The Struggle to Victory

Independence is not achieved by wishes of freedom; it is achieved by the actions taken by the freedom fighters. The Revolutionary War was an example of the struggle that the American Colonists went through to gain their independence from their mother country England. The revolution lasted seven years but before the actual war, anger lingered in the colonies because of the unfair and abusive treatment received from England.

The spark of the revolution went way back to 1963 when the proclamation was effectuated (Doc1). After seven years of fighting in the French and Indian War, British came out victorious with the help of the colonists. Colonists were ecstatic to explore the new lands and establish west of the Appalachian Mountains, such as Louisiana, Rupert’s Land and the entire unknown (Doc1). The British then sent out troops that prohibited colonists to establish in the newly conquered land. This is what made the colonist start to pile up anger against the British.

Anger later arose when the British started charging taxes to pay for war costs of the French and Indian War. The first tax imposed was the Sugar Act, which charged an additional tax fee to sugar and molasses. The colonists had to pay this fee because of their high reliance on the production of rum. The Stamp Act then came into effect, which charged the colonists in any object made out of paper. The tax would differ depending on the importance of the documents: playing cards, per package had a one shilling fee, while a lawyer’s license was taxed for 10 pounds. The colonists reacted by creating the Sons of Liberty, which were a group of men that were against taxation without representation in the parliament, they protested and acted against the taxes. After this act came the Townshend, Tea, and Coercive Acts.

The Townshend taxed glass, paint paper and tea (Doc5). The colonists’ reaction to this tax was to boycott these goods, making the act be repealed. The Tea Act had a tax on tea, and the colonists reacted by buying the tea from the East India Company. The last Acts to be passed was the Coercive Acts, which stated that colonists had to house, feed, and clothe British soldiers (Doc4). The Boston tea party was a conspiracy, in which the colonists dressed like Native Americans, boarded a ship with a cargo of tea and threw it off the ship into the water (Doc6). The coercive acts also closed the Boston Harbor because of the Boston Tea Party and it also stated that British soldiers would be tried in England for their crimes.

The presence of the British soldiers made the tensions arise, especially the anger of the Young Patriots (Doc6). On March the fifth of 1770 some colonists and British soldiers were arguing, but the argument escalated quickly. The soldiers shot five defenseless colonists. This event was called the Boston Massacre, later illustrated by Paul Revere as a representation of propaganda (Doc6). In the drawing the soldiers are organized as if for battle formation while the colonists are defenseless in the ground (Doc6). This drawing would join the patriots together because it showed how the British are abusive towards the colonists who are unarmed and not fighting back (Doc6). In this representation of propaganda the colonists are favored because they are shown as defenseless and on a disadvantage (Doc6).

After the coercive acts were destroyed the first and second continental congress occurred. In the second continental congress George Washington wrote the official declaration of independence since in the first Continental Congress, King George the third ignored the Olive Branch Petition. The patriots were now ready to fight for their independence. That is when the battles led by George Washington begin to unravel until the victory of the Americans.

There were many events that led to the desperation of the colonists, which later led them to demand their independence. Many countries like America had to go through many struggles to notice the abuse of their mother country, and later gain their independence. Colonists did not give up even though they had the disadvantage of men, discipline, and resources; they arose from the ground until victory was achieved. Arising from the ground with nothing but the goal of victory, that was the life of the freedom fighters.