Rivera, Jon
09/21/08
Was the American Revolution inevitable?
John Adams’ comment about how Americans were committed to independence long before the war in 1775, suggests that the American Revolution was inevitable. Within a dozen years of British’s victory, war broke out between British soldiers and Massachusetts militiamen at Lexington and Concord. The war cost British up to £122 million, so they taxed Americans with a Stamp Act. This Stamp Act was outrageous which lead to Americans rebelling. The British couldn’t control the situation and that became the beginning of the war in1775. Because of how the British acted, independence was first made a possibility then a likelihood.
In 1765, Grenville acted as prime minister for Americans. Parliament went ahead and adopted a Stamp Act in March of 1765. Under this Act, anything formally written must be on a special stamp paper, which a tax must be paid. This included wills, deeds, diplomas, almanacs, advertisements, bills, bonds, newspapers, playing cards and dice. This, in turn, made all the Americans respond negatively. They argued that their defense was supplied for by providing manpower, money and supplies to the British war effort. They also argued that they paid their own taxes. With the resentment of the Americans, most of the colonial assemblies adopted resolutions condemning the Stamp Act.
Some time in August, a mob attacked the house of a local man rumored to be responsible for collecting the tax. Then on the 26th, they damaged the houses of colonial officials and completely destroyed the home of the colony’s Lieutenant Governor. The Stamp Act was “rendered a dead letter by the autumn.”
American protestors wanted delegates to attend a Stamp Act Congress, which proposed a commercial boycott. American opponents of the Stamp Act would refuse to purchase British goods. This would put pressure on Parliament to revoke the act, which worked. In March of 1776, Parliament repealed the Stamp Act....