Revolutionary War Dbq Analysis

The American colonists were justified in waging war and breaking away from Britain because Britain became tyrannical toward the colonies and put into effect many unfair taxes and acts. By the time the colonists created the Declaration of Independence of their own volition, their relationship with Britain was abominable. Because the British tried to force taxes to pay off the French and Indian War debt on the colonists, tempers spiked on both sides and the punishments got worse, denying the colonists all of their basic rights. The main punishments came in the form of tyranny and taxes.
One main occurrence that justifies American colonists breaking away from Britain was King George’s tyranny. The Boston Massacre is a good example of this tyranny. …show more content…
The Stamp Act was one of the first taxes passed by the British Parliament to pay off the debt for the French and Indian War. Document 2 shows the words of a Pennsylvania political leader refuting the Stamp Act, an act that taxed every piece of paper with a British stamp. The politician calls the Stamp Act unconstitutional and destructive because since the British had the authority to regulate their trade, the colonists didn’t mind the tax on trade, but the colonists didn’t approve of the taxes being raised to pay for Britain’s debt and create revenue. Colonists became so angry at the new tax that they began to protest it and direct their protests to the British tax enforcers in the colonies. The protests included tarring and feathering the tax enforcers, so when the Stamp Act finally came into effect, there was no one to enforce it, so the act was repealed shortly after. Another tax imposed on the colonies by the British was the Tea Act. Document 14 illustrates the anger that the colonists had by the Tea Act through the events of the Boston Tea Party. The Tea Act taxed tea, the most popular drink in the colonies. Britain then sold their own, lower quality tea at a lower price which was the only tea the colonists were supposed to drink. The colonists did not like this tax, so they smuggled in other tea and refused to even unload the ships full of British tea. The Boston Tea Party consisted of …show more content…
One reason for this would be that since Britain spend a lot of money to protect the colonists and win the French and Indian War, so the colonists should contribute to paying back the debt. Document 1, written by the author of the Stamp Act, describes why this is true. This is not justified though, because even though the war was on the colonists’ land, it is Britain’s duty anyway to protect their people, so the colonists should not have to pay for it. Furthermore, the British are already getting money from the colonists through the tax on trade, which was approved by the colonists. If the British really wanted to have the support of the colonists, they should have discussed a solution with the colonists to come up with another approved tax or way to get money. Some might also say that the colonists protests weren’t justified and that they were being irrational. Document 3 questions why the colonists were so angry by the Stamp Act because it didn’t actually affect many of the colonists. The colonists were not necessarily angry at what was being taxed, though, but why they were being taxed. The Stamp Act not only paid for Britain’s war debt, but also for the British soldiers staying in the colonists homes. Although the Stamp act was inconvenient to some colonists, what was more inconvenient was the soldiers using the colonists supplies,

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Revolutionary War Revolutionary Dbq Analysis