![]() ![]() ![]() Despite seeing themselves as loyal and productive citizens of Britain, colonists did not have their own representatives in Parliament, Britain’s legislature. Political grievances between the colonies and Britain essentially boiled down to taxes. How Taxation Without Representation Led to the American Revolutionary War An image of the Boston Tea Party protest in 1773, via Yale University, New Haven This upset the colonists, as they had fought valiantly in the war and certainly did not see themselves as asking for British “protection.” After a decade of escalating tensions between the colonies and Britain, many colonists were ready to declare independence over the issue of “taxation without representation.” After the French and Indian War, the colonies were taxed heavily to pay for “their” war against the French, essentially having to pay for “protection” by British Redcoats. The political situation that sparked an armed rebellion against Britain, or “the Crown,” involved British suppression of colonial self-government and economic stability. The famous “shot heard around the world” signaled the first major organized uprising of a colony against its owner nation. ![]() After Paul Revere’s famous Midnight Ride to alert colonists that the “British are coming!” (in reality, “Redcoats” instead of British because the colonists still considered themselves British), the first shots of the Revolutionary War occurred at Lexington and Concord on April 19. In April, British troops were prepared to march and destroy caches of weapons held by opponents of British control. In 1775, political conflict had become violent between the Thirteen Colonies on North America’s eastern seaboard and Britain. Before the American Revolutionary War: The Political Situation in 1775 Paul Revere’s famous Midnight Ride in 1775, via The Paul Revere House ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |