost of transportation, which must have been considerable. So George decided to balance his budget on the backs of the colonies.

Almost immediately the colonials protested. And apparently England did back down, but apparently some damage had already been done.

Then came the French and Indian War, which was actually the first 'World War', being fought in parallel here and in Europe. One feature of the war was Britain's attempt to expand Canada into the area west of the Applachians. This angered Americans who had already been planning to expand in a westward direction.

When the revolutionaries first got together, their plan was only to demand equality with other British subjects, that's what taxation with representation was all about. It was Tom Paine, a newcomer from England himself, who convinced the revolutionaries that what they really wanted was independance.

This was the 'age of enlightenment' and most educated people knew of the democracy in ancient Athens. Many of the revolutionaries wanted this. But in Athens only the elite were 'citizens', and that's what they had in mind here too, that only 'leading citizens' with some wealth and property could vote.

At the time of the revolution, about 1/3 of Americans wanted independence, 1/3 wanted to stay with England and the rest really had no preference.

If you look at Canada you can see what the US would be like today if we hadn't had our revolution. Not really that much different!

Answer 4

In a nutshell the American Revolution was about one thing, the "Colonists" were standing up for their rights: The Rights of Englishmen (those won over the ages since Magna Charta). They believed they were being treated as second class subjects, and it was intolerable to them. Even though they were in the "new world" they were Englishmen by God!

Answer 5

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Answer 6

i feel that the americans were tierd of be told what they could and couldnt do.so they just wanted to be free to make thier own choices.

Answer 7

the unfairness of tax thing
peasnts had to pay more tax than everyone!
and the death of Ferdinand's wife Or something like that!

Answer 8

..............and by todays standards, they would be considered terrorists.