The Proclamation Line of that Caused the American Revolution

The American Revolution was caused because of the Proclamation Line of 1763, Navigation Acts in 1651 (Taxation without representation), and the Suffolk Resolves. The British government issued the Proclamation Line of 1763, which conciliate the Indians by checking the encroachment of settlers on their lands, also forbade colonists from settling the land west of the Appalachian Divide. The colonies and Great Britain had a different perspective on the Navigation Acts, because the colonies started to interrogate the British Parliament that taxed them with no representation because the colonists were not happy with the new taxes and the colonists said that they should not have to pay British taxes because they had no representatives in the British Parliament, all of this led to protests, commotion.

The Suffolk Resolves (in 1774) was passed by the first Continental Congress to boycott goods and protest recent taxes. It led to more animosity between the colonists and the British. The declaration rejected the Massachusetts Government Act and resolved on a boycott of imported goods from Britain unless the Intolerable Acts were repealed.

The British issued The Proclamation Line of 1763 after the French and Indian War ended in 1763. After the French and Indian war, the British gain a lot of land from the Frances empire east of the Mississippi River. The colonist wanted to move to those land so they could own their own land, therefore the Proclamation Line stated that the colonists could not go to these new lands Britain had grain from French. The British did not allow the colonists to move to the new lands because the British want the colonists to be safe because the British did not want the colonists to be attacked by the Native Americans. The Proclamation Line of 1763 was input because it forbade colonist to settle west of the Appalachian Divide and also prohibited private citizens and colonial governments from making trade agreements with the native or buying other lands from the Natives. the British Empire began to tighten control over its rather autonomous colonies. The only ones that could buy land from the natives were the British.

The only ones that could trade with natives and were allowed to travel west were the licensed traders. British input The Proclamation Line of 1763 because they did not want to another big and costly war such as the French and Indian war that did a lot of damage and they had to pay the war expenses. The British did not want more expansion in the oppose areas and the British wanted to keep colonists close to the coast. The British could not invest in new settlements because the British government would have to pay for protection, local governments and they already have a lot to par from the French and Indian War. All of this led to British limit expansion to the east of Appalachian Divide and only let the colonies expand west whenever the British government said so. The Proclamation Line was not effective. Some colonists decline to follow what the British told them to do, so the colonists moved to those lands that the British gained from French. The colonists became more suspicious of the motives of Britain. When the other laws were passed, like the Quartering Act, Stamp Act, and the Townshend Acts, the suspicions of the colonists were defined. This also led to British to enforce the Navigation Acts in 1651.

The Navigation Acts, while enriching Britain, caused resentment in the colonies and contributed to the American Revolution. The Navigation Acts helped Great Britain become a shipping and naval superpower. The Navigation Act in 1651 was enforced because they were laws that restricted the use of foreign shipping for trade between England (after 1707, Great Britain) and its colonies, a process which had started in 1651. These acts were to tighten the government’s control over trade between England, its colonies, and the rest of the world. The colonies were not happy and the colonies believe that smuggling was not a crime because the laws were not fair. When Britain introduced the Navigation Acts to force colonists away from foreign products, the plan backfired by angering the colonies and promoting dissatisfaction with British rule. These laws were to enrich England, therefore, England stopped the colonies from trading with other countries because that would not help enrich England but it would help the colonies. From preventing the colonies from trading with other countries, England wanted all trade from the colonies to go to England first, this allowed the mother country to profit off from all the trade from the colonies. The colonists were very angry because instead of selling or trading with other countries to get a higher price, they had to trade with England, which the England trade for a low price, which it was their economic system. This was why the colonists believed that these laws were not fair to them because they think that the English are making them trade with England to that they can enrich themselves. These laws created a trading system where the Americans provided raw goods to Britain, and Britain used the raw goods to produce manufactured goods that were sold in European markets and back to the colonies. England could sell finished goods to the colonists. It made them look powerful.

The Navigation Act put mercantilism in practice at the beginning of 1650. Mercantilism is when a nation could increase their wealth and power by obtaining as much gold and silver as possible and also start a fable balance of trade. Mercantilism allowed the government to collect taxes and duties on all goods, which tariffs were placed on imports and bounties given for exports. Mercantilism also created the triangular trade, which was the export of raw materials from the colonies to Britain, the transportation of enslaved Africans to the Americas, and the subsequent importation of manufactured goods from Britain to the colonies. The navigation Acts supported the principle of mercantilism because it required colonies to do most of their trade with England. The people that protected mercantilism argued that bringing the country and colonies together, make the economic system better and greater and also stronger economies. Mercantilism also prevented gold and silver from leaving the country when possible. Mercantilism led to the adoption of enormous trade restrictions which stunted the growth and freedom of colonial business, which made the American colonies more dependent on manufacturing products from England.

The Suffolk Resolves were the immediate repeal of the Intolerable Acts and for colonies to resist them by making military preparations and boycotting British goods. The Intolerable Acts also known as Coercive Acts were a package of five laws implemented by the British government with the purpose of restoring authority in its colonies. In the book Reporting The Revolutionary War Before It Was History, It Was news, in the section of the Coercive Act, Ray Raphael stated that To punish the vandals and those who supported them, Parliament passed four acts it thought would bring rebels to their knees. People in Britain called then the Coercive Acts, but in America, they were labeled the Intolerable Acts.(Citation). The Suffolk Resolves made Massachusetts protest the Intolerable Act. The way that Massachusetts answered to the Intolerable Acts was by stockpiling military supplies, boycotting British goods, also operating an independent government, and announcing no allegiances to Britain and a king who failed to consider the wishes of the colonists.

In defiance of the ban on town meetings, delegates from the towns of Suffolk County, Massachusetts (including Boston), met at private homes in Dedham on 6 September 1774 and in Milton on 9 September to plan resistance against the Coercive Acts. A committee, headed by Joseph Warren, was charged with drawing up an address to Governor Thomas Gage and resolves to send to the Continental Congress. Warren argued that liberties guaranteed by the British constitution and the laws of nature applied equally to Britons on the home island and in the colonies, and could not be thrown aside because of the arbitrary will of a licentious minister. This, the convention recommended measures that included calling a provincial congress; withholding public funds from the treasury; nonintercourse with Britain, Ireland, and the West Indies; and raising a defensive militia. All these measures were intended to pressure Parliament into repealing the Coercive Acts. The resolves asserted the colonists’ loyalty to George III and did not mention independence. Paul Revere carried the resolves to the Continental Congress, which rallied to support Massachusetts, unanimously endorsing the resolves on 17 September. The Suffolk Resolves laid out a clear ideological justification for resistance and a plan of action for the Continental Congress to follow. The Suffolk Resolves furthered the divide between the mother country and colonies and served to crystallize the opposition to British policy into a more unified voice. In this sense, they served as a transitional catalyst towards revolution. The First Continental Congress’ endorsement of the Suffolk Resolves gave more radical elements the momentum and emboldened Massachusetts in their resistance. As Revolutionary War archivist and author Todd Andrlik argued, by sanctioning the Resolves, Congress supported deeds as well as words. It vowed to stand behind a revolution that was in full swing throughout Massachusetts. (Citation)

Did you like this example?

1272

53