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The Root Causes of the American Revolution

Essay Instructions:

Midterm Prompt:
Discuss the deep seeded causes of the American Revolution tracing its origins from the beginning of English colonization of North America (circa 1580-1600) and following its progress through the Revolutionary Era of the 1760s and 1770s. (You should be able to write this after completing Chapters 1-4 of America: A Narrative History.)
Just some thoughts regarding our first midterm essay:
First, always carefully edit and proofread; I do take in to consideration those kinds of errors. This is not an English class I know, but still many writing errors can distract from your discussion.
I’m not too much of a stickler on the exact format; just make sure you have either in-text MLA-style citations OR footnotes and a works cited page (even if you use only our textbook as a source).
So, you are certainly encouraged but not required to use other outside sources for this essay. This, I think, will help you simply not copy the text.
Now, getting to the real meat of the question:
Keep in mind always what you are asked here: basically the causes, long and short term of the American Revolution.
So, there is no need to talk about the war itself, once we get to about 1775, it has started and the discussion of its causes is, at least for my purposes here, complete.
Now, I also ask in the question for you to think about “deep rooted” causes of the revolution.
What I mean by this as there are some issues and situations that contribute to the colonists dissatisfaction over time with their roll and position in the English empire.
I’m not suggesting that right from the start in 1607 when Jamestown was founded that they were upset and wanting independence and revolution—that is far from true.
But, there were some things about the situation that in hindsight we can point to perhaps as, over the 170 years or so between the founding of the first English colonies in North America and the breakout of the revolution, contributing to that colonial dissatisfaction—kind of a slow burn if you will.
So then, while I am asking you to go back to the start of colonization, I only mean English efforts in North America—discussion of the French or Spanish or any other European powers is, for this discussion, irrelevant. It is the 13 English colonies that rebel and become the United States.
Also, when I say go back to early colonial times, I only mean what I’ve indicated here—just to the early 1600s or so.
So, do not start with Columbus or other early explorers and certainly do not go back to the early habitation of the Americas by what we now consider indigenous peoples.
What then to talk about?
Think of it in two parts — one before the event of the French and Indian War (1754-1763) and one after.
Before the French and Indian War is the earlier colonial period. This is where you would explore those kind of ideas and issues and situations that I called the slow burn issues.
Things that are not causing the colonists at that point to rise up but will sort of lay the ground work for their eventual grievances.
Let me give you some ideas:
Take these and explore how they work in this situation:
Policies of mercantilism,
Traditions of self government and autonomy,
Ideological movements like the enlightenment and great awakening.
Now after the French and Indian War:
Here we get to the era that everyone knows about and looks at leading more directly to the revolution.
After that war (French and Indian) British colonial policy shifts and we get all the acts we think of paving the road to revolution.
Caution here do not simply list acts like the Stamp Act or Sugar Act, etc. without explaining how they contribute to the colonists’ anger with the British.
And, note that there are other nuances besides just those certain laws being passed—think about what each of those new laws and acts represents, what fundamental ideas they are violating at least in the colonial mind.
OK, I think this should give you some good things to think about.
Midterm Essay Guidelines:
For full credit, answers must be written at a college level and in your own words. Do not simply copy the textbook. Be sure to answer the question completely. NOTE: Midterm essays and all assignments are meant to be open book. Don’t attempt to memorize every detail while reading. It’s more important to learn the information than to memorize it. The response to each midterm exam prompt needs to be no less than 750 words in length or about 2.5 pages in 12 point font. Use Times font in 12 point size, double spaced with 1 inch margins. Be sure to include footnote citations and works cited. Include an accurate word count at the end of the essay that does NOT include footnotes or works cited. Students should be sure their name is typewritten at the top corner of the assignment. No plagiarism is accepted.

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The Root Causes of the American Revolution
The American Revolution, also known as the Revolutionary War of 1775 to 1783, led to American emancipation from British colonial rule, marking the independence of the American people. Numerous events had pushed the colonies to an edge where they finally became fed up and were determined to revolt. The events leading to the war happened at different time intervals, and also took varied approaches, and were ignited by different events. The American Revolution did not just happen overnight but rather as a result of the causal chain of events, dating back to the early years when the British founded the North American colonies.
The founding of colonial America in the early 16th century certainly set the stage for the American revolution of the 18th century. English colonists had arrived in the New World a little later than the French, Spanish, and Dutch, with their earliest known settlement traced to Virginia in 1607. Unlike their predecessors, the English colonist had a rather different approach in interacting with the indigenous neighbors. They depicted some form of forceful English civility and strongly upheld Christian values. The intended civilization and conversion of the indigenous Americans into Christianity by the British settlers led to a brewing animosity between the English settlers and the indigenous neighbors. This was an utter violation of the native’s liberty. The English settlers did not only bring about Christian civility but also economic and political reforms, one of them being mercantilism that further fueled the quest for independence.
Mercantilism is a form of governance where the power is centralized and the government is in control of all economic activities, including the regulation of key industries, taxation, and even the provision of subsidies, mainly practiced by monarchs across Europe (Shi 152). The system took effect in 1651 and led to the imposition of strict tax laws and regulations, establishing global empires that enriched the mother country while depriving America of the opportunity to flourish. The Navigation Act established under the mercantilist system severely hurt the American economy as well as that of the allies, depriving them of free trade and eventually leading to a rebellion from the colonists. The rebellion against the oppressive system peaked in 1773 and eventually contributed to the outbreak of the American Revolution.
The removal of King James II and the subsequent ending of a monarchy in 1688 had an inspiration to the liberation of America from the British rulers (Shi 154). King James II had converted to Catholicism against the preferred religion that w...
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