Causes of America Revolution

Also known as the Revolutionary War or the American War of Independence began in 1775 until 1783 with the American people calling for an end to slavery that was subjected to them by the British rule. It was a battle between the British Army and Revolutionaries of America from all the thirteen British colonies in North America, with the Americans taking control of all the colonies. They affirmed their independence immediately, went on to form a Continental Army and later created the United States of America. The war could as well be called civil war because there were Americans fighting for both sides, others supporting their own country while the rest joining the British side. Although the Americans had won a portion of the war by 1778, they would not have survived the rest were it not for the intrusion by the French forces who also opposed the British rule. The British forces also had major disadvantages, for instance their naval supplies, plus food, had to be shipped all the way across the Atlantic Ocean. On the other side, the Americans were more acquainted with their land and had ready sources of manpower and food.

The British had the power to defeat the Americans, but they could not win over all the states at a go because its troops were concentrated in particular cities they seized control over, New York and Philadelphia for example, and were badly disoriented when dispersed by their opponents. Moreover, the colonies were very large in area and since the British concentrated on winning over cities, they remained stationery at the major towns the seized making the Americans taking over the rest of the cities and the other areas unoccupied by the colonizers. Over the next two years, the Netherlands and Spain came in to support the French and won a naval victory in the Chesapeake making the British army surrender at Yorktown in 1778. The war finally ended with the Treaty of Paris in 1783 and the independence of the United States was finally declared, the people started rebuilding their lives and organizing their own government.

Causes of the revolution

There were many causes for the Americans to revolt and seek freedom from the colonial rule. The main reason for the war was the quest for freedom from the rule by a foreign nation and the need to be given back their land that was snatched by the British. Americans looked back at the days when they used to be on their own, decided on their own laws and rules, and did whatever they wanted to do with their internal affairs. They were tired of being told what do, what not to, which regulations applied to them and not the British, and the limits to where they should stretch their business developments to. These tensions built up over a long time, with the Americans wondering when they would get their own independence and freedom from the foreigners. The force doubled from the people who used to be tycoons before their land was grabbed from them, and now they wanted to earn all their profits back, plus those who had nothing to do and seek employment in British firms with low pay and heavy work.

Unconsciously, the British formed groups of slaves within the colonies, which they thought would help them take control easily by having a voice to represent the slaves, the group leaders. The groups had leaders, most of them chosen by the British themselves because of their leadership qualities, and the same leaders strategically stirred up resistance of the rulers within themselves. One of the main reasons why the colonists reacted to the British rule was because of heavy taxation imposed on them. The English dominated the parliament if not being 100% British, and so the colonists had no representatives to share in the decisions made for the neither country nor people to air their problems and possible solutions. This meant that unfair subjections such as heavy taxation on every good they bought and on goods they traded with was unlimited because they were the ones decided how much to tax their slaves.

Some rich Americans, relative to others, who owned large acres of land and huge businesses making a lot of profits, had serious confrontation with the government from time to time because they were taxed massively. Moreover, they did not want taxation on the goods they exported to the United Kingdom, the country of the same people humiliating them. Some rules regulating the food production sector, certain acts such as the Sugar Act, were met with resistance because Americans thought the rules would subject them to unfair treatment and control over what they produced and how much they earned from their sales. A lot more acts were enforced, like the Stamp Act where the British government wanted to increase their taxation on all commercial and legal papers, cards and newspapers in order to increase its revenue collection. There was also the Tea Act, where there was still heavy taxes paid on tea production even when all the other taxes on other commodities had been abolished.

The sudden influx of Germans and the Irish also infuriated the Americans because the British would not control the entry of uninvited immigrants to their mother land. Uncontrollable population would soon see a further fall in the then poor economic development, and this enraged the people who wanted the government (British) to do something about it. The colonists would not take this any further, for one they wanted to get rid of the British who entered their country by force and took control, so they could not deal with other intrusions because that would mean more problems to tackle. They wanted to deal with the British before they were completely taken under their wings, and so they decided they wanted to do away with the British first then deal with the Indians and get rid with their land treaties and control their land, "where liberty dwells there is my country, Benjamin Franklin, 1770"

Mercantilism, which is the idea that the British traded with other countries from America, using the supplies made available by the slaves, and kept all the money and profits for itself. The British also did not want to export their products to other countries for exchange with other goods and services; they expected to produce everything the entire Kingdom needed in the American land, made sufficient by colonists' hard labor in the fields. The Colonists were to work hard in their small farms or in the large British land they were employed at with all the returns taken to the British or sold to them at meager prices, and this, the Americans could not live with for long "God helps those who help themselves, Benjamin Franklin, 1770).  The rulers knew that with money, and a lot of it, they would stay in power for as long as they wanted and the Americans realized this, knowing that if they fought for their freedom they would soon enjoy the money made in their own land and at their own pace, at the same time exercise their sovereignty. The Americans also rejected the use of the laws set by the British, rules that kept on changing depending on the conduct by the colonists who constantly ignored to abide by.

These rules were especially enforced because of the colonial land the British wanted to snatch from some well off American businessmen, parts of the country, particularly on the hills with rich soil and vegetation. The rules were harsh and discriminating, constricting the movement of the people from place to place, and making sure they did not do business across some borders. Another reason of key importance that made it happen for the America's independence was the fact that the British governed all the colonies from a central point, often far away from most of the colonies. They could not extend their authority over the whole country at the same time which gave the Americans and their supporters an ample time to group up over a long period and organize their own small army. As Woods states, the British were also busy fighting with other countries and so the undermined the power of the Americans in all the colonies, leaving small armies to watch over distant colonies.

The leaders of the Americans, who understood more the strategies of the British government and wanted more than anything to liberate their people, continuously did research on how best they could do that. They came across important writings of enlightenment by famous writers and poets, including John Locke, Thomas Jefferson, Jean-Jacques Rousseau and many others concerning the people's cries and how much they needed freedom. Jefferson was the founder of the Democratic-Republican part, became a member of the Continental Congress, a vice president from 1797-1801, and later the vice president of the United States (1801-1809). He was a famous writer who scribbled the Declaration of Independence, explaining the importance of revolution and why the Americans could make it happen, "...neither he, Jefferson, nor any of his friends could have foreseen that the Declaration of Independence would be cherished by generations of Americans to come. The Declaration of Independence became a priceless national treasure....," Thomas Jefferson, 1750.

All in all, the revolution led to the emancipation of America from colonialism. The war having brought about by numerous facts other than slavery and colonization, it owed its success to several other factors including the numerous war the Americas colonial master, Britain, was involved in at the time.