Why the American Revolution Happened

The American Revolution is arguably one of the most influential events in the history of mankind. Because of what happened during this revolution, the world is a lot better and a lot more advanced. If the United States of America hadn’t declared independence from Britain, the freedoms that are present today in this nation would not be present in today’s world. No decent person delights in war. The vast majority of the population of America didn’t want to see death conquer the world with much blood spilt. However, when in the course of human events, war and revolution become necessary to the advancement of mankind. Sacrifice is what brings forth future blessings, and revolution is a sacrifice. Even though thousands had died when the war was over, it was still worth it.

In 1620, more than a hundred and fifty years before the American Revolution, a group of humble pilgrims landed at Plymouth, Massachusetts. These pilgrims weren’t just coming to America for fun—they had to make many sacrifices to make their exodus to the Promised Land. Back in England, where they had sailed from, the pilgrims had been oppressed and denied their rights. For the most part, these pilgrims didn’t have many problems with England, with the exception of one major tribulation: they were being denied their right to worship God. The pilgrims knew that the way that the king of England forced them to worship God was wrong, and they each had a burning desire for religious freedom in order to worship their God in the way that they believed was right and true. This burning desire was evident in each of their sacrifices to come to the new world, and this desire would also live on long after the pilgrims died; even to the point where these desires would have an impact on the revolution of Americans and ultimately on the history of the known world. Revolution was a long way off, but the desires of Americans stood the test of time.

“No taxation without representation!” was the sound that rang all over Boston 150 years after the pilgrims landed in Plymouth. After the end of the French and Indian War, the British Parliament had passed many acts taxing the colonists for compensation for the war, but this strategy was not working at all. It only riled up the colonists, and on one winter night in 1773, the Sons of Liberty of Boston had had enough. Led by none other than Samuel Adams, who was one of the most influential patriots of the revolution, the Sons of Liberty stormed onto a ship carrying tea imported from India, dumping all the tea they could get their hands on into the harbor. This event stiffened the resolve on both sides of the revolution, and it certainly had an impact on the push towards independence.

“Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!” Patrick Henry spoke powerfully in Richmond, Virginia. Henry was helping to push the cause of liberty towards success by using his powerful voice of sparked patriotism. The colonists decided that it was time to take action, so they called together a convention at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The Second Continental Congress of the United States convened in 1775. Led by the Massachusetts-born John Hancock, the congress succeeded in appointing a commander-in-chief to lead the rebellion against Great Britain, and George Washington was undoubtedly the perfect man for the job. Washington was sent off to Boston, and it soon became clear to each of the colonists that officially declaring independence from Britain was necessary. The Continental Congress answered the call, appointing a committee which included men such as Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson to write a first draft of the declaration.

At this time, King George III was making a choice. He could either give the colonists what they wanted or he could attempt to hold off their rebellion. I don’t see why he chose the latter. The only thing that the colonists wanted was the freedom to live in peace, and that was easy for King George to give them. If he would have backed down early and altered or abolished the colonists’ taxes, his kingdom would have easily continued to include the thirteen colonies. Instead, George chose war. The reason for the American Revolution is evident: the colonists wanted to live in peace under Britain, but they would not tolerate taxation without representation, which to them was tyranny.

In the end, the Declaration of Independence was adopted by the Second Continental Congress, which dissolved the political bands between the colonies and England. The Revolutionary War was miraculously won by the American forces, and a new nation was later established under the U.S. Constitution. Without the American Revolution, this new nation would never have existed, and if the nation hadn’t existed, this world would be a lot worse than it now is. The revolution was hard, but it was worth it.

Three Main Events That Led to the Revolution

There are many events that lead to the American Revolution. All of these events worked in harmony. The revolution could not have happened if one of these events was left out, or didn’t happen. Although, through history, every event that happens is important, some events prove to be more important than others. Through all of these events that happened before the American Revolution, I am going to choose three events that I believe are the most important, tell what happened, and write why these events were more important than the rest. The three events that I believe were the most important were the Boston Massacre, the battles at Lexington and Concord, and the gathering of the Second Continental Congress.

The first event I chose was the Boston Massacre. The first thing we need to know before we can say if it is important or not is what happened. There are many myths and stories about the Boston Massacre, and the people who were involved alone know what really happened. You see, a ton of soldiers were sent from Britain to enforce laws in Boston. The Bostonian colonists hated being watched and told what to do all of the time by the soldiers. So one day, a group of them decided to go harass a group of soldiers. Nobody really knows what happened. Some say they had clubs and were coming to beat the soldiers. Some say they threw snowballs at the soldiers. Some even say the colonists had guns, but at one point the British soldiers felt threatened enough that someone yelled “fire” and they started shooting at the colonists. In the end, five colonists were killed. The colonists complained that they were helpless, and that the soldiers had started shooting at them. This story was publicized everywhere in the colonies, and it made the colonists furious, especially because there was death involved. So the soldiers were tried for murder in court. Nobody would defend them, so John Adams decided to. He probably did it because he felt that the soldiers were done wrong to as well, and they deserved a fair trial (that is one of man’s unalienable rights). Anyway, John Adams was such a good lawyer that the British soldiers were actually found innocent. This made the colonists even more mad (some especially at John Adams)! Paul Revere even carved a picture of the British soldiers shooting at the Bostonians. Now, this event was a very interesting one. The most important thing I am trying to prove, though, is not that it is interesting, but that it is more important than other events that happened before the Declaration of Independence was written. The main reason this event is more important is that it made the colonists furious towards Great Britain! If the colonists weren’t mad at Britain, would they want to become independent? No! This event made the colonists mad at Britain, and helped them develop a burning desire to break away from Britain! That is why this event was more important.

The Boston Massacre

 The next event I decided was more important than the others were the battles at Lexington and Concord. What happened was the British soldiers heard that the colonists were storing weapons at Concord, which was close to Boston, Massachusetts. So they sent an army of soldiers to Concord to destroy the weapons. The colonists, however, weren’t too happy about it. They thought that they should have the right to store weapons. So while the soldiers were marching, the colonists gathered together to fight them. They did it very sneakily, hiding in the bushes and behind trees, and they took out the soldiers as fast as they could before the British soldiers could start to shoot back. So this was the first real battle of the American Revolutionary War between the colonists (or Americans) and the British. So why was this event so important? Well, like I said before, because this was the first real battle of the war. The Americans (or colonists at this point) hadn’t even declared independence from Great Britain yet. So this was very important because it set the tone for declaring independence. It set the presence for the war. If this event had not happened, we might not have even had a war against Britain. That is why this event has more importance than the others.

The Battle of Lexington and Concord

The final event I mentioned was probably more important leading into the colonists declaring their independence than the Boston Massacre or the battle at Lexington and Concord. This event was the meeting of the Second Continental Congress. This is more important than all of the others because if this event didn’t happen, we would not have declared independence from Great Britain. This is what happened here: representatives from the colonies all met in Philadelphia to decide what to do after the battle of Lexington and Concord. They debated for a long time on what to do. Some said they needed to declare independence, but some said if they declared independence, the greatest army in the world would attack them and they would perish. So they just needed to talk with Britain and work out the problems. The others weren’t giving up on the independence idea, though. There were some main players in the Congress that helped us declare our independence, like John Adams. He pushed a lot for independence, and was forceful and stubborn in convincing the others to help declare independence (stubborn isn’t always bad). Part of this was probably because he was from Boston, and had seen all of the action happening there. He helped convince some of the southern states, who weren’t motivated to break away from Britain, change their minds. One of the first things this Congress also did was appointed George Washington as commander-in-chief of the army and navy, so he left early to Boston to be with the troops. So the Congress moved to declare independence. They also appointed a group of five people to write it: John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Roger Sherman, and Robert Livingston. Thomas Jefferson wrote the rough draft, and John Adams and Benjamin Franklin helped him make some changes to it before they brought it to Congress (by the way, John Hancock presided at this Congress). They made many changes to the Declaration before they signed it. It was voted for on July 2, and signed on July 4. When King George heard this, he sent a death sentence to anyone who was involved. This was so important because if this Congress hadn’t met, they wouldn’t have signed the Declaration of Independence and they would not have declared independence. This is why this was the most important event that happened before the American Revolution.

The 2nd Continental Congress

So those are the three events that are most important: the Boston Massacre (because it made people mad and gave them a fire for independence), the battle of Lexington and Concord (because it started the war), and the Second Continental Congress (because they officially declared independence from Great Britain by writing one of the most influential documents ever written). I am glad that these events happened so our founding fathers could break away from Great Britain, start the American Revolution, and eventually win the war.