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The Root Causes of the American Revolution

Causes of the american revolution.

America's Independent Way of Thinking

The Freedoms and Restrictions of Location

The control of government, the economic troubles, the corruption and control, the criminal justice system, grievances that led to revolution and the constitution.

M.A., History, University of Florida
B.A., History, University of Florida

The American Revolution began in 1775 as an open conflict between the United Thirteen Colonies and Great Britain. Many causes of the American Revolution played a role in the colonists' desire to fight for their independence. Not only did these issues lead to war, but they also shaped the foundation of the United States of America.

There is no single cause of the American Revolution. It was, instead, a series of events that led to the war . Essentially, it began as a disagreement over the way Great Britain governed the colonies and the way the colonies thought they should be treated. Americans felt they deserved all the rights of Englishmen. The British, on the other hand, thought that the colonies were created to be used in ways that best suited the Crown and Parliament. This conflict is embodied in one of the rallying cries of the American Revolution : "No Taxation Without Representation."

America's Independent Way of Thinking

To understand the causes of the American Revolution and what led to the rebellion, it's important to look at the mindset of the founding fathers . It should also be noted that this mindset was not that of the majority of colonists. There were no pollsters during the American Revolution, but it's safe to say its popularity rose and fell over the course of the war. Historian Robert M. Calhoon estimated that only about 40–45% of the free population supported the revolution, while about 15–20% of the free white males remained loyal.

The 18th century is known historically as the Age of Enlightenment . It was a period when thinkers, philosophers, statesmen, and artists began to question the politics of government, the role of the church, and other fundamental and ethical questions of society as a whole. The period was also known as the Age of Reason, and many colonists followed this new way of thinking.

A number of the revolutionary leaders had studied major writings of the Enlightenment, including those of Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and the Baron de Montesquieu. From these thinkers, the founders gleaned such new political concepts as the social contract , limited government, the consent of the governed, and the separation of powers .

Locke's writings, in particular, struck a chord. His books helped to raise questions about the rights of the governed and the overreach of the British government. They spurred the "republican" ideology that stood up in opposition to those viewed as tyrants.

Men such as Benjamin Franklin and John Adams were also influenced by the teachings of the Puritans and Presbyterians. These teachings included such new radical ideas as the principle that all men are created equal and the belief that a king has no divine rights. Together, these innovative ways of thinking led many in this era to consider it their duty to rebel against laws they viewed as unjust.

The geography of the colonies was also a cause of the American Revolution. Their distance from Great Britain naturally created a sense of independence that was hard to overcome. Those willing to colonize the new world generally had a strong independent streak with a profound desire for new opportunities and more freedom.

The Proclamation of 1763 played its own role. After the French and Indian War , King George III issued the royal decree that prevented further colonization west of the Appalachian Mountains. The intent was to normalize relations with the Indigenous peoples, many of whom fought with the French.

Many settlers had purchased land in the now-forbidden area or had received land grants. The crown's proclamation was largely ignored as settlers moved anyway and the "Proclamation Line" eventually moved after much lobbying. Despite this concession, the affair left another stain on the relationship between the colonies and Britain.

The existence of colonial legislatures meant that the colonies were in many ways independent of the crown. The legislatures were allowed to levy taxes, muster troops, and pass laws. Over time, these powers became rights in the eyes of many colonists.

The British government had different ideas and attempted to curtail the powers of these newly elected bodies. There were numerous measures designed to ensure the colonial legislatures did not achieve autonomy, although many had nothing to do with the larger British Empire . In the minds of colonists, they were a matter of local concern.

From these small, rebellious legislative bodies that represented the colonists, the future leaders of the United States were born.

Even though the British believed in mercantilism , Prime Minister Robert Walpole espoused a view of " salutary neglect ." This system was in place from 1607 through 1763, during which the British were lax on enforcement of external trade relations. Walpole believed this enhanced freedom would stimulate commerce.

The French and Indian War led to considerable economic trouble for the British government. Its cost was significant, and the British were determined to make up for the lack of funds. They levied new taxes on the colonists and increased trade regulations. These actions were not well received by the colonists, which eventually became another cause of the American Revolution.

New taxes were enforced, including the Sugar Act and the Currency Act , both in 1764. The Sugar Act increased already considerable taxes on molasses and restricted certain export goods to Britain alone. The Currency Act prohibited the printing of money in the colonies, making businesses rely more on the crippled British economy.

Feeling underrepresented, overtaxed, and unable to engage in free trade, the colonists rallied to the slogan, "No Taxation Without Representation." This discontent became very apparent in 1773 with the events that later became known as the Boston Tea Party .

The British government's presence became increasingly more visible in the years leading to the revolution. British officials and soldiers were given more control over the colonists and this led to widespread corruption.

Among the most glaring of these issues were the "Writs of Assistance." These were general search warrants that gave British soldiers the right to search and seize any property they deemed to be smuggled or illegal goods. Designed to assist the British in enforcing trade laws, these documents allowed British soldiers to enter, search, and seize warehouses, private homes, and ships whenever necessary. However, many abused this power.

In 1761, Boston lawyer James Otis fought for the constitutional rights of the colonists in this matter but lost. The defeat only inflamed the level of defiance and ultimately led to the Fourth Amendment in the U.S. Constitution .

The Third Amendment was also inspired by the overreach of the British government. Forcing colonists to house British soldiers in their homes infuriated the population. It was inconvenient and costly to the colonists, and many also found it a traumatic experience after events like the Boston Massacre in 1770 .

Trade and commerce were overly controlled, the British Army made its presence known, and the local colonial government was limited by a power far across the Atlantic Ocean. If these affronts to the colonists' dignity were not enough to ignite the fires of rebellion and cause the American Revolution, American colonists also had to endure a corrupt justice system.

Political protests became a regular occurrence as these realities set in. In 1769, Alexander McDougall was imprisoned for libel when his work "To the Betrayed Inhabitants of the City and Colony of New York" was published. His imprisonment and the Boston Massacre were just two infamous examples of the measures the British took to crack down on protesters.

After six British soldiers were acquitted and two dishonorably discharged for the Boston Massacre—ironically enough, they were defended by John Adams—the British government changed the rules. From then on, officers accused of any offense in the colonies would be sent to England for trial. This meant that fewer witnesses would be on hand to give their accounts of events and it led to even fewer convictions.

To make matters even worse, jury trials were replaced with verdicts and punishments handed down directly by colonial judges. Over time, the colonial authorities lost power over this as well because the judges were known to be chosen, paid, and supervised by the British government. The right to a fair trial by a jury of their peers was no longer possible for many colonists.

All of these grievances that colonists had with the British government caused the American Revolution. And many of these grievances directly affected what the founding fathers wrote into the U.S. Constitution . These constitutional rights and principles reflect the hopes of the framers that the new American government would not subject their citizens to the same loss of freedoms that the colonists had experienced under Britain's rule.

Schellhammer, Michael. " John Adams's Rule of Thirds ." Critical Thinking, Journal of the American Revolution . 11 Feb. 2013.

Calhoon, Robert M. " Loyalism and Neutrality ." A Companion to the American Revolution , edited by Jack P. Greene and J. R. Pole, Wiley, 2008, pp. 235-247, doi:10.1002/9780470756454.ch29

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essay about causes of american revolution

"Saving South" - with Dan Snow in association with BFI

America 1765 - 1865

6 Key Causes of the American Revolution

14 Jan 2021

@histluketomes.

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This educational video is a visual version of this article and presented by Artificial Intelligence (AI). Please see our AI ethics and diversity policy for more information on how we use AI and select presenters on our website.

The American War of Independence (1775-1783) served as a harsh lesson to the British Empire that the dominions they controlled, if treated improperly, would always be susceptible to revolution.

The British did not wish to see the thirteen colonies break away from their realm, yet their colonial policies in the late-18th century proved consistently disastrous, demonstrating a complete lack of empathy or common understanding with the American population.

One might argue that independence was always on the horizon in this period for North America, yet even in an era of enlightenment the British seemed, through sheer ignorance, negligence and pride, to seal their own fate.

As with any revolution in history, ideological differences may have provided the foundation and impetus for change, but it is so often the events in the run up to the internal struggle that enhance tensions and ultimately trigger the conflict. The American Revolution was no different. Here are 6 key causes of the American revolution.

1. Seven Years War (1756-1763)

Although the Seven Years War was a multinational conflict, the main belligerents were the British and French Empires. Each looking to expand their territory across numerous continents, both nations suffered mass casualties and racked up copious amounts of debt in order to fund the long and ardous struggle for territorial dominance.

Arguably the most important theatre of the war was in North America, which in 1756 had been geographically split between the empires of the British, French and Spanish. With key but costly victories at Quebec and Fort Niagara, the British were able to emerge victorious from the war and henceforth assimilated large swathes of previously held French territory in Canada and the Mid-West as a result of the Treaty of Paris in 1763.

After a three-month siege of Quebec City, British forces captured the city at the Plains of Abraham. Image credit: Hervey Smyth (1734-1811), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

While British victory had removed any French and Native Indian threat (to an extent) to the thirteen colonies, the war had led to greater economic hardship in the US and an acknowledgment of the cultural differences between colonists and Britons.

Clashes in ideologies became all the more apparent as the British looked to levy higher taxes on the thirteen colonies in order to heal the debt they incurred from military and naval spending.

2. Taxes and Duties

If the Seven Years War had not exacerbated the divide between the colonies and the British metropole, the implementation of colonial taxation certainly did. The British witnessed these tensions first-hand when the Stamp Act of 1765 was introduced. Colonists bitterly opposed the new direct taxation on printed materials and forced the British Government to eventually repeal the legislation a year later.

“No taxation without representation” became an iconic slogan, as it effectively summarised the colonial outrage at the fact they were being taxed against their will and with no form of representation in Parliament.

A key cause of the American revolution which followed the Stamp Act was the introduction of Townshend Duties in 1767 and 1768. This was a series of acts that imposed new forms of indirect taxation of goods such as glass, paint, paper, lead and tea .

These duties caused outrage in the colonies and became the main root of spontaneous and violent opposition. Encouraged and rallied by propaganda leaflets and posters, such as those created by Paul Revere, colonists rioted and organised merchant boycotts. Eventually, the colonial response was met with fierce repression.

3. Boston Massacre (1770)

Just a year after the imposition of the Townshend Duties, the governor of Massachusetts was already calling for the other twelve colonies to join his state in resisting the British and boycotting their goods, which coincided with a riot in Boston over the seizure of a boat aptly named Liberty for smuggling.

The Boston Massacre, 1770. Image credit: Paul Revere, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Despite these tremors of discontent, nothing suggested that the colonies might seriously consider fighting their British masters until the infamous Boston massacre of March 1770. This was one of the most significant causes of the American revolution.

A detachment of redcoats were accosted by a large crowd in the city, and bombarded with snowballs and more dangerous missiles as the cold and frustrated townsfolk vented their anger on the soldiers. Suddenly, they opened fire after a soldier was knocked down, killing five and injuring six others.

The Boston Massacre is often represented as the inevitable start of a revolution, but in fact it initially prompted Lord North’s government to withdraw the Townshend Acts and for a time it seemed like the worst of the crisis was over. However, radicals such as Samuel Adams and Thomas Jefferson kept the resentment ticking over.

4. Boston Tea Party (1773)

A switch had been flicked. The British government had a chance to make important political concessions to these disgruntled voices, yet they chose not to, and with this decision, the opportunity to avert rebellion was lost.

In 1772, a British ship which had been enforcing unpopular trade regulations was burned by angry patriots, while Samuel Adams set about creating Committees of Correspondence – a network of rebels across all of the 13 colonies.

Boston Tea Party. Image credit: Cornischong at lb.wikipedia, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Yet it was in December 1773 that the most famous and overt display of anger and resistance took place. A group of colonists led by Adams hopped aboard the East India Company trade vessel Dartmouth and poured 342 chests of tea (worth close to $2,000,000 in today’s currency) of British tea into the sea at Boston Harbour. This act – now known as the ‘Boston Tea Party’, remains important in patriotic American folklore.

5. Intolerable Acts (1774)

Rather than attempting to appease the rebels, the Boston Tea Party was met with the passing of the Intolerable Acts in 1774 by the British Crown. These punitive measures included the forced closure of Boston port and an order of compensation to the East India Company for damaged property. Town meetings were now also banned, and the authority of the royal governor was increased.

The British lost further support and patriots formed the First Continental Congress in the same year, a body where men from all the colonies were formally represented. In Britain, opinion was divided as the Whigs favoured reform while North’s Tories wanted to demonstrate the power of the British Parliament. It would be the Tories who got their way.

In the meantime, the First Continental Congress raised a militia, and in April 1775 the first shots of the war were fired as British troops clashed with militia men at the twin battles of Lexington and Concord. British reinforcements landed in Massachusetts and defeated the rebels at Bunker Hill in June – the first major battle of the American War of Independence.

Shortly after, the British withdrew into Boston – where they were besieged by an army commanded by the newly appointed General, and future president, George Washington.

6. King George III’s Speech to Parliament (1775)

On 26 October 1775 George III , King of Great Britain, stood up in front of his Parliament and declared the American colonies to be in a state of rebellion. Here, for the first time, the use of force was authorised against the rebels. The King’s speech was long but certain phrases made it clear that a major war against his own subjects was about to commence:

“It is now become the part of wisdom, and (in its effects) of clemency, to put a speedy end to these disorders by the most decisive exertions. For this purpose, I have increased my naval establishment, and greatly augmented my land forces, but in such a manner as may be the least burthensome to my kingdoms.”

After such a speech, the Whig position was silenced and a full-scale war was inevitable. From it the United States of America would emerge, and the course of history radically changed.