The Importance of Economics in the American Revolution :: American War of Independence

The American Revolution is the most important event in the New World history. It was the process where the thirteen colonies of North America became independent of Great Britain and then formed a new unified government. The Americans fought against the British for a number of reasons, but the most important reason was economic in nature. The American Revolution was fought for different ideas that were important in those times. The economy in America was not the best, and people had to support all the orders from Great Britain because this was their home country. Therefore, the British controlled the economy of North America. Many Americans thought that the British were making injustices with the American economy and this was the main reason for the revolution. The American Revolution had their principle figures in the liberal people, who thought that Great Britain was doing injustices within the colonies. One of the liberal people main points was "never believed that everyone should be equal economically" (McKay, 692). The difference between rich and poor in respect to income and wealth was not a problem for the liberals. The main point was that everyone should receive an equal opportunity to produce wealth and income. The most important figure of these liberal people was Thomas Jefferson, who wrote that everyone should be treated equal in owning property. The economy was controlled and affected by the decisions the government of Great Britain took. The economic part that most felt these injustices was the maritime workers, who were controlled by the Royal Navy. According to Richard B. Morris in his book The Emerging Nations and the American Revolution: "off all working-class groups, the seamen felt perhaps the most oppressed and exploited. Rootless, they had the least stake in the status quo. . . they proved the hard core of the ‘muscular radicals’ so cleverly manipulated by affluent merchants and shrewd lawyers" (Morris 4-5). Along with the seamen, the mechanics also suffered these injustices. Mechanics had a common economic resentment against the new tea measures of the British government and a common desire to have a larger voice in domestic politics. Between 1740 and 1783 the economy of colonial America and the United States was usually threatened, engulfed in or recovering from war. Many businesses were controlle d by merchants and monopolistic people who exploited the colonies.