THE
AMERICAN WAR OF INDEPENDENCE
v INTRODUCTION
The war
of American independence was an event of national and international
significance. It was an outcome of the
domineering and ruler ways of the English king, George iii. It was also due to the uncompromising spirit
of independence of the colonists.
v BRITISH TRADE MONOPOLY
The trade
monopoly of Britain was detrimental to the economy of America. America was prohibited from producing things
like hats, steel woolen or iron products which might compete with English
industry. England regarded the colonies
as markets for her finished products and also the sources of raw materials for
her factories. The American colonists could
not tolerate the interference in their trade.
v NAVIGATION ACT
The
colonists were irritated by the navigation act of 1660 according to this act
all goods to and from the colonies had to be carried in English ships. It prohibited America from importing cotton,
sugar tobacco hide and ship building materials from any county other than England
and it also provided that all goods from America were too be exported only
through England.
v STAMP ACT
In 1765 George
Greenville, the prime minister passed the stamp act, which provided that all
the legal documents in America were to be stamped. The money raised by this taxation had to be
spent on maintaining the standing army in America. The colonists protested against the act. They felt that the standing army was not
necessary and so the stamp act was unnecessary.
Their slogan was; no taxation without representation. Men like William pit realized the seriousness
of the situation and made the parliament repeal the act in 1766.
v BOSTON MASSACRE
Charles
Townshend in 1767 imposed a series of customs duties on paper, paint, glass and
tea. As the people resented, the duties
on other things except tea were repealed.
The rebels continued their agitation to with draw the duty on tea
also. So the police fired at the rebels
and five were killed. This was described
as 'Boston massacre’ by the American newspapers.
v BOSTON TEA PARTY
Lord North
passed the tea act, which allowed the east India Company to send its tea
directly to America and sell it there. Though
the tax imposed on that team was very marginal, the Americans considered it as
trade interference. So, when the English
ships arrived at the port of the Boston, some local men disguised as red
Indians, entered the ship and threw the tea into the sea. This event was known as the famous Boston tea
party.
v THE REACTION OF THE ENGLISH
GOVERNMENT
The British government took repressive
measures. The Boston port was closed
down. The charter of Massachusetts was
cancelled. The Quebec act granted
religious freedom to the Canadian Catholics.
v CONTINENTAL CONGRESS;
The
colonists felt that it was high time for them to fight for their
independence. So the representatives of
all the colonies. Except Georgia, met at
Philadelphia in 1774. This gathering,
held by George Washington was called the first continental congress. They issued a declaration of rights and
decided to meet again in 1775.
v THE BEGINNING OF OTHER WAR
General Gage
came to know about the gathering of arms at concord by the colonists, so he
sent his troops to confiscate the arms.
By the time the troop’s reached Concorde, the arms had disappeared. On their return journey they were attacked by
the American army and thus the war of independence began.
v THE COURSE OF THE WAR
The
American army was headed by George Washington. Though they had initial defeats,
the soldiers gained experience and were able to beat the British army at the
end. The congress met again at
Philadelphia and issued the unanimous declaration of independence on July 4th
1776. It was drawn by Thomas Jefferson
and it laid stress on the inalienable rights of men such as life, liberty and
the pursuit of happiness. Washington
defeated the English army in 1777 and the English surrendered at Sara toga.
France, Spain and gland joined America and Russia formed and armed neutrality
against the British. Finally in 1781 the
English surrendered to the American army at Yorktown.
v CAUSES FOR THE BRITISH DEFEAT
The chief
reason for the defeat was the British government had to conduct its campaigns from
3000 miles away. The area of fighting was
large and the English soldiers had no experience of fighting in colonial
conditions. Lord North, the prime
minister was incompetent. France joining
America was a great shock to England.
The American had the able leadership of George Washington.
v EFFECTS OF THE WAR
The will
of the people outweighed the wishes of the kings. The war of American independence, agreed
event in history resulted in the birth of a new mighty nation. The French soldiers got inspiration from the
American Revolution. The Americans showed in practice that a revolution was justified to change the government that had
become popular. The thirteen colonies
had become independent and George Washington was the first president of
America.
The
American Revolution had its impact on British politics. The people had realized that their
participation in the administration was essential for their welfare, so they
started agitating for parliamentary reforms.
The American victory had taught a political and moral lesson to the domineering
England.
v CONCLUSION
The war
American independence made England realize the hazards of unreasonable
exploitation of its colonies.
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