Follow-Up Posts
Compare your selections and analysis of those selections with those of your peers below. If they chose different acts, examine how yours are similar and/or different.
If they chose the same acts, build on their posts by providing additional information about the acts that you have not already noted in your own post.
Peers Post:
The Stamp Act is the first leading cause of the Revolutionary War that I chose. Passed by the British government in 1765 on the American colonies, this sparked a lot of anger amongst the colonies as anyone who had anything printed on paper, had to also buy a revenue stamp (OpenStax, 2019). In Virginia, they had the only printer in the colony, so this caused only certain information to be printed, and the royal governor, that had control over the printer, was persuaded by certain people to print what they wanted everyone to hear (Mellen, 2012).
The Townshend Act is the second leading cause of the Revolutionary War that I chose. It was proposed by Charles Townshend, the chancellor of the exchequer, in 1767, and placed taxes on exported goods like paper, tea, glass, and paint (OpenStax, 2019). He proposed this Act in hopes that it would help support the British military. This didn’t anger people so much, as it was an exported good that they were having to pay taxes for, and not local goods.
I feel that The Stamp Act was the most significant, in my opinion, of the two because it was the first act passed that caused such an uproar amongst the American colonies and the British government. There were so many things that played a role in that time with the number of printers, and the material that was being printed, that it only made matters worse.
The Declaration of Independence was very significant in the development of the American Revolution. The American colonies were tired of having to answer to the British government, along with paying taxes for everything that had passed an Act on. While Thomas Jefferson was writing the Declaration of Independence, speaking of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and that everyone would be equal, he himself had over 100 enslaved persons. The Americans were beyond ready to be out from under British rule, and The Declaration of Independence helped them achieve that.
