US History project 1A Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

US History project 1A - Essay Example This over taxation led to the "Taxation without Representation† uproar. Additionally, other events such as the Boston Massacre and the Boston Tea Party escalated the conflicts between England and the American colonies into a revolution. Consequent to the many events that led to the American Revolution, England and the colonists had different views of the American Revolution and call for independence. While some believed that the American Revolution was justified, others’ opinions opposed the revolution. This paper explores the events that led to the start of the American Revolution and the colonist and the English views of the revolution. Events Preceding the American Revolution In the years preceding the American Revolution, certain events, which culminated in the revolution and the independence of the American colonists, occurred. For instance, in 1754 a plan was drawn by representatives from Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island an d New Hampshire at a meeting in Albany, New York against the prospect of war between the French and Britain. Although the individual Colonial legislatures rejected the common defense plan drawn by Benjamin Franklin, the members of the Albany Congress approved the document. Though it failed, the plan was among the first major attempts by the colonists towards the formation of a union and the basis for the fight for independence. The other event that preceded the American Revolution was the ascension to the throne of the twenty-two year old Prince of Wales to become King George III after the death of King George II. In addition to the Acts mentioned earlier, the Parliament passed the Currency Act, which prohibited the American colonies from printing paper money. In 1965 came the enforcement of the Quartering Act at the request of the commander-in-chief of all British military forces in the colonies General Thomas Gage. This act required colonists to provide shelter and food for Britis h soldiers and their horses. In the same year, a colonist group referred to as the "Sons of Liberty" rapidly grew throughout the colonies and became violent to stamp agents and supporters of the Stamp Act. In august of the same year, a mob burned the home belonging to Massachusetts Lieutenant Governor Thomas Hutchinson, followed by serious rioting in New York. Closer to the independence and bowing to pressures caused by the unrests in among the colonists and pleas from British merchants that were hurt by the colonies' boycott of British goods, the British Parliament repealed most of the acts in 1770. However, others such taxes, such as the tax on tea was retained. December 1770 was marked by the ending of the trials of Captain Thomas Preston and eight other soldiers charged with murder in the "Boston Massacre". The English point of view Generally, in the 1763-1783 periods, the British had constantly varied and fluctuating views of the American Revolution. That is, there was never a massive conviction among various segments of the British population, Tories, Whigs, or radical eighteenth-century Commonwealth-men on the American Revolution and independence (Mackesy & Shy, 1993). In fact, only a few British greatly perceived the political principles and issues central to the British and colonist conflicts. Furthermore, even in situations where such men had a common stance