Background and Statement of Problem
• Also referred to as the United States War of Independence, the American Revolutionary
war is a rebellion whereby 13 Northern Britain colonies worn independence from the
British and went on to form the United States of America (Alden 17). Centuries later, the manifestations of the rebellion and its impacts still linger. What were the causes of the
American Revolution and what were the key events that led to this rebellion? There are
several factors however that played significant roles in the insurrection. The war commenced as a disagreement over how the British government treated and governed their colonies and how the colonies desired to be handled (Kelly, 1). The British believed that their colonies were meant to only serve the interests of the monarchy and the British parliament. However, the Americans had their independent ways of thinking which led to the upsurge of their resistance.
Aims and Objectives
• This thesis will aim at assessing the root causes of the American Revolution. To realize its objectives, the paper will examine the multiple events that made the Americans develop a divergent mindset and decide to form their government and boundaries. The
paper aims at determining the root causes of the American Revolution war in the
following levels;
• Assess how the British authorities governed their colonies including modes of taxation and regulations.
• Analyze the key events and happenings that led to the rebellion.
• Examine some of the grievances and objections that the Americans raised before the rebellion.
Research Questions
Some of the key research questions for this thesis include;
• What were the root causes of the American Revolution war?
• Were the American colonists’ decision to wage a war against the British authority and seek sovereignty justified?
• Was the American Revolution war a civil rebellion? If yes, what makes it a civil rebellion?
• What was the extent of the political participation of colonial Americans before the uprising?
Analysis of the Research Questions
• The American Revolution began as an open conflict between the Americans and the
British (Kelly, 1). Several other events led to the insurrection. For instance, it is
understood that a series of grievances such as lack of American representation in the
The British parliament, the Tea Act 1973 which enhanced the monopoly of British companies and
the Stamp Act 1965 which was the first direct tax that the British placed on colonies
(Boucher, 19).
• The American colonialists’ decision to wage a war against the British was a justified
approach because of how they were governed and subjected to double standards by the
British authority. For instance, the Tea Act 1973 was only meant to enhance the productivity and profitability of British companies. The policy was meant to limit the
operations of non-British companies by establishing a monopoly (Knollenberg, 1767).
Waging a war was a justified approach to air the American Colonialist grievances.
• It can be argued that the American Revolution war was not being battled within a single imperial state or political entity. The rebellion was a war between two realms (Ramsay,
45). The Americans did not feel like a part of the British colony. They were being taxed without representation in parliament (Ramsay, 47).
• The colonial American politicians were significantly limited in terms of political participation and governance (Morris, 53). The Americans had no elected members in the
national assembly to represent them and were only limited to local assemblies (Morris,
55).
Selection of a Sub-topic
• Unfair Taxation of the American colonialists. The issue of taxation of the American colonialists without representation in parliament is a subject of great concern to this thesis because it fashioned the foundations of the insurrection. The Americans were less
concerned about losing their money in the form of taxes to the British colonies (Alden
16). Their key concern was that they were unfairly subjected to tax and denied the legal procedures in the form of legislative representation in parliament to present and argue their grievances (Alden 17). The issue of taxation without representation was a major cry from independent-minded Americans years before the uprising commenced.
Works Cited
Alden, John Richard, and Robert Middlekauff. The American Revolution, 1763-1783. Harper &
Row, 1962.
Boucher, Jonathan. A View of the Causes and Consequences of the American Revolution.
Applewood Books, 2009.
Knollenberg, Bernhard. Growth of the American Revolution: 1766-1775. Free Press, 1975.
Martin Kelly. The Root Causes of the American Revolution. 2019. Accessed from: https://www
Morris, Richard B. The Era of the American Revolution. Ed. Richard Brandon Morris. Harper &
Row, 1965.
Ramsay, David. The History of the Revolution of South-Carolina from a British Province to an
Independent State.-Trenton, Collins 1785. Vol. 2. Collins, 1785.
Sample Solution
