What was the second cause of the American Revolution ?

1 Answer

The first cause was perhaps taxation without representation
The second cause was the perhaps the prohibition of settlement west of the crest of the Appalachian mountains.

Explanation:

The French and Indian war began in the Ohio River Valley as a conflict over who the land belonged to. The French claimed the Ohio Valley as did the states of Virginia and Pennsylvania. The American colonies wanted land more than anything else where they could own their own farms and be independent.

The American Colonies fought the French and Indians to gain control of the lands west of the Appalachian mountains. The first battle of the French and Indian war was fought between Virginia militia lead by George Washington and the French over control of the three rivers area of what is now Pittsburgh.

At the end of the French and Indian Wars the American Colonies felt that they had earned the right to settle in the Ohio River Valley.
The British having won control of Canada and the profitable fur trade wanted to keep the Indians, that had sided with the French, happy. To achieve peace with the Indian tribes and maintain the fur trade that depended on the Indians passed a law in 1763 that prohibited settlement west of Appalachian Mountains.

The American Colonies felt betrayed and cheated by the law that blocked their settlement of the west. The bitterness and resentment that the prohibition of 1763 was a major cause of the American Revolution.