Summary
Highlights
The American Revolution and the War for Independence are distinct. The Revolution was not primarily about taxes, as the Boston Tea Party illustrated issues of taxation and smuggling. After the Seven Years' War ended in 1763, Britain was heavily in debt and sought to raise revenue from the American colonies, who had benefited from the war.
Previous taxes were for trade regulation and easily avoided through smuggling. However, the new taxes, like the Sugar Act of 1764, aimed to raise revenue and were enforced more strictly, taking power from lenient colonial courts. The Stamp Act of 1765, which taxed all printed materials, angered influential colonists like printers and lawyers. This led to the Stamp Act Congress and the first coordinated colonial action: a boycott of British goods. The Sons of Liberty organized effective street protests, leading to the repeal of the Stamp Act, though the Declaratory Act asserted Parliament's right to tax colonists.
In 1767, the Townshend Acts imposed new taxes and created a customs board to curb smuggling. Colonists responded with another boycott, with women participating through the Daughters of Liberty. While some, like artisans, benefited from boycotts, merchants were often opposed. Protests sometimes turned violent, as seen in the Boston Massacre of 1770, where five colonists were killed by British soldiers. The boycotts were effective, leading to the repeal of most Townshend Acts, except for the tax on tea.
The 1773 Tea Act made British East India Company tea cheaper, angering colonists who saw it as a precedent for unchecked taxation, despite the lower price. This led to the Boston Tea Party. Britain responded with the 'Intolerable Acts': the Massachusetts Government Act curtailed self-government, the Quartering Act forced colonists to house soldiers, and the Quebec Act extended Quebec's borders and granted religious toleration to Catholics, unsettling some Protestants. These acts sparked the American Revolution.
Massachusetts called for colonists to disobey the Intolerable Acts, withhold taxes, and prepare for war. In September 1774, the First Continental Congress met in Philadelphia, forming the Continental Association to enforce boycotts and encourage domestic manufacturing, establishing the first real intercolonial government. Initially, colonists sought to uphold their rights as Englishmen, but their discourse soon shifted to abstract ideas of freedom and natural rights, laying the groundwork for a broader revolution.
The fighting of the War for Independence began on April 19, 1775, at Lexington and Concord. While colonists lost Bunker Hill, British casualties forced them to abandon Boston, though they later captured New York. Not all colonists supported independence; many elites in colonies like New York and Pennsylvania were wary of the revolutionary fervor empowering common people. Loyalists, like Charles Ingles, believed Americans were Britons who would reject both extreme monarchy and republicanism.
In July 1775, the Continental Congress sent the Olive Branch Petition to King George III for reconciliation. However, Thomas Paine's pamphlet 'Common Sense,' published in January 1776, dramatically shifted public opinion towards independence. Written in accessible language, it made powerful arguments against British rule, asserting that the cause of America was the cause of all mankind. Paine's persuasive work sold 150,000 copies and was crucial in leading the Second Continental Congress to declare independence six months later.