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Factors Leading to Colonial Rebellion in 1776

            In the year 1650, American colonists began to express unrest due to Britain's tight control over them. After the French and Indian War, ending in 1763, the colonies were outwardly rebelling against the crown. The restriction of civil liberties was an important factor leading to rebellion in the year 1776, however the legacy of colonial ideas and Parliamentary taxation played a more prominent role.
             One of the factors contributing to rebellion in 1776 was the restriction of civil liberties. The liberties of the colonies were limited beginning in 1650 with the passage of the Navigation Acts. Britain believed in mercantilism, the idea that a country's wealth was measured in gold and silver and wealth was power, this put a damper on the economy of the colonies. The colonies were only to trade with Britain and any colonist thought to be smuggling was guilty until proven innocent. This injustice infringed on the basic liberty of innocent until proven guilty. Years later, Britain passed the Proclamation of 1763 which said that colonists could not move west of the Appalachian Mountains. The proclamation restricted the liberty of pursuit of happiness and angered many colonists. Colonists were outraged at the fact that they were not allowed to settle in the land they had worked so hard to win. Perhaps the most restrictive of all acts was the Quartering Act. Passed in 1765 this act required colonists to pay to board British soldiers. If they could not afford to this, as was the case with many, the colonists were forced to take them into their own homes and feed them. This act infringed on the pursuit of happiness and the right to privacy. Colonists could not be happy with strangers living in their homes and invading their personal lives. These restrictions all angered the colonists but not to the same extent as Parliamentary taxation and the legacy of colonial ideas. Colonists were angry but did not boycott or protest in reaction to the acts.


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