This essay focuses on the appropriate action of the colonists in response to taxation imposed by the British crown. During the American Revolution, a series of laws were approved during 1763 to 1775 to control trade. Not only did the legislation caused a lot of chaos between the American colonists and the British government, but also there were certain events that led up to taxation. The occurrences were the British crown views on the taxation, and the reaction of the colonies in response to the taxation that was imposed by the British Government. It is clear that in 1760 King George the III of England needed to find a Prime Minister that he could rely on to find a solution to handle the debt accrued during the seven year war. In addition, …show more content…
The British crown felt that the Sugar Act was a resourceful means to tax the colonies. In 1765 Prime Minister George Grenville came up with what he felt would be an even better solution to the debt, which he introduces to the British crown which was the Stamp Act of 1765. According to Roark, Johnson, Cohen, Stage, & Hartman (2014), the stamp act was a way of putting taxes on anyone that use anytype of certified document, whether it was a court document, licenses, wills, are even the use of newspapers (p.141). The British custom believes that taxes were seen as an award that was given to the King are Queen and presented by a spokesman on behalf of the …show more content…
In 1765, Prime minister Grenville introduce the Stamp Act passed by the British crown, and this act prompted the beginning of a lot of resentment from the colonists. For the colonists perspective, it was more than a political argument since every person in the colonies made their living by the use of paper products was affected by the Stamp Act. Not surprisingly, the colonist at this point were trying to decide if they would comply with the new laws. Also, there was a debate regarding whether the colonists were virtually represented by the highest legislature of government whom Prime Minister Grenville felt confident they were. The colonist disputed the fact and asserted that only direct representative had the authority to tax the American colonies. Besides in 1765, Patrick Henry of Virginia came up with several solution to the Stamp Act, but only four of them were passed. On August 15, 1765, a organization by the name of Sons of Liberty was a group of American Patriots who did not agree with the extreme measures the British was taking against the colonist by use of taxation. Several riots and street demonstration was headed by the sons of Liberty to bring some type of resolution. As Roark, Johnson, Cohen, Stage, & Hartman (2014) noted that a resolution in 1766 to the Stamp Act was revoke
here are some resolutions that Patrick Henry did to react to the Stamp act. his Adventure and his settlers Majesty’s colony and Dominion Virginia brought with them and and transmitted them to their posterity. also another one is to be two royal charters.
The Sugar Act of 1764 (or Revenue Act) was an attempt to reduce the debt encountered by England after the Seven Years’ War. Prime Minister George Grenville was the one to enforce it. The problem was that merchants and gentry were not pleased with the Act. Consequently, they protested against it. In addition, another Act, called the Stamp Act, was declared a year later.
These acts were put into place in order to obtain the money to protect the colonists. “This revenue is … for maintaining these colonies requires a large revenue to support it. [Document F]” The Sugar Act was the first of the taxes imposed on to the colonists in order to increase revenue for the British. The Sugar Act of 1764 was a tax on sugar and molasses imported into the colonies which impacted the manufacture of rum in New England. The Stamp Act of 1765 was designed to raise revenue from the American Colonies by a tax in the form of a stamp required on all newspapers and legal or commercial documents.
The Stamp Act The Stamp Act was a tax placed on the American colonies by the British in 1765. It said they had to pay a tax on all sorts of printed materials such as newspapers, magazines and legal documents. It was called the Stamp Act because the colonies were supposed to buy paper from Britain. The items bought had to have an official stamp on it that showed they had paid the tax. No Representation The colonists
In 1744, the elected leaders of each colony held a meeting to discuss the future in spite of what the king wanted. This was the “continental congress”. After the British found out, they responded with even more taxes and laws that infuriated the locals who lived there. One tax that they imposed was especially maddening, the stamp act of 1765. This tax made Americans pay small fees on almost all goods and services as it was in the form of a stamp that was put on goods.
“In the summer of 1764, new Prime Minister George Grenville warned colonial governors that his government was considering a stamp tax in the colonies”(Mellen 75). This tax was “imposed to help pay the debt incurred of the Seven Years’ War” and would help keep “British soldiers on the frontier to protect colonists” (Mellen 75). Grenville’s introduction of this tax was based off a tax that “had been in effect since 1712” in Britain (Mellen 75). The tax required all “legal and business documents to be printed or issued only on a paper with a royal stamp” which meant that colonists would have to pay more to print and to buy paper products such as newspapers (Mellen 75). Grenville’s assumption was that this tax was beneficial to both parties, since it would grant America security with the presence of British troops, meanwhile also paying off the debt from the Seven Years’
The fact that the colonists (white, male, landowners) could have a slight say in how the government was run showed the beginning of political breakage of the colony away from Great Britain. In addition, the colonists’ victory in the French and Indian War taught them that they could unite in difficult times and triumph over adversity. However, when Parliament attempted to tighten control of the colonial governments and make the colonists pay for their fair share of the war, colonists were furious at the attack on their freedoms. Also, when Parliament passed the Stamp Act in 1765, the colonists were upset that the British government would bypass their own colonial system of taxation; they felt that they shouldn’t be taxed by an assembly in which they had no representation. Combined this with Parliament’s other acts like the Proclamation of 1763 and the Quebec Act, colonists became concerned about the increasingly hostile Parliament which designed to limit their rights and liberties.
1) In 1765 Parliament passed the Stamp Act, which was the first internal tax on the colonists, At the time, Benjamin Franklin was a colonial agent in London. As colonial opposition to the Stamp Act grew, Franklin found himself representing these views to the British government. Franklin made a testimony against the Stamp Act describing the role of taxes in Pennsylvania and the economic relationship between the colonies and England (94). According to Franklin colonists were paying many, heavy taxes. They were paying taxes for estates, polls, offices, professions, trades, and businesses depending on their income.
The Stamp act crisis is considered by many to be the catalyst for the series of events that led to the American Revolution. It affected everyone in the colonies, from the very rich to the very poor. It made anything from marriages to wills more difficult and expensive to obtain, and it created controversy about who should have the right to enact taxes on the American colonies. There were of course some who supported the tax, but their argument was based on the fact that most of the people under the English government didn’t have the right to vote, not based on whether that was just. Those that opposed the tax argued that the colonies aren’t actually virtually represented, because no members of parliament came from the colonies.
The Grenville Act consisted the sugar act, currency act , and the administration acts, therefore, it was primary taxes. They were thought to bring in more money for the colonies. The Stamp Act was the same thing as as the Grenville Act, but was centrally taxes. The Stamp Act was also used to bring in revenue to pay for the damage done by the French and Indian War. The colonist believed it was an unfair tax and they wanted the stamp collector to resign.
This Act required Taxed Stamps to be placed on printed materials. These stamps had to be purchased using the British sterling coin, which was not prevalent in the colonies. Colonist saw the pitfalls of this act and began to seek equal liberty with British Parliament. Not yet seeking independence, the colonist wanted British leaders to rethink how government worked. Opposition continued to rise as these ideals were rejected by Royal Rule.
The colonists wanted representation when it came down to being taxed, but the British government would not allow it. The government wanted full control over the people, so they made sets of acts and laws that were placed on taxation. For example, the Stamp Acts of 1765. These acts taxed all papers, pamphlets, newspapers, and cards. The Townshend Acts of 1767 were also a large part of taxation.
This was supposed to ease the tax restraints, but in the end, it created more taxes and conflict. The conflict began once the colonists first heard of the Stamp Act being passed by Parliament on March 22, 1765. The Stamp Act was to pay for stationing British soldiers in America to protect them and to pay off Great Britain 's debt after the seven years war. The minute news of the Stamp Act reached the colonies it was denounced with colonists crying “no
Arguably, these taxes were only placed by Britain to “milk” the colonies for profit. Ben Franklin responded to the Stamp Act, writing a letter to John Hughs to discuss efforts to get it repealed (Document G). . In a way, the series of taxes applied by Parliament would spark a fire within the colonists and begin the American Revolution, where Americans finally say enough is enough. The time had come for political and ideological change, where the colonies would break from their motherland, Great Britain. In conclusion, the French Indian War would kick off a series of political, economic, and ideological events that changed the relationship between Britain and its colonies forever.
British policies established in 1763-1776 greatly affected the colonists and pushed them towards developing their own republican values. All of the acts and taxes the British issued and how overly controlling the British were over the colonists was the starting point, also the increasing rebellions encouraged the colonists to break away from Britain’s rule, and finally the wars that resulted and seizing authority from the British was the final turning point for the colonists in eliminating Britain’s heavy-handed ruling over the colonists. The acts, and taxes that came with most of the acts, that the English imposed on the colonists was a substantial reason the colonists opposed British rule. After the French and Indian war the British found