Authors
Note: When I write I like to find the real meaning of the event, I like to take
a deeper look into the situation and find the real reason we study it. To me
this gives a purpose to writing about history, not just a bunch of dates and
battle names all thrown in a paper. That is really what I worked on when I
wrote my Revolutionary War Paper.
The
original thirteen colonies were always considered a part of England but as the
colonies grew to be successful, strong, and more independent, they started to
lean less on England and focused more on the thriving region of America. Major
events provoked the development of freedom of the press, and lead America to
having the courage to declare war against the strong nation of England.
Boston started to see themselves as a separate entity so when
England raised taxes they didn’t think twice before not obeying the laws. On
April 5, 1764, England Parliament passed the Sugar and Molasses Act. This act
would soon affect the colonies economy causing the rum industry to have a total
decline that would reduce trade with many countries. One year later, March 22,
1765 yet another act was about to be put into action in the colonies. This act
was called the stamp act; it required the colonies to pay a tax on every piece
of printed paper they used.
Some tax increases were discussed and agreed upon by the colonies
representatives, but not for this act. If this taxation was allowed to pass
without discussion among the representatives, the colonists knew that England
would tax them even more.
March 5, 1770 patriot protestors were protesting
the occupation of the British soldiers that were sent to Boston to enforce
taxation. British soldiers took stand and held loaded guns. Colonists reacted
by throwing rocks and sticks, that hit Private Hugh Montgomery which caused
Montgomery to shoot. Seconds later British soldiers shot their guns and when it
ended 5 colonists had died. The Boston Massacre rallied the colonist.
Colonies started to prepare for any surprise attacks by the
British. Farmers, blacksmiths, and citizens of all sorts from the colonies took
precaution gathering guns and weapons to form a militia. British Solders
occupied New York and were ordered to seize all guns from the forming militia.
April 7, 1775, news spread during the night that the British were coming to
Lexington to complete their task of seizing all guns from the militia. Paul
Revere, a blacksmith and entrepreneur, heard the rumor of the traveling
British. Paul Revere then rode his horse in the middle of the night to
Lexington. Once he reached the town he warned the militia that the British were
coming. When the British arrived to Lexington all colonists had vanished taking
all weapons and gun powder with them.
In May
1773 England was upset at the colonies for not paying taxes, so they taxed tea.
Tea was a staple for the colonies so England knew that they could do nothing
but pay the taxes that were put in place, but England thought wrong. The
colonists were so enraged with the tax prices on tea that they wanted to do
more to disobey the law. On December 16th, 1773 200 colonists
disguised as Indians intruded on boats that were docked in Boston’s Harbor.
Those boats carried a million dollars worth of tea. The colonists broke and
threw overboard all of the tea that was found on the three ships. The next
morning the damage was very noticeable and the news of the Boston Teas Party
spread fast around the colonies. After England found out about the disaster
that occurred in Boston they demanded that the harbor must be shut down in
which caused many workers to be out of work.
Many
times as Americans when we study U.S. history we suppose that the events that
took place in the time period just happened because they did. We fail to
realize that this is not the case. The Boston Tea Party for example was a
deliberate scheme that was very well thought out. Colonists in Boston didn’t
damage millions of dollars worth of tea just because they were mad at England.
Hidden inside the terrible crime of the colonists is a strategy we fall short
of noticing. The idea of war against England was debatable amongst all the
colonies. The real reason of the Boston Tea Party was to bring awareness of
England’s tax increases. The southern colonies didn’t want war. They were fine
owning their land and slaves. By having a huge event that occurred news spread
around the colonies. People started to second guess themselves about staying
united with England. The Boston Tea Party joined thirteen colonies into
one nation.
Joining
these very different and unique colonies was a challenge but with the method of
writing and freedom of the press, news of the happenings in Boston could be
shared. The need of Freedom of the press was very significant in the colonies.
Unlike England, the colonists could publish their own opinions in a newspaper
and deliver it to all of the colonies, in which they did. Famous writer and
publisher Thomas Pain, was very involved in putting the spirit into the written
word. In 1776 Paine published “Common Sense” a piece that openly asked for
independence from Great Britain.
Reading
was a major part of Colonial life ever since the Puritans landed at Plymouth
Rock. Colonists read articles in the newspaper like “Common Sense” all the
time, so opinions of people were always being shared. In the colonial period
freedom of the press was crucial to igniting the Revolutionary War. Without
communication through newspaper and writing, the original thirteen colonies
would have never joined into one nation and made a decision to break off from
England.
When
you dissect the Revolutionary War and look past the battles you’ll notice the
events that occurred before the Revolutionary War were far more significant
than we think. These were well calculated, intellectual plans that took place,
and without them the history of America would not be the same. If America never
declared war we would still be a part of the strong nation we know as England.
