Alright, now this paper is from Sept. 8th, and I don't remember the exact prompt, but he said around 1 1/2 to 2 pages (this was a bit over two pages when I handed it in, maybe a little close to 2 1/2).
The prompt was something along the lines of "Conduct a historical investigation of the causes that led up to the American Revolution."
This pasted really weird, but the only thing that it really takes away is where exactly I start and end paragraphs. Once again, I got a 5/25 (20%) on this, and I just... don't really understand.
The American Revolution was one of the most important upheavals in history, when the thirteen colonies in North America formed an alliance to break away from the rule of the British Empire. The question is, why did the colonies wish to break away from Britain? Was it because of the taxes as many historians believe, or was there a deeper reason below everything?
When studying the American Revolution, one must first look into the roots of the conflict. The most common reason for the entire conflict was the fact that the British Empire had imposed a large series of direct taxes, also known as the “Stamp Taxes” upon the colonies. The British then were determined to impose and incorporate new laws to enforce their rule and authority, which obviously was extremely unpopular in America. These new laws and taxes were some of the major driving forces for the colonies to attempt to abolish and establish a new government and country that would be separate from the British. The question is however, were these the main causes of the revolution itself, or were there other causes left buried underneath?
The colonies wished to break away from British rule because of unfair taxation and laws that enforced British rule to the point where it was almost viewed as a dictatorship by some. Although the extreme taxation and the strictly-enforced laws were the two driving causes of the revolution, other underlying causes had to also of been in play. Were the problems originally minor and kept behind closed doors, and then made public when they became more major to make Britain look like the sole antagonist? Perhaps the problems never were extremely major, and the two sides were never willing to work out the issue and resorted to violence?
As the taxes were enforced, and with many of the colonists unable to pay them, they had to resort to the production of their own necessities and resources to continue daily life. As time went on, the colonists learned how to manufacture and produce their own paper, glass, ink, and even paint. However, the colonists had to rely on Britain for many other goods that they simply couldn’t produce, the most notable of these being tea. The Thirteen Colonies had a huge market for tea, but since the soil and the climatic conditions did not suit the cultivation of the crop, they had no choice but to import it from Britain, which of course meant they were heavily taxed. This huge taxation over a highly sought-after good proves both that the original colonies seemed to have many growing pains and likely suffered economically because of all of the taxes and the fact that Britain was determined to solidify themselves as the ruler of the relationship between the two factions.
As a result of the extreme taxation imposed on the tea by the British Empire, the colonists responded with the Boston Tea Party, a political protest orchestrated by the Sons of Liberty. This protest involved the invasion of three British cargo ships and the destruction of the tea that was on board, with most of it thrown into Boston Harbor. As a result of this act of defiance, the British passed the Intolerable Acts, which further put them in the dark with the colonists. As the protests and taxes raged, so did the threat of war. Soon, blockades began on American harbors. When the dust settled however, the Colonists were the victors, and the Declaration of Independence was unanimously signed by all thirteen colonies to declare that they were now independent from the British Empire.
The Declaration of Independence gives all of the reasons why the Colonists, now known as the United States of America, wished and eventually did separate from the British Empire. The document makes countless references to “he”, who is King George III. The document goes on to list many bad things that King George had done to the colonies, such as “cutting of trade with all parts of the world” and “imposing taxes on us without consent”. King George caused many problems for the colonies, and when going into great detail in the Declaration of Independence, it is easy to see why the Colonists wished to break away and become independent.
Besides taxation and strictly-enforced laws, the Declaration of Independence proves that there were more causes besides those main two that caused the Colonists to seek independence from Britain. In the document, there are many points of where the British wronged the Colonists, including cutting off trade with most of the world, by quartering bodies of troops among them, and many more points. The fact in the matter is that although the taxation and laws were the main reasons for the revolution and eventual separation, they were not the only reasons, as the British Empire had harmed the Colonists in dozens of ways.
The American Revolution was one of the most important conflicts in world history. The British Empire had wronged the Colonists in many different ways, with the most notable being unfair taxation of all goods, the cutting off of trade with the rest of the world to force trade with them, and the presentation of many strict laws that were heavily enforced. The Declaration of Independence outlines all of the wrongdoings and shows how many problems that the Colonists had to face while under British rule. However, in the end, the Colonists were able to rise up from the problems they faced from the British, and have been an independent nation ever since.