Myths The Revolution was a spontaneous reaction to oppression and taxes in particular from the British ●
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Britain like many European nations built empires with policies that profited the motherland Nations like these ran with a mercantilism style which principles were for a nation to be as self sufficient as possible meaning wealth stayed in the country and so did exclusive manufacturing rights of popular items. To achieve this many European nations conquered new lands and made colonies with the goal of finding and with a rare material they could sell and land to grow food for the colonies Heavy tabs were kept on the colonists like not allowing trade with other nations or taxing it heavily, not allowing goods to be shipped in enemy ships,not allowing manufacturing that competed with the motherland, and not allowing law making that contradicted those of the mother country. In return they would receive British protection and rights England was different from other empires because it tried to build the colonies cheaply without financing the settling or operating costs relying on patrons and trading companies and small religious groups such as the Puritans Colony upkeep relied on taxes from the colonists Britain also did not enforce their trade regulations This was referred to as salutary neglect As a result colonists traded with England but also with other Caribbean colonies owned by other nations Boston richest merchant John Hancock was a notorious smuggler and local congresses saw this smuggling as a benefit since it was run by the rich and instead taxed farmers and since they decided the governor's salary they had him in their pockets in almost any matter In the 1600s James the Second created the ​
Dominion of New England​
which merged New York and New Jersey with the New England colony James was later exiled and the large colony was dissolved Britain drained themselves financially to win the French and Indian War and taxes continued after English citizens called for an end to the taxes George the Third came into power and he replaced Salutary neglect with an effort to be involved in the colonies through tightening trade laws and taxation. This started complaints on tyranny There was Tyranny in the colonies ●
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The Sugar act​
did not make foreign molasses more expensive, it made it cheaper The problem colonists had was that a law from Britain was being enforced although since most smugglers were tried by local juries they got off scot­free Britain created legal vice­admiralty courts so that smugglers got a fairer trial ●
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Lots of colonists anger came from the ​
Stamp act​
even though it was legal, since there had been little to no British authority it felt extreme Colonists responded with attacks on local tax collectors and destroying stamps Britain responded by repealing the act When Britain published to ​
Townshend acts​
colonists responded just as aggressively As a result Britain collected little tax money and colonists paid little tax money mostly to local government Britain's reaction to the violence did not include stopping violence encouraging propaganda or arresting those who spearheaded attacks and illegal governments instead Britain ignored and refused negotiations Patrick Henry didn't get in trouble for his controversial sayings and​
Common Sense ​
one of the most significant pieces of writing in inspiring the revolution Nothing really triggered the British until the ​
Boston Tea Party​
since many of them owned to stock in the​
East India Company Britain responded with the ​
Intolerable acts Britain still was very passive until they marched on Lexington and Concord to arrest John Hancock and Sam Adams for stockpiling weapons and ammo It was the colonies outgrowth of imperialism that led them to revolution not British Tyranny All colonists wanted the revolution ●
At the beginning of the war over one third of colonists actually were neutral with the mentality that there were go to be taxes regardless who ruled to so why risk bloodshed ● Many neutra parties did favor the American side as the war went on due to the cruel and brash behavior of British troops ● Those who favored the war felt Britain had not lived up the mutual agreement between the government and their people and therefore it was necessary to be independent from Britain ● Loyalist thought the revolution was very unjustified Groups for and against the Revolution ● Four groups likely to become revolutionaries: Smugglers and urban workers, planters, colonial legislators, and free and enslaved African­Americans ● Smugglers and Urban Workers favored revolution because British acts were bad for the smuggling trade ● Planters favored the revolution because they wanted to get out of debt they owed to the British and the Scotish, they were pressured by farmers who wanted to expand west, the threat of losing slaves ● Legislators favored the revolution because they felt the threat of losing the large amount of power they held ● Free and enslaved African­Americans favored the revolution in hopes of equality and liberty as well as a way to be free from their masters ● Five groups were loyalists: royal office holders,merchant involved in direct trade with England,Slaves, lower south country farmers, and Native Americans ●
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Office Holders favored loyalty because it meant power and money and if the colonies became independent royal office would cease to exist Merchants favored loyalty because they made money off British goods and stood to lose all their money if trade with England were cut off Slaves favored loyalty with the mentality of the enemy of my enemy is my friend and were more opposed to their owners than they were to Britain Native Americans favored loyalty because they did not like the colonists and saw them as and hungry while the British promised to make efforts to stop that expansion.Iroquois Confederacy , the Mohawk, and the Cherokee sided with the British Farmers of the Southern colonies backcountry favor loyalty because they felt bullied and underrepresented by other areas of the colonies and they therefore got no tax money and there was a lack of infrastructure