Revolution And The Cicil War

6 Pages 1550 Words

The Revolution and the Civil War

In 1775, American colonists took arms against British rule, thus leading to the American Revolution and the end of British control over the thirteen colonies. This was done because the American colonists became disenchanted with British laws. More specifically, they were unhappy with British taxes. The American colonists and the British had just defeated the French in the middle of the 1700s in the French and Indian war. However, after the war was over, the British tried to strengthen its control over the American colonies and increase the power of the British Empire. The British also believed that the colonies should pay back the money associated with fighting the war. People were angered when the Sugar Act of 1764, the Stamp Act and the Quartering Act were passed. 1 The Sugar Act and the Stamp Act imposed taxes on the colonists. The Quartering Act demanded that colonists take in British troops who needed housing. 2 The British also imposed a series of acts that would give Britain an economic power hold over the colonies. The taxes would help fund Britain and empower its navy. Furthermore, in 1651 and 1660, Navigation Acts kept other foreigners from trading with the American colonies. Exports like sugar, apples, wool, indigo and tobacco were also limited. Colonists only allowed to send those goods to Britain or the British Isles. Although the colonist participation was held to a minimum, they had learned a powerful lesson from the French and Indian War. They realized that they could fight and win. They learned that they did possess some power. But although the colonists started in good ties with the British, they would soon realize that there were numerous differences between these two powers.
Colonists began to boycott British goods to assert their power. However, two events further ignited relations between the colonists and the British. The Boston Massacre, in which five colonists were killed...