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Eric Robinson

Ms. McLean

Am. History

1 October 2017

The American Revolution

Imagine you and the people closest to you were going to war, except the war was

against the strongest army in the world. Would you make peace or fight? Throughout

history several different races of people have been taken from their rights until the

eventually retaliate and fight back. A great example of people being mistreated and

eventually fighting back comes from the American Revolutionary War. The American

Revolution took place between 1765-1783 and was a war between the colonists,

descendants of England that moved to America, and the British, the strongest army in

the world at the time. The colonists were tired of Great Britain’s unfair taxes, disability to

provide the Colonies any representation, and the British sending in soldiers to crack

down on them, so they rebelled and began to fight for independence. Today we can see

that the colonists did gain independence because America is free of British Rule, but

could there have been another way; such as, winning their rights and keeping their ties

with England.

At the time Britain was a dominant powerhouse in the world, so they needed

money to continue building their empire. Since they helped the colonists with the French

and Indian War, they felt the colonist owed them money since they owed 140 million

pounds for war debt, so they collected tax money from the colonies. One way the British

collected money was through the Sugar Act, which had soldiers at the colonies that
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collected molasses. The soldiers alone costed around 320,000 pounds a year. A year

after passing the Sugar Act the British pass the Stamp Act which requires the colonies

to have tax stamps on all legal documents. The British also had a Tea Act, which

collected tax off of imported tea. They believed they would be helping the colonists by

doing this, but instead they believed that Britain was trying to gain more money off of

taxes from them. The colonists also formed the “Sons of Liberty” as a way to avoid

paying taxes. The SoL were a group of colonists who harassed tax collectors in attempt

to get the British to take back the taxes they had already formed(Choices). The British

collected large amounts of money from the colonists to pay off their debts and to

strengthen their own militia. The colonists saw these taxes as unfair, but more

happened in order for a rebellion.

Secondly, the colonies had no say-so in any legalization of any documents or

laws the British made for them. They did not believe it was fair because the King said

they would be governed, while retaining rights and privileges as Englishmen. The British

forced the colonies to send high value exports through the mercantilism policy, which

the colonists could not agree or disagree with because they had no representation in

the British legislatures. In May of 1764, one unknown colonist stated that, “If taxes are

laid upon us in any shape without our having a legal representation where they are laid,

are we not reduced from the character of free subjects to the miserable state of tributary

slaves?” Samuel Adams also states that the original settlers of Massachusetts made a

compact with the king saying they will be “voluntary subjects, not his slaves” and that

the had the right of self government in the beginning(Choices). The colonists strongly
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disagreed with no representation and although it was a strong piece of their rebellion, it

wasn't the final thing that sparked the war.

The final reason that lead he Colonies to war was because the British began

cracking down on the colonists. The colonists had been getting away with smuggling

and avoided the full mercantilism policy, but when the British soldiers were quartered at

the colonies they began to crack down on the colonists. Since the colonists had the

dumping of tea into the harbor, Boston Tea Party, the British cracked down onto them by

closing their ports. The more and more they cracked down the more the colonists began

to rebel and eventually it lead to the Boston Massacre, killing of 5 unarmed colonists,

and after a few more events occur the revolution begins at Concord when the first shot

of the war is fired( Choices and America the Story of Us). The colonists wanted change,

but when the British began to crack down on the colonist they made their decision to

fight back the crown and win their independence.

I feel that the best alternative option for the colonists is to defend their rights as

Englishmen. By defending their rights’ as an Englishmen they could ensure protection

and they could regain the freedoms they believe the British were taking from them.

They believed that by not requesting independence that they would be saving

themselves from harm, but what if the British did not like the fact that they were being

stood up to. What if the King denied them their rights and they were left with no other

option, but peace or war? If they decide to make peace they would be left with enduring

the unjust policies of the crown until they eventually led to another rebellion, but if the

keep ties and fight for their rights they will still be faced with the option of war. The

reason why it is the next best option to chose is because if the British do listen and give
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them their rights, the colonies would due away with most the unfair laws or policies and

would gain representation, while restoring peace with the Crown.

In conclusion, one can see a few of the major reasons why the colonists made

their decision to fight for independence and to not keep any ties with England due to the

possibility that it all would end in war anyways. The colonists were treated poorly by the

British and did not retain the same rights they had when they first came to the East

Coast of America. Although they chose the hardest option by going to war, they also

chose the smartest because it would benefit them the most and prevent any

continuation of the British rule over the Colonies.