First Real Violence Between Americans And British example essay topic

Relations between Great Britain and America were relatively poor in the 18th century, which led up to the American Revolution. Although many things cumulated to produce this feeling of discontentment between the two countries, the different points of view and discrepancy between ideas caused much of the conflicts leading up to the Revolution. Many Acts passed by British Parliament caused the American colonists to be irritated by the British policies. After the French and Indian war, Britain attempted tightened their control on the colonies, which, until that point, had been relatively free. One of the ways that the British government felt that they should do this was to impose taxation upon the colonies. The use of "writs of assistance" was allowed in the year 1761.

This meant that British officials in the colonies could legally search any and all areas for smuggled goods. This made Americans uneasy, as their privacy was being invaded and there was little that they could do. In addition, in 1793, King George's Proclamation was passed. Troops were ordered to be posted along the border between the Indian Reserve and the colonies.

Obviously, Americans were very resentful of this containment. These acts and policies annoyed and frustrated many Americans, but they would not have considered starting a revolution at that point. In 1764, the Sugar Act was passed under British Parliament. Colonists were indirectly taxed for things such as sugar and coffee.

British Parliament also restricted how the colonists' could make their own paper money. This caused Americans to be even uneasier with the way that Britain was governing them. They did not feel that "taxation without representation" was fair, and that their rights were being impeded on. The British, however, felt that Americans were being represented, through Britain, and that Britain would only do what is right for the colonists. The discrepancy between the different points of view caused much more conflict.

In 1765, the Stamp Act was put into place. This was a direct taxation of printed material that the colonists purchased. Most colonists were livid that this Act was in place, and many did not pay the taxes. Once again, there was a discrepancy in the point of view-the British government did not see a problem with this Act. They had comparable taxes on the people of Great Britain. Americans felt as though their rights were being violated and that, once again, they should not be taxed without representation.

The Stamp Acts caused much more of a conflict than Britain anticipated, but it angered the colonists greatly, many going up in riots and protests over the law. Finally, the British Parliament was forced to repeal the Stamp Act, but put in place instead, the Declaratory Act, which accentuated Britain's authority over the colonies. With the repeal of the Stamp Act, the British government felt that they would be able to put in place an indirect taxation on the colonies. This, however, did not fool the colonists and they became more infuriated.

Americans voiced their concerns, and the British looked the other way, which heightened their anger even more. The so-called Boston Massacre of 1770 was the first real violence between Americans and British. The British made the mistake of placing troops in Boston, a hotspot of resentment against the British. British soldiers were ridiculed and shunned by the Americans. On the fifth of March, Bostonians began throwing snowballs at British soldiers. They became more and more violent, which led to the soldiers opening fire and killing five Bostonians.

Once again, the different points of view come into place. The Americans felt that this was an outrage, that the British came into their city and murdered their people. The British thought that the unruly Americans were acting up again, and that they were just defending themselves. This conflict elevated the resentment against the British and Americans even more, because up until that point, there was no real bloodshed or violence between the two countries. All of the conflicts that led up to that point had made relations between Britain and America worsen. The final clash between the countries came when the British East India Company, who had a monopoly on Tea, shipped 1,700 chests of tea to a port in Boston.

This would force Americans to pay for the tax on tea. A group of radicals dressed up as Native Americans and threw the tea chests into the harbor. This infuriated the British, as it was a serious crime and nobody in America would give information about who was guilty for this act. The British were outraged that the colonies, which in their opinion, they had legitimate power over, were rebelling to laws that they were putting on them.

The colonists felt that they needed to react to these laws, which they felt violated their rights as Americans who originated from Britain, and should have the same rights as British citizens. The different sides and opinions of the British and the colonial Americans caused a rift that could not be put back together, and which resulted in the start of the American Revolution..