The Road to Revolution: Chapter 6

 

Theme: The American Revolution occurred because the American colonists, who had long been developing a strong sense of autonomy and self-government, furiously resisted British attempts to impose tighter imperial controls and higher taxes after 1763. The sustained conflict over political authority and taxation, enhanced by American agitators and British bungling, gradually moved Americans from asserting rights within the British empire to open warfare with the mother country.

 

Discussion Questions:

 

Was the American Revolution inevitable? Could America have gradually and peacefully developed autonomy within the British Commonwealth, as Canada later did, rather than engaging in a violent revolt?

 

Were all American grievances really justified, or were the British actually being more reasonable than most Americans have traditionally believed?

 

What was the Revolutionary Movement really all about? The amount   of taxation? The right  of Parliament to tax?  The political corruption of Britain and the virtue of America? The right of a king to govern America? The colonies growing sense of national identity apart from Britain?

 

In 1775 which side would a neutral observer have expected to win --- Britain or the colonies? Why?