On the ground, fighting in the American Revolution began with the skirmishes between British regulars and American provincials on April 19, 1775, first at Lexington, where a British force of 700 faced 77 local minutemen, and then at Concord, where an American counterforce of 320 to 400 sent the British scurrying. These two conflicts of principle and practical government are cited as among the most influential revolutions of modern times. Read over the definitions of the four key principles. Magazines, Digital Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/causes-of-the-american-revolution-104860. 202.785.2040. European colonists united in 1776 to separate from England, winning a revolution based on the principles of representative government, freedom of expression, and equality. By contrast, the British army was a reliable steady force of professionals. It was not so much a revolution, a propagation of new ideas, as the maintenance of the old forms of representative government, of chartered rights and constitutional liberty. American military commander General George Washington leading the Continental Army in the Battle of Princeton during the American Revolutionary War, 1777.  Find History on Facebook (Opens in a new window), Find History on Twitter (Opens in a new window), Find History on YouTube (Opens in a new window), Find History on Instagram (Opens in a new window), Find History on TikTok (Opens in a new window), The French Revolution. Other letters, however, give indications that some people had given up hope that the King would give in to the colonists requests. "The eighteenth century was an age of ideology; the beliefs and fears expressed on one side of the revolution were as sincere as those expressed on the other. Fifth, Parliament passed the so-called Quebec Act, to separate the French from any bond of sympathy with the colonies. Free government was destroyed, too, in another way. One key ideological movement, known as theEnlightenment, was central to the American uprising. When American colonists won independence from Great Britain in the Revolutionary War, the French, who participated in the war themselves, were both close allies and key participants. New taxes were enforced, including the Sugar Act and the Currency Act, both in 1764. This lesson teaches you about self-government by using the social contract theory to analyze a class, family, or club membership contract. What were the causes of the American Revolution? During the war in North American colonies, some allied Frenchmen fought side by side with soldiers of the Continental Army, which allowed for the exchanging of values, ideas and philosophies. If the King could have accommodated himself to the existing state of affairs for America as he managed to do for England, there would have been the limited constitutional monarchy that Great Britain finally reached in 1832. Only after the American Revolution did people interpret it as a promise for individual equality. As a class, answer the following questions and have a brief discussion: Next, break the class into two groups and assign half of the class Thomas Paines Common Sense and half of the class John Dickinsons Letters from a Farmer. These profiles will allow students to jigsaw the information back together with other groups, so that each student gains insight into all four people listed. Then have students write a summary of the major contributions of each one. After all, this was the same year that Americans Second Continental Congress sent the crown the Olive Branch Petition, a last-ditch attempt to convince the King to back off so that the British subjects in the colonies could continue to live happily under his rule alongside their counterparts in England. Second, it declared void certain parts of the charter of Massachusetts, following a policy begun in New York in 1767, and so it virtually attempted to annihilate the protection of chartered rights and chartered liberties that has always been so dear to Englishmen. Define natural rights, rule of law, and popular sovereigntythe key principles at the core of the American Revolution. These revolutions were justified in terms of such ideas as "the rights of man" and "national independence," principles popularized by the American Revolution. Start your constitutional learning journey. British attempts to assert greater control over colonial affairs after a long period . Even though the British believed in mercantilism, Prime Minister Robert Walpole espoused a view of "salutary neglect." Until early in 1778, the American Revolution was a civil war within the British Empire, but it became an international war as France (in 1778) and Spain (in 1779) joined the colonies against Britain. Again Great Britain had recourse to acts of coercion. Not only did these issues lead to war, but they also shaped the foundation of the United States of America. All it's [sic] authority rests on the harmonizing sentiments of the day, whether expressed in conversation, letters, printed essays, or in the elementary books of public right, as Aristotle, Cicero, Locke, Sidney, & c.", Thomas Jefferson to Henry Lee, May 8, 1825. After you complete the readings, identify information that helps explain the factors that caused the American Revolution by answering the following questions: Share your answers with your peers and discuss as a group how these principles are in your lives today (or are lacking). Instead, however, of noting these tendencies, Grenville made a leading part of his scheme of government the passage of laws for raising revenue in America. The British, on the other hand, thought that the colonies were created to be used in ways that best suited the Crown and Parliament. They levied new taxes on the colonists and increased trade regulations. It is this that is meant above, in the statement that the struggle was not between nations, or for new principles. Philosophical foundations of the American Revolution. George III was by nature a despot; at heart he was another Stuart. You will also explore the root of the principlessuch as natural rights, popular sovereignty, rule of law, and the social contractthat influenced the American Revolution and led to the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. If these affronts to the colonists' dignity were not enough to ignite the fires of rebellion, American colonists also had to endure a corrupt justice system. The Revolution was in the minds of the people, and this was effected, from 1760 to 1775,in the course of fifteen years before a drop of blood was drawn at Lexington. Identify the factors that gave rise to the American Revolution. And tho we think America is lost: yet we wish to preserve this country, he wrote. In other words, no one is above the law. Be prepared to discuss your answers in a group and to ask your teacher any remaining questions. Neither aiming at originality of principle or sentiment, not yet copied from any particular and previous writing, it was intended to be an expression of the American mind, and to give to that expression the proper tone and spirit called for by the occasion. On Dec. 30 1776, one G.B. James Otis, "Rights of the British Colonies Asserted and Proved" (July 1764) . Write to Ciara Nugent at ciara.nugent@time.com. Why Did John Adams Defend Captain Preston After the Boston Massacre? Work in groups to review the information sheets on the following Ancient and Enlightenment Thinkers, who are from the classical world and the European Enlightenment, and whose ideas helped shape the American Revolution. The American Revolution was principally caused by colonial opposition to British attempts to impose greater control over the colonies and to make them repay the crown for its defense of them during the French and Indian War (175463). That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving . Students should process the important information about all four thinkers. American Revolution | Causes, Battles, Aftermath, & Facts We still find among us souls who are sensitive to freedom, souls that have not been swallowed by the insulting dominion of priests, the barbarous constriction of the inquisition and the blind, despotic monarchy, he wrote. Rule of Law: The rule of law is the basic idea that we have a neutral government of laws, not an arbitrary government of one person. Magazines, Or create a free account to access more articles, What British People in 1776 Really Thought of American Independence. Learning Objectives. The 19th Amendment: How Women Won the Vote, 2.2 Activity: Classical and Enlightenment Thinkers, 2.4 Video Activity: Declaration of Independence, Activity Guide: Key Terms - Principles of the American Revolution, 2.3 Activity Guide: Key Terms - Principles of the American Revolution, Info Brief: Declaration of Independence and the Preamble, Video Reflection - Declaration of Independence, 2.4 Info Brief: Declaration of Independence and the Preamble, 2.4 Video Reflection: Declaration of Independence, 2.4 Activity Guide: Key Terms - Version 2, Classroom Learning Materials: Civil Dialogue and Constitutional Conversations, 2.5 Primary Source: Thomas Paine, Common Sense (1776), 2.5 Primary Source: John Dickinson, Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania to the Inhabitants of the British Colonies (1768), 2.5 Primary Source: Declaration of Independence (Short list of grievances), a downloadable copy of the questions (with answer key), 2.6 Interactive Knowledge Check: Principles of the American Revolution, 2.6 Printable Knowledge Check: Principles of the American Revolution, Module 1: Constitutional Conversations and Civil Dialogue. Identify key principles of the American Revolution in significant sources from the era. All Rights Reserved. The terms of Continental Army service were only gradually increased from one to three years, and not even bounties and the offer of land kept the army up to strength. Definition (student friendly description of the item; usually teacher written), Characteristic (features that help students recognize, identify or distinguish the idea), Example (synonyms, concrete examples, term in action in their lives). The British had come to Concord to seize the military stores of the colonists, who had been forewarned of the raid through efficient lines of communicationincluding the ride of Paul Revere, which is celebrated with poetic license in Longfellows Paul Reveres Ride (1861). The Third Amendment was also inspired by the overreach of the British government. It may need a theocracy to lead a people out of barbarism; this may develop into a despotism with the power divided between kings and bishops; but a struggle is sure to come, and the people will gather about the King to make him a monarch, like Louis XIV, who really was an objective realization of the state. Then, because they were not satisfied with church ordinances, they were driven by Archbishop Laud to seek religious freedom across the sea. The legislatures were allowed to levy taxes, muster troops, and pass laws. But because the colonists were no longer trading-stations in their relations to the central government, they resisted even these restrictions. Critical Thinking, Journal of the American Revolution. The governor was made as absolute as a despot, and the form of government that was thus thrust upon Massachusetts was despotism such as Englishmen would not have endured even in the days of Henry VIII. In other words, no one is above the law. The geography of the colonies also contributed to the revolution. Ask students to share how their understanding of the terms changed from the beginning of the module to after they watched the video. I cannot for one, on any condition, give my assent to any of their measures in the prosecution of it, he wrote, worrying that many such measures would be proposed at Parliaments next session. For more than two hundred years the American Revolution defined our nation and the ideals to which it is dedicated. Still, there is another factor that must have eventually led to separation. He had the Parliament almost completely under his control in its legislation upon English questions, but in regard to the Kings colonies his will was supreme. While the French Revolution was a complex conflict with numerous triggers and causes, the American Revolution set the stage for an effective uprising that the French had observed firsthand. Then, complete the Activity Guide: Quote Analysis worksheet. This measure was too expensive, so once more all revenue taxes were repealed, except the one on tea, which was left to maintain the principle. The Root Causes of the American Revolution - ThoughtCo American Revolution | Teaching American History That took courage, but it also took powerful ideas. Now its time to apply what you have learned about the basic ideas and concepts covered. Reasons for the difficulty in maintaining an adequate Continental force included the colonists traditional antipathy toward regular armies, the objections of farmers to being away from their fields, the competition of the states with the Continental Congress to keep men in the militia, and the wretched and uncertain pay in a period of inflation. Liberty and self-government - the "principles of 1776," enunciated in the Declaration of Independence - were the goals of the Revolution; and, following 1783,they were lauded as the guiding doctrines of the new nation. The great majority became efficient soldiers as a result of sound training and ferocious discipline. Use the Info Sheet: Preamble Breakdown to show the principles. His imprisonment and the Boston Massacre were just two infamous examples of the measures the British took to crack down on protesters. Ooops. These principles helped to support the colonists claim for independence. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. The Price of Freedom: Speeches And Addresses. Essentially, it began as a disagreement over the way Great Britain governed the colonies and the way the colonies thought they should be treated.