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The Sugar Act Research Paper

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The Sugar Act

Imagine not being able to use something as common as sugar without being robbed of your money. Sounds frustrating, right? That’s what happened to the American Colonists in 1764. Britain decided to tax the colonies, and the colonists didn’t even have a say in it! Sugar was one of the many things to be taxed. The Sugar Act frustrated the colonists with how it began, Taxation Without Representation, how it lead to the Revolutionary War, and the other effects it had.

One of the many reasons The Sugar Act infuriated the colonists was the reason that it was passed by the British Parliament. The main goal of The Sugar Act was to crack down on smuggling and raise money for the British Military and pay for the French and Indian War. It was passed because the British waited a long …show more content…

The colonists participated in smuggling to try to avoid the taxes, and The Sugar Act made legal sugar trade and transport extremely complicated and frustrating, which also made smuggling seem more appealing for the colonists (“The Sugar Act”). This caused the British to crack down on smuggling and enforce the collecting of the taxes, further angering the colonists. This is only one of the many acts that taxed the colonists. Each one angered the colonists more and more, ultimately leading to the Revolutionary War and the liberation of the colonies (Tim George, “The 4 Acts That Lead To The American Revolution”).

The Sugar Act had affected the colonies in different ways. To start, there was a shortage of rum, due to the taxation and shortage of sugar (“Sugar Act”). The Sugar Act was passed during an economic depression in the colonies, where most of the colonist’s money was spent on providing food and housing for the British soldiers. The colonists assumed the new tax program to be the cause of their economic problems. Protests and requests for the act’s repeal sprang up immediately (“Greenville’s Sugar

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