History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

History - Essay Example This paper will highlight the causes of the revolution and how the changes brought about by the revolution affected freed black Americans. In addition, the paper will discuss the rise of Massachusetts and Virginia. The French and Indian war had negative effects on Britain. Although Britain went home with victory, the victory came at a prize. It had exhausted most of its finances. Consequently, in 1763, America had enormous debts to settle. Britain sought to formulate strategies that would help it settle the debts. It is at this time that they exposed the colonies to extremes of oppression. The government began a search of all trade routes identifying the smugglers who avoided the heavy taxes levied on the route. This affected American traders mostly. The sugar act also came into place requiring Americans to pay tax at a time when economic times were hard. The colonists worsened the situation with the banning of production of the American currency. Moreover, the colonists expected the Americans to provide the British troops with accommodation in act called the quartering act. The Americans opposed all these acts but the colonists multiplied them. In 1765, introduction of the stamps act that required Americans to pay tax on all paper products sold made their opposition fierce. Their opposition involved a boycott on all American goods. The colonies reasoned that it was unfair for them to suffer from the oppressive acts of a government in which they did not have a representative. However, the imperial government fueled their opposition by introducing an additional import tax and more boycotts resulted. In addition, other restrictions after the some colonial leaders attacked a vessel and interfered with tea on the Boston port after a monopoly allowed a tea company to dominate America. The thinking of American people was changing with time. Most of the people were reading literature that highlighted the making of social contracts and were slowly adopting liberalism a nd other schools of thought highlighted in the enlightenment literature. In addition, some revolutionary clergy had committed to teaching the truth about equality and this prompted the people to oppose any form of oppression from the colonial government. In 1794, the people formed an association that would tie them together to fight for their liberty. All these factors mentioned led to the rise of the revolution in 1775 (Frank 43-49). Rise of Massachusetts and Virginia These two colonies proved to have different structures by 1700. Background information reveals that the two colonies emerged through the efforts of English colonists who had left their home country due to unrest. Puritans who ran away from the different forms of harassment they faced in their country set up Massachusetts with its capital at Salem. The colony was independent of any rule or joint ventures with other colonies. The puritans introduced a hierarchical system that determined religious and family leaders. The colonists in Massachusetts emphasized sharing between the rich and poor. The colonists intended to create a society that promoted equity. In this colony, slave systems did not exist. Instead, the colony depended on children and members of the family structure to provide the necessary labor. Native American in this colony preferred to sell land and adopt the puritan lifestyle. In this colony, fathers assumed the role of managing and supervising the