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The American Revolution had many causes. They all had a certain effect on the war starting. In this war there were the Loyalists and the Patriots. The Loyalists were the people who stayed loyal to King George. The Patriots wanted to be separated from the British rule and have their independence.

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The Proclamation of 1763 closed down colonial expansion westward.This was the first thing proclaimed to effect all 13 colonies. Because of a Revolt by the Native Americans King George III said that all land west of the Appalachian Mountains are off limits. The colonists hated the proclamation and resented the restrictions on trade and migration.

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The Sugar act of 1764 was a law passed by British Parliament that put taxes on Sugar and Molasses. The act was supposed to stop trading between New England, Middle Colonies of French, Dutch, and Spanish in the West Indies. The act was Repealed in 1766 and was replaced with the Revenue act of 1766 which reduced the tax on Molasses imports.

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The Sugar Act was referred to as the American Revenue Act, which was also American Duties Act. It was passed by the British Parliament in April 1764 to raise funds. Before the Sugar Act, there was also the Molasses Act of 1733, which taxed a minimum of six pence per gallon of molasses. However, this was not done because of a colonial invasion. In order to have a successful collection, the British decided to cut the rate in half and enforce stricter measures to collect tax. This concerned the colonists and the impending tax collection led to the American Revolution.

Rum

Since Molasses was used for making rum, there was ongoing trade between the Middle colonies and New England and the possessions of the Spanish West Indians, Dutch, French, and British West Indies priced their sugar higher than its competitors did and they assumed no need of fish, lumber, and large quantities that were offered by the colonies. To discourage this kind of trading, the British parliament passed an exorbitantly high tax on the colonies for the imported molasses. It would have destroyed the entire rum industry had tax been actually collected. This was prevented by the passing of the Sugar Act.

The Sugar Act arrived at a time of economic depression. The tax was not direct, even if the colonists were aware that it existed. The colonists were the ones that supplied food to the British colony during the Seven Years War and this affected the colonial economy. But the major culprit was the new tax program as pointed out by the merchants and shippers. As protests of the Sugar Act ensued, the colonists focused more on the impact the Sugar Act had on the economy and not the other issue of taxation without representation with was the constitutional issue at hand.

Over-supply

The Sugar Act also enforced stricter laws especially on its ports making the smuggling of molasses risky. This caused economic hardship at New England ports. The British West Indies had no problems with colonial exports in terms of undivided access. There was an overflowing supply of molasses as compared to the demand. They were also able to save on expenses due to the reduced rum exports.

The protest against the Sugar Act had two prime movers: Samuel Adams and James Otis both of Massachusetts. In 1764 fifty merchants from Boston unanimously decided to stop buying British luxury imports. In Boston and New York there were similar activity to establish the manufacturing and sale of the colonists' products. The uprising became more violent. In the end, the protests against the Sugar Act would not be remembered in New England and in other colonies. The violence would start the following year when the Stamp Act was passed.

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What was the Sugar Act of 1764? Summary of the American Revenue Act

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Samuel Adams Photo by: Cobalty Creative Commons The Sugar Act was referred to as the American Revenue Act, which was also American Duties Act. It was passed by the British Parliament in April 1764 to raise funds.

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The Stamp act of 1765 was passed by the British Parliament on March 22nd. The act caused all the British Colonists to pay taxes on every printed piece of paper. The money collected from the stamp act taxes was used to help pay the costs of protecting the American Frontier by the Appalachian Mountains. The violent actions by the colonists to this act ended up with the act getting repealed in 1766.

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The Townshend Acts was multiple measures passed by the British Parliament that taxed goods imported to the American Colonies. British colonists saw this as an abuse of power and made a document to boycott the goods. The Townshend Acts was repealed in 1770.

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The Boston Massacre was a tragedy that killed five people. There were Patriots and American Colonists and the Patriots shot into the crowd and killed five people. The first person to be shot was named Crispus Addicts.

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The Boston Massacre

The Boston Massacre was a street fight that occurred on March 5, 1770, between a "patriot" mob, throwing snowballs, stones, and sticks, and a squad of British soldiers. Several colonists were killed and this led to a campaign by speech-writers to rouse the ire of the citizenry.

The presence of British troops in the city of Boston was increasingly unwelcome. The riot began when about 50 citizens attacked a British sentinel. A British officer, Captain Thomas Preston, called in additional soldiers, and these too were attacked, so the soldiers fired into the mob, killing 3 on the spot (a black sailor named Crispus Attucks, ropemaker Samuel Gray, and a mariner named James Caldwell), and wounding 8 others, two of whom died later (Samuel Maverick and Patrick Carr).

A town meeting was called demanding the removal of the British and the trial of Captain Preston and his men for murder. At the trial, John Adams and Josiah Quincy II defended the British, leading to their acquittal and release. Samuel Quincy and Robert Treat Paine were the attorneys for the prosecution. Later, two of the British soldiers were found guilty of manslaughter.

The Boston Massacre was a signal event leading to the Revolutionary War. It led directly to the Royal Governor evacuating the occupying army from the town of Boston. It would soon bring the revolution to armed rebellion throughout the colonies.

Note that the occupation of Boston by British troops in 1768 was not met by open resistance.

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On March 5, 1770, tensions between the American colonists and Britain finally erupted in violence in Boston.

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340 chests of tea were dumped into the Harbor by colonists who were angry by the taxes but that led up to harsh consequences by the government.

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The Intolerable acts was multiple laws that tried to restore authority in its colonies. The colonists were angry when they passed the law because they didn't like it when people had authority over them. The resistance of these acts caused the creation of the first Continental Congress in September 1774.

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The Intolerable Acts were passed in spring 1774, and helped cause the American Revolution (1775-1783).

In the years after the French and Indian War, Parliament attempted to levy taxes, such as the Stamp Act and Townshend Acts, on the colonies to aid in covering the cost of maintaining the empire. On May 10, 1773, Parliament passed the Tea Act with the goal of aiding the struggling British East India Company. Prior to the passage of the law, the company had been required to sell its tea through London where it was taxed and duties assessed. Under the new legislation, the company would be permitted to sell tea directly to the colonies without the additional cost. As a result, tea prices in America would be reduced, with only the Townshend tea duty assessed.

During this period, the colonies, angered by the taxes levied by the Townshend Acts, had been systematically boycotting British goods and claiming taxation without representation. Aware that the Tea Act was an attempt by Parliament to break the boycott, groups such as the Sons of Liberty, spoke out against it. Across the colonies, British tea was boycotted and attempts were made to produce tea locally. In Boston, the situation climaxed in late November 1773, when three ships carrying East India Company tea arrived in the port.

Rallying the populace, the members of the Sons of Liberty dressed as Native Americans and boarded the ships on the night of December 16. Carefully avoiding damaging other property, the "raiders" tossed 342 chests of tea into Boston Harbor. A direct affront to British authority, the " Boston Tea Party" forced Parliament to take action against the colonies. In retribution for this affront to royal authority, the Prime Minister, Lord North, began passing a series of five laws, dubbed the Coercive or Intolerable Acts, the following spring to punish the Americans.

Passed on March 30, 1774, the Boston Port Act was a direct action against the city for the previous November's tea party. The legislation dictated that the port of Boston was closed to all shipping until full restitution was made to the East India Company and the King for the lost tea and taxes. Also included in the act was the stipulation that the colony's seat of government should be moved to Salem and Marblehead made a port of entry. Loudly protesting, many Bostonians, including Loyalists, argued that the act punished the entire city rather than the few who were responsible for the tea party. As supplies in the city dwindled, other colonies began sending relief to the blockaded city.

Enacted on May 20, 1774, the Massachusetts Government Act was designed to increase royal control over the colony's administration. Abrogating the colony's charter, the act stipulated that its executive council would no longer be democratically elected and its members would instead be appointed by the king. Also, many colonial offices that were previously elected officials would henceforth be appointed by the royal governor. Across the colony, only one town meeting was permitted a year unless approved by the governor. Following General Thomas Gage's use of the act to dissolve the provincial assembly in October 1774, Patriots in the colony formed the Massachusetts Provincial Congress which effectively controlled all of Massachusetts outside of Boston.

Passed the same day as the previous act, the Administration of Justice Act stated that royal officials could request a change of venue to another colony or Great Britain if charged with criminal acts in fulfilling their duties. While the act allowed travel expenses to be paid to witnesses, few colonists could afford to leave work to testify at a trial. Many in the colonies felt it was unnecessary as British soldiers had received a fair trial after the Boston Massacre. Dubbed the "Murder Act" by some, it was felt that it allowed royal officials to act with impunity and then escape justice.

A revision of the 1765 Quartering Act, which was largely ignored by colonial assemblies, the 1774 Quartering Act expanded the types of buildings in which soldiers could be billeted and removed the requirement that they be provided with provisions. Contrary to popular belief, it did not permit the housing of soldiers in private homes. Typically, soldiers were first to be placed in existing barracks and public houses, but thereafter could be housed in inns, victualing houses, empty building, barns, and other unoccupied structures.

Though it did not have a direct effect on the thirteen colonies, the Quebec Act was considered part of the Intolerable Acts by the American colonists. Intended to ensure the loyalty of the king's Canadian subjects, the act greatly enlarged Quebec's borders and allowed the free practice of the Catholic faith. Among the land transferred to Quebec was much of the Ohio Country, which had been promised to several colonies through their charters and to which many had already laid claim. In addition to angering land speculators, others were fearful about the spread of Catholicism in American.

In passing the acts, Lord North had hoped to detach and isolate the radical element in Massachusetts from the rest of the colonies while also asserting the power of Parliament over the colonial assemblies. The harshness of the acts worked to prevent this outcome as many in the colonies rallied to Massachusetts's aid. Seeing their charters and rights under threat, colonial leaders formed committees of correspondence to discuss the repercussions of the Intolerable Acts.

These led to the convening of the First Continental Congress at Philadelphia on September 5. Meeting at Carpenters' Hall, delegates debated various courses for bringing pressure against Parliament as well as whether they should draft a statement of rights and liberties for the colonies. Creating the Continental Association, the congress called for a boycott of all British goods. If the Intolerable Acts were not repealed within a year, the colonies agreed to halt exports to Britain as well as support Massachusetts if it was attacked. Rather than exact punishment, North's legislation worked to pull the colonies together and pushed them down the road towards war.

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The Intolerable Acts were passed in spring 1774, and helped cause the American Revolution (1775-1783). In the years after the French and Indian War, Parliament attempted to levy taxes, such as the Stamp Act and Townshend Acts, on the colonies to aid in covering the cost of maintaining the empire.

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The American Revolution had many causes and many things leading up to it. The colonists and leaders had to have seen something happening in the future. The Loyalists and Patriots both had their own point of view. The many things that they put the colonists through was a lot to go through and would have angered me if i was in the American Revolution.