Essay, Research Paper: The Cause Of The American Revolution (Position Paper)

No matter what it comes down to, the major factor for the cause of the American
Revolution was the ignorance of the British. The irritated colonists were hostile towards
the supposed ‘mother country’ of Great Britain as it tried to reconcile with them. Just as a
neglected child would have bitter resentment towards its parent once the parent sought
action, so were the American colonists. The cause of the American Revolution began
when Great Britain stopped paying attention to the colonies, and absorbed into its own
affairs, politely ‘ignoring’ the colonies it started. Everything else that triggered the minds
of these revolutionaries was the effect caused by Britain’s salutary neglect of the
American colonies.
When the early settlers came to the newly discovered continent of America, their
intentions were rather simple. Beginning from the Pilgrims in Plymouth and the Puritans
in the Massachusetts Bay colony, God was the main focus of their colonization. Both
groups were upset of the development of the church of England, and in attempt to purify
it, they sought new lives in the colonies. The development of Jamestown in Virginia was
a concept similar to the ones used during the 1500s when exploration was promoted: for
gold, glory, and God. Georgia was colonized as a buffer zone for the highly cherished
Carolinas. For whatever the reasons, each colony flourished and, eventually, the
population of all the thirteen increased as the exodus from Great Britain increased, other
foreigners seeking freedom of religion or wanting new lives began to come, slave trade
became popular, and indentured servants sold their lives to come to the new world.
Though the New England, Middle, and South colonies were different in many aspects,
they began to develop separately than that of Great Britain. During the climax growth of
the colonies, the first stages in which Great Britain should have been there to guide them
through the colonization process, it was absorbed in its own affairs. Yet the colonists
were advancing pleasantly. They were not having so much difficulty because they had
learned to take care of themselves, developed into their own nation by running
themselves the way they thought was right and had succeeded in doing so as Great
Britain kindly paid no attention to them. The colonists themselves subconsciously aware
of the situation, led their lives as the pleased, with or without having the guidance of
Great Britain.
Meanwhile, as the British were occupied with their own problems, the French
(and others) began to take advantage of the Americas, colonizing inland and north of
North America, covering the Mississippi River and Ohio Valley all the way towards
present day Canada. The French’s Empire was very wast and when the British saw that
other nations were benefiting from what they should be benefiting from, they sought to
take action, thus triggering the Seven Years’ (French and Indian) War. Known as the
“Great War for Empire”, the world’s uppermost nations became involved in a battle for
control over North America. The British eventually won, gaining full control of the
territories that had previously belonged to the French. Great Britain, reestablishing its
status, began its conduct over the colonists. After winning the war, it felt it had the right
to start controlling the colonies as it pleased. After all, the colonies were the possession
of the British, and were entitled to them. Yet the colonists had a different view. By this
time, they felt they had no or very little connection with the original ‘mother country’.
The early English settlers were long gone and buried. The new generations that came
about were not English., but of English descent as well as Dutch, Irish, French, Scots, etc.
If the British had paid more attention to the colonists, maybe they would feel a tie to the
country, but because the British had neglected them, that tie was cut. The colonists were
now Americans, and they were angry. Why did the British think they had the right to
interfere with their affairs when they had neglected them for so long, letting them
develop their own way of life, government, economy, and trade? Great Britain had left
them a long time ago, and the colonists were angered that they began to take control
when they no longer needed the mother country.
The British tried to show their first show of authority by establishing the
Proclamation of 1763. As a result of the French and Indian war, the French were forced
to leave from what was New France. In 1763, Pontiac’s rebellion ( Indian and settler
conflicts which took place in the Ohio Valley and Great Lakes region) forced the London
government to issue the Proclamation Line Of 1763. It prohibited settlement in the area
beyond the Appalachian Mountains, pending further adjustments. This drawn document
was not designed to oppress the colonials, but to work out the Indian problems fairly and
prevent a repetition of something similar to the uprising of the Pontiac’s. The Americans
were angered and dismayed, because to them, that land was their birthright. They fought
bloody wars for it, and now it was forbidden. The colonists highly disagreed with the
Proclamation of 1763. In 1765, in North Carolina, the American Pioneers went up west,
traveling in 1,000 wagons not considering the law.
After the French and Indian war, the British government was in debt. To help pay
for the cost of the army that they had sent to the colonies, Great Britain began to tax the
colonies and virtually everything. The colonists had not wanted the British to fight for the
empire, the British had done that on their own. It was not their war for empire, why
should they be obliged to pay for Great Britain’s war against their own enemy? Once
again, the concept of salutary neglect comes into mid. If Great Britain had realized the
significance of the colonies earlier, maybe the colonies would feel they had to pay the
taxes. But because they had developed entirely on their own, they felt it was unjust and
unlawful. Their rights were being subjugated. When British imposed the Sugar Act, (tax
on imports of sugar) the colonists protest and boycott. The results are the same with the
Stamp Act as well as the Declamatory Act. When British tries to impose any kind of
taxes, the colonists revolt by other ignoring the Acts, boycotting, smuggling the goods
taxed upon, or even newspaper attacks. They felt it was unfair to be taxed when they had
no voice about it, also knows as “taxation without representation.” When the British
impose the Intolerable Acts, the colonists respond with the “Boston Tea Party”. Led by
the Sons of Liberty, the Bostonians dump tea into the Boston harbor in protest. As a
result, the British close down the harbor until the tea is paid for and all damage is
repaired. The colonists are infuriated. Meanwhile, the Revolutionary spirit was being
stirred among themselves as organizations like the First Continental Congress pass
resolutions protesting Parliamentary interference in the colonies in response to the
Intolerable Acts. The colonists didn’t need the British anymore. Though Great Britain
had protected and defended the colonies, it would have done the same for another
country for the sake of trade and dominion. The colonists knew that. They used the
distance as proof that God had a part in the motive for them to break away. Wasn’t it also
absurd that a country was being ruled by an island? Then, why did Great Britain still
insist on playing a role in their lives? They didn’t have nor did they want any connection
with the British any more.
And then, it hit. Thomas Paine publishes his pamphlet “Common Sense”. Paine’s
ideas inspired them to take the road which led to the Revolution. He brought forth the
right ideas at the right time. Great Britain, he said, was not the mother country, since
mothers don’t turn red-coated thugs loose on their children. He even denied the
protection of Great Britain, saying the motive of Great Britain was interest, not
attachment, and that it had not protected the colonies from their (the colonies’) enemies
on their (the colonies’) account, but rather from Great Britain’s enemies and its own
account. “... France and Spain never were, nor perhaps ever will be [our] enemies as
Americans, but as ... subjects of Great Britain.” Ideas from the Enlightenment had
lingered on until this era and brought forth through the words and thoughts of Thomas
Paine. After all the colonists had dealt with, they had finally been convinced to break
loose from the tyrant. The battle that began for basic rights turned into a revolution for
independence.
In conclusion, if Great Britain had not neglected the colonies, everything would
have been different. The colonists would have supported the British during its ‘War for
Empire’, they might have even felt a connection to the empire and wouldn’t have totally
opposed the taxes. If the British had not isolated themselves with that they had began, the
need for independence would not have been necessary, Thomas Paine wouldn’t have
thought of his brilliant thoughts as printed in “Common Sense”. The colonists wouldn’t
have felt the bitterness and the resentment and the need for freedom only if the British
had paid more attention to them, and had not given them the treatment of salutary
neglect.


Word Count: 1557