One cannot say there is one cause to the American Revolution because there were many contributing factors. Historians argue that the revolution was political and the colonists were just trying to preserve their rights. Another view is that the colonists were concerned with economic issues. Others argue that distance and Great Britain's “benign neglect” made revolution inevitable. All are correct but some played greater roles than others.
The period known as “benign neglect” took place in the early 1700s before the thirteen colonies were prosperous. England neglected the colonies because it was in their best interest not to interfere. For example, a Roman Catholic man named Lord Baltimore founded Maryland in 1634. Townspeople soon established a proprietary system of self- government. This is just one example of what was achieved without the help of Great Britain. Similar advances happened throughout all the colonies. When New England along with the rest of the colonies began to prosper and set up more proprietary systems of self-government England began to take notice that the colonies could be used as a source of profit.
“Benign neglect” was an important aspect of the revolution. Without having been left alone for
Early America's economic situation with Britain was perhaps the leading cause of the revolution. The colonists generally prospered financially up to about the year 1660. Quality of life declines when you have less money. Colonists would have stayed on good terms with the British as long as they had money in their pockets and a healthy lifestyle.
Many Navigation Acts had been passed starting in 1650 but none were enforced until Britain noticed they could cash in on the now prospering economic system of the colonies. Mercantilism played this role. The idea of mercantilism was to achieve economic self-sufficiency by exporting more than importing. England viewed the colonies as an easy way to do just that.
After the Boston Massacre, when the British soldiers who had fired upon the crowd were brought to trial; American lawyers James Otis and John Adams defended them. In any other "revolution," these men would have been calling for the deaths of the offending soldiers. Instead, they were defending them in court.
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