The American colonies had long wanted to be free from Britain. They felt that it was time to become an independent nation, which would consist of the thirteen colonies. Many reasons triggered this desire. The King, who ruled from Britain, imposed taxes that made them feel chocked. Issues that ranged from taxes to battle of Concord made the Americans agitated and impatient with the monarchial form of government. Various authors during and the period of revolution and in the contemporary society wrote about the different causes of the Revolutionary War in America and the fruits this war bore.
During the Revolutionary War, there were two groups of Americans. There were the loyalists and the patriots. In patriots and loyalists-choice of political allegiance by members of the Maryland’s proprietary elite, the difference between the two groups was brought out clearly. The enforcement of the British laws changed the system of paying minimum to no taxes to paying a lot of taxes to the point the colonists were left poor. This move triggered the colonists to anticipate political independence. They also desired to practice different religions and cultures that were different from the old method of holding ceremonies and performing rituals. All they wanted was a new country with a different cultural, religious and political system. This group consisted of the Patriots. There was yet another group that was loyal to the British King. Most of the members of this group had close ties with the landowners. There were, however, the neutral people who were neither patriots nor loyalists. Siding with the Patriots would make them seem rebellious to their King while becoming loyalists would make them conflict with the patriots. Consequently, they would get humiliated with others facing sanctions or even being banished from the community (Allan, 1972).
In one way or another, both the loyalists and patriots contributed towards the Revolutionary War. Some loyalists such as the Hutchinson’s sent letters in support of the Stamp Act that enforced a tax fee on materials that were of print form. The American Patriots did not understand why they had to publish their writings on paper that were produced in London. It was a way of extorting taxes from them, and they were not ready to stand it. Another of the reasons for the Revolutionary War was the Boston Tea Party that saw the colonies waste three ships of tea. The tea belonged to the British East India Company. The act was one of the moves employed by the patriot colonists to protest against the increased tax rates. These colonists were simply tired of paying taxes to the English empire; for this reason, they stopped buying goods from London to display their anger. The British government was however not pleased, and it is at this point that the Intolerable Acts were passed. The Intolerable Acts aimed at controlling the increased rebellion, therefore, bringing the colonists under control. The article also described Benjamin Franklin, a British loyalist who converted into a patriot therefore becoming one of the people to seek for independence for the Americans.
A world turned “Topsy Turvy” is yet another source that describes the Revolutionary War. It was written by a historian professor, Michael A McDonnell, after compiling the works of Robert Munford, who took part in the Revolutionary War. Robert’s work, as written by McDonnell, described the early years of the American Revolution. Aside from this, he also brought out the outbreak of the war and how the experience was for most soldiers and the dislike of aristocracy that followed the war. This was a story of how the patriots and the loyalists related. Robert described how the Patriots were attacked for taking that position. Robert himself was a victim, as he was regarded as a loyalist (Tory), despite his efforts to prove that he was a Patriot (Whig). Despite the allegations, he fought for Virginia, although he was not for the war. The American colonies were fighting the Britain’s rule of government that was considered harsh (McDonnell, 2004).
Thomas Paine wrote Common Sense in 1776, and he is considered as one of the founding fathers of the United States of America. His piece of work inspired the American rebels to declare their need for independence from Britain. The pamphlet required the readers to choose whether they were willing to remain under the leadership of the British government or to seek independence. To the loyalists and the people of England, this was an attack not only on the government, but also on the king himself. Thomas Paine was fed up with the corruption displayed by the British Court and intended to unite the colonies after separating them from England via Common Sense. His stay in England during his early life made him have the ability to capitalize on the situation in the colonies.
Paine knew Britain’s side of the story and their reasons for treating the colonies the way they did. His words, therefore, came at the right time to trigger the Patriots to demand their independence from Britain. The pamphlets elaborated the king’s brutal rule. He also referred to the British constitution as a sham. The monarchy only cared for the wealth of the crowned family and the wealthy and not the wealth of the colonies. For this reasons, Paine called upon the colonies to sabotage the calls for reconciliation with the British, as it would ruin the continent. He believed that the Patriots were more than capable of winning the war, and a delay would make the process much harder.
Common Sense circulation among the colonists was very high. It, therefore, had a high impact on the rebels and the breakout of the American Revolutionary War. The words in the pamphlets helped unite the colonies while at the same time angered them since they pointed out the British tyranny. The whole blame for all the misfortunes that took place in the colonies was laid by the British government. For these reasons, the people of the thirteen colonies were inspired to fight for their independence since there were several advantages of being so. According to “common sense,” the Revolutionary War was the only viable way through which the rebels would secure their way out from British tyranny (Paine, 1776). These pamphlets gave the colonies a reason to wage war against the British government and, therefore, a good primary source.
Thomas Paine’s Common sense did not go without being criticized. The loyalists were against the ideologies raised in the pamphlet. Charles Inglis, an Anglican clergyman, in particular, felt that there was no common sense in Thomas’ work. He even wrote articles that aimed to convince the Patriots that rebellion was not the way to go. In the true interest of America, Inglis listed the advantages of reuniting with the British government and the consequences of not doing so. His essay, The Deceiver Unmasked, does not support the Revolutionary War. In case the thirteen colonies decided to stay united to the colonies, there would be the restoration of peace and lives would not be lost during the bloodshed. The agricultural and commerce industry would boom again, and trade would continue to get protection from Britain, a nation that Inglis referred as the greatest in the world.
Doing otherwise according to this loyalist would bring about a horrid situation where thousands of people would be reduced to renounce their oaths of allegiance to the king of Britain. Most of them would end up losing their properties in America and for this, there would be disunity in America. All avenues that connected America to Britain would end up being closed, which would consequently lead to devastation and ruin, especially when Britain released its troops during the Revolutionary War. Inglis mentioned in his essay the issue of slavery. To him, this vice was even much worse that waging war against the British government. He called upon the two opposing sides to hold discussions on how the act would end (Inglis, 1776).
In conclusion, many reasons contributed to the revolutionary war. From the sources, the harsh British rule was the major trigger of the war. The American colonies did not support the rule imposed on them by their mother country. The taxes were too high to handle, and this resulted to them holding violent demonstrations to point out these issues. As a result, the government in London struck back with even more acts and due to this, the last hope of reconciliation was gone. It was, therefore, inevitable to have the revolutionary war.
References
Allan, A. A. (1972). Patriots and Loyalists: The Choice of Political Allegiances by the Members of Maryland’s Proprietary Elite. The Journal of Southern History, 238, 38: (2).
Inglis, R. C. (1776). The Deceiver Unmasked; Or, Loyalty and Interest United: In Answer to a Pamphlet Entitled Common Sense. New York: Samuel Loudon.
McDonnell, M. (2004). A World Turned 'Topsy Turvy': Robert Munford,The Patriots, and the Crisis of the Revolution in Virginia. The William and Mary Quarterly, 61: (2).
Paine, T. (1776). Common Sense. New York.
