History Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 3

History - Assignment Example It was the â€Å"’cruel necessity’ that made independence unavoidable† (Maier, 1997) and the â€Å"painful and harrowing† (Thomas, 2001) genesis resulted from the American Revolution. The primary cause for the revolution then was the taxes to claim ‘unlimited jurisdiction’ over the Americans. This began with the Stamp Act. For some, there were impelling economic reasons to remain within the empire for security, but especially during the war after the debacle at Quebec, the American Prohibitory Act which shut all trade with the colonies was perhaps ‘the nail in the coffin’ that â€Å"put the two Countries asunder† (Richard Henry Lee). The later hiring of mercenaries only outraged Americans towards the Crown. The other dimension that made revolution necessary was the British mishandling of their colony, and therefore the need to â€Å"sever ties with a long colonial past† (Ferling, 2004). â€Å"The Royal Navy had bombarded and burned American towns, and the colonists’ commerce had been nearly shut down by a British blockade† (Ferling, 2004). It is the war that enabled the final break because it transformed â€Å"the colonists’ deep-seated love for Britain into enmity† (Ferling, 2004). The hostilities also brought on massive unemployment, heinous cruelties, slave insurrections, and the spread of diseases. The anti-independence faction being ‘the dullest and slowest of sailors’ still needed convincing, as they feared retaliation the most, but eventually it was clear that the sword of the war was ‘opening their veins’ and this compelled Americans to fight for their freedom. At the time of the revolution, those who remained loyal t o the British crown only constituted a third of the colonists. Another third that were ‘true blue’ were prepared to fight the British redcoats arriving in New York. Success had already been achieved in Boston. However, what really precipitated the