Assignment范文-美国革命的起因

www.lxws.net Assignment范文-美国革命的起因American Revolutionary WarWhat caused the American Revolution?The American Revolution was motivated by many different reasons. The citizens living in the American colonies at the time were driven by many factors that lead them to declare independence from Great Britain. Some of these factors include social, cultural, economic, and political issues, among others. However, the main cause for the American Revolution that is taught over and over in history classes in the modern day is that the colonies did not accept Great Britains tyrannical rule and wanted independence from the British empire in order to govern themselves. While this is true, a mix of other internal and external problems influenced the war and the outcome of it. Two historians that have studied the American Revolution extensively are Bernard Bailyn and Ben Baack, and they have studied the war from an economic and political standpoint. There are many viewpoints of how and why the American Revolution was caused, but the economic and political perspectives of this particular war are not commonly studied, although they were two of the most important factors. These two opposing viewpoints have similarities in addition to their differences, but overall the most important factor concerning the American Revolutionary War was the economic restrictions Great Britain placed on the American colonies.There are many opposing views of the causation of the American Revolutionary War. Most commonly, it is known as the war between Great Britain and the American colonies over the colonies desire for independence from Great Britains rule. There are various theories about the causes and effects of the American Revolutionary War over different periods all throughout history. The best known theory about the cause of the war is that after a long period of salutary neglect, in which trade regulations for the colonies were loosely enforced and British supervision of internal colonial affairs was restricted (Wallenfeldt, Salutary Neglect), the American colonies then rejected the British governments attempts to assert greater control over colonial affairs at a later time. The British governments attempts at control were basically imposing strict and harsh taxes on the colonies.The British Parliament continued to impose new laws and taxes on the American colonists in order to finance the heavy costs of war against other foreign countries. For example, in 1764, the British government imposed the Sugar Act, which increased the tax on sugar and other imported goods such as textiles, coffee, wine, and dyes. In 1765, the Stamp Act was the first direct tax on the American colonies: all printed materials were to be taxed including newspapers, pamphlets, bills, legal documents, licenses, almanacs, dice, and playing cards. These two acts were met with the greatest amount of resistance by the American colonists.Bernard Bailyn is a Harvard University professor, and he has taught there since 1949. He has written many books about the American Revolution and the time period surrounding the war. Bailyns writing has changed the way early American history has been perceived as well as emphasizing the influence of ideology and radical republican ideals on the Americans that lead the Revolutionary War. He argued that British Whig ideologies had a large impact on the thinking on the leaders of the American Revolution and the colonists strongly believed in liberty and freedom, and independence from a tyrannical government. In 1967, Bernard Bailyn wrote The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution, which was a study of the American political pamphlets and their creators during the Revolutionary time period. According to Bailyn, radical ideas about power, liberty, and fears of conspiracy by the British government to take over the colonies freedom completely propelled the American colonies into the Revolution to gain their freedom. Bailyns analysis concluded that the American patriots very strongly believed that the British monarchy was in fact a tyranny the colonists had no say in how they were governed and that they intended to take away their freedom. A central belief of the American patriots was that republicanism and liberty were not used as propaganda, but were rather real ideas that most, if not all, colonists believed in.American colonists wanted to be able to make their own choices rather than have the British monarchy impose strict laws on them and in turn eventually lose control over their government, which they had created in the British empires period of neglect. In this case, resistance was necessary and vital in order to secure the safety and well being of the American colonies, their freedom, and the people living there. Then, Bailyn went on to discredit Charles A. Beards theory that the American Revolution was, in reality, a war between the social classes living in the colonies and that liberty meant