The Revolution that Brought Our Independence

The American Revolution is considered as one of the most significant political movements in the 18th century. It ended the control of the Thirteen Colonies by Great Britain and it led to the birth of a new nation. This was the time when the 13 colonies began the revolutionary war against its mother country. Begun in 1775, it ended with the Declaration of Independence in 1776.

The stirrings of a great revolution
1763 was a year fraught with changes. It was a year when the French military threat ended and the British imposed taxes on the colonists which they felt were too hard to swallow. At the time, Great Britain owned a huge part of the North American continent other than the 13 colonies. British royal governors ruled these other smaller colonies.

This vast holdings was the result of Britain's Seven Years' War victory and included Spanish Florida, Canada (still referred to as New France back then) and the lands that once belonged to the Native Americans east of the Mississippi. Although victory had its spoils, the war left a huge dent on the British coffers.

The British government decided to impose taxes on its North American holdings. The purpose of the new taxes was to stabilize the finances of the empire. The problem was, the new tax policies were imposed without the prior consultation with and consent of the American colonists. Worse, they had no representatives in the parliament. This was the time when "no taxation without representation" became the popular catchphrase in American society.

The British argued that since the vast majority of the people in Great Britain were not physically represented during parliament, the Americans were 'virtually' represented, just like their British counterparts. This theory did not sit well with the colonists.

In the name of mercantilism
Great Britain actually regulated the colonies' economy through its Navigation Acts, based on the policies of mercantilism. Basically, it implies that anything that was good to the empire was good policy, regardless of whether it hurt other empires or not. These laws were openly evaded, until Britain issued the Writ of Assistance, an open-ended search warrant that enforced the law, quite strictly.

By the late 1700s, Virginia legislation mandated that clerical pay was proportional to the price of tobacco. When bad harvest occurred in 1758, the price of tobacco increased significantly. The Two-Penny Act was issued by the legislature of Virginia to curb the inflation of clerical salaries. In 1763, King George III rejected the Act.

Adding fuel to the spark were the Sugar Act and the Currency Act, which Parliament signed in 1764. The Currency Act banned the colonies from issuing paper money as legal tender, which threatened the economy of the Americans. Protests turned to boycott of goods coming from Britain and the catchphrase "no taxation without representation" was used as a slogan. Committees were formed to organize resistance against these taxes.

In 1765, the Stamp Act was passed, the first direct tax being imposed on the colonies. Its purpose was to shoulder the cost of maintaining British military presence in America. Under the Stamp Act, Americans were required to pay taxes directly to Great Britain. The Stamp Act imposed taxes on every material that was printed, such as legal documents, newspapers, bills, licenses, pamphlets, even playing cards.

Four months after another mandate was imposed, the Quartering Act (this required the Americans to provide housing and food supply to British troops), an underground group called the Sons of Liberty were formed. Unlike the previous acts of boycott and protests, the members used intimidation and violence against the British stamp agents. American businessmen were also threatened if they ordered British goods.

The Stamp Act was repealed by King George III in 1766, with Ben Franklin arguing for the Americans, warning the king and the parliament of the possible rebellion of the colonies if the act was enforced.

Violence continued as a result of New York residents' refusal to support the Quartering Act. A new tax act followed in 1767, this time taxing imports such as tea, paper, glass and paint. The Boston colonists began boycott of British luxury items.

In 1768, Samuel Adams wrote a circular that called for mass assemblies against the British government to oppose the new tax, known as the Townshend Act. Although Britain ordered American colonists not to participate in the assemblies, the circular continued to be endorsed. As protests in Boston grew, British military troops were sent to enforce a measure of control.

In 1772, the British warship Gaspee was burned. It was actively enforcing trade regulations that the colonists strongly opposed. Samuel Adams created Committees of Correspondence which maintained communication among the 13 colonies. The largest Colony, Virginia, set up its own committee which included Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry.

The First Continental Congress declared all Acts from the British parliament as unconstitutional and called for the formation of militias. Fighting erupted in 1775 and reached its peak in 1776. It was during that year when the 13 states declared total independence.

An alliance with the French was formed in 1778 which helped the American rebels enormously in terms of naval and military strength. After the capture of British armies in Saratoga in 1777 and in Yorktown four years later, the Treaty of Paris was signed in 1783, recognizing the independent nation now known as the United States.