The American Revolution, 1750-1776

The conflict between Great Britain and the North American colonies was rooted as an economic problem as opposed to a social or political problem. For the most part, people believe that this conflict was started over the colonists not agreeing with the British authority but instead, it was started over money.

The Writs of Assistance were orders that were assigned by law enforcement officers that told you to do something. Someone who did not in the least bit support these orders was James Otis. He was a patriotic Massachusetts native and a lawyer. (Document A) Otis did not like these orders because he thought that it wasn't fair to the colonists to be given orders from another country (Britain) to be fulfilled in the colonies. He believed that orders given by mother Britain, should be fulfilled in mother Britain. If the Writs were used properly, and occasionally instead of all the time, then the colonists had no problem with it. The British government began to gain unfair power through the Writs because they started to become easier to create. This made the colonists angry and contributed to the conflict in an political manner.

The Stamp Act Resolution was an order issued by congress that made it mandatory to buy stamps which taxed most paper goods. These taxes were put into play because Britain needed money to pay off their debts and to help fund their military. (p.129) This added to the conflict in a political and economic manner. Part II of the Stamp Act Resolutions claims that the loyal colonists were treated the same way that the British were treated. This of course, was not true. (Document B) Both the loyalists and the patriots were treated the same way, but this was different from the British subjects. The Prime Minister at the time was George Grenville. He was not very popular among the colonists because he found all of Britain's acts fair. The colonists had a problem with all of this because they thought that they should be able to tax themselves and that it was against their rights as Englishmen if they couldn't. (p.129)

The Sons of Liberty was part of the social and economic factors that contributed to conflict. They were a bourgeoisie. That means they were a part of the upper middle class. They were just your everyday sort of people. Their occupations included merchants, blacksmiths, carpenters, window workers, coach makers, sadlers, butchers, schoolmasters, and glass grinders. These are everyday sort of jobs. (Document C) These men were bonded together with their patriotic spirit and wish to separate from Britain.

Sam Adams added to the social aspect of conflict contribution. He started the Massachusetts Committee of Correspondence. They gathered to oppose most of what the British did. The first one was hosted in 1772. He was a very strong patriot who believed that the colonists should have the same rights as Englishmen. Also, he believed in religious tolerance with the exception of Papists. (Document F) Papists were extremely strict Roman Catholics who was part of the 1/3 of the population that was apathetic.

Benjamin Franklin contributed to the economic aspect of conflict starting. In an interview with him, he discusses the colony's trade. He talks about how the British is trying to control all of the trade that involves the colonies, but for the most part they are just trying to control