An Economic Revolution

It has often been debated as to the true logic of the American Revolution. Contrary to popular belief, the American Revolution was not the result of on sole desire to be free from Britain. Instead, there were many schools of thought that contributed to the Revolution. It has often been debated as to which view of the revolution was the most influential. The Revolution was fought by those who not only wanted to be free from social oppression, but by those who wished to have economic freedom. The series of economic restrictions by Britain can be considered as one of the largest causes of the revolution.

While Britain had always exuded a large amount of economic control of the colonies, things most likely became heated when Britain imposed their taxes on the colonies, including the Sugar Act and Stamp Act which directly raised the taxes imposed on the colonies. This angered the colonies, causing them to cry out "No taxation without representation." The taxes were also symbolic of Britain's control over the colonies, which angered the colonists even more. This caused them to meet and form Stamp Act Congress in New York, to which many of the colonies sent representatives. Many colonies agreed not to import any British goods until the Stamp Tax was repealed. The colonists reacted against this new tax by forming the Sons of Liberty, a secret organization that utilized coercion to remove stamp agents from their posts.

After the repealing of the Stamp Act, Britain yet again came down on the colonists with the new Townshend Acts. These laws included special taxes on lead, paint, paper, glass and tea imported by colonists. In addition, the New York legislature was suspended until it agreed to quarter British soldiers. This sparked a boycott against the British government by the colonies, causing imports from Britain to drop by almost 50 percent. This also brought up attacks on colonial officials by the Sons of Liberty", Lord Hillsborough, Secretary of State for the Colonies, dispatched approximately 4,000 to restore order in Boston. The daily contact between British soldiers and colonists served only to worsen the strained relations between the colonies and Britain.

The British parliament repeased the Townshend duties on all items but tea. Falling colonial imports and raising opposition convinced the British government that its policies were not working. The British government, led by Prime Minister Lord North,