Chapter 1
United States History, Government, and Citizenship
Course: Elementary Education Multiple Subjects 7001
Subject: Elementary Education Social Studies Subtest 7004
Chapter: United States History Government And Citizenship
1. Causes of the American Revolution
The American Revolution was caused by a series of economic, political, and ideological developments in the 18th century that intensified tensions between Great Britain and its American colonies. After the French and Indian War (1754–1763), the British government faced a large war debt and began imposing new taxes on its American colonies to recover expenses. Colonists, who had grown accustomed to a degree of autonomy under the policy of salutary neglect, viewed these acts as unjust and a violation of their rights as Englishmen.
Key legislation and actions leading to revolution included:
- The Proclamation of 1763, which forbade colonial settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains. Colonists viewed this as limiting their economic and territorial ambitions.
- The Sugar Act (1764) and the Stamp Act (1765), which imposed direct taxes on the colonies without representation in Parliament. This violated the colonial belief in consent-based taxation.
- The Townshend Acts (1767), which placed duties on imported goods and reignited protests.
- The Tea Act (1773), which, although lowering the price of tea, granted the British East India Company a monopoly and led to the Boston Tea Party.
- The Intolerable Acts (1774), passed in retaliation for the Boston Tea Party, closed Boston Harbor and revoked Massachusetts’ charter, demonstrating Parliament’s willingness to exert direct control.