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. Ben Franklin …show more content…
If the members of parliament voted for a tax, they were also going to be affected by the tax. This made those virtually represented in England much more content with their lack of voting power. The American colonies on the other hand were not virtually represented. There were not any members of parliament that would be affected by the actions of parliament on the colonies. They could enact as many taxes as they wanted because they would never have to pay them. Dulaney argued that because the colonists were not even virtually represented in Parliament, Parliament had no right to tax the colonies. The colonies had their own governments, and they believed that they had the power to tax themselves and send what England needed back if they voted to do so. Of course, England and parliament disagreed with this argument, and even after repealing the stamp act, they asserted their right to tax the colonies however they wanted, as they demonstrated in the Townshend …show more content…
Franklin very cleverly argued the colonists' position and asserted that colonists would not even submit to the tax if it was lessened. The colonists believed that they had already paid their portion of the war expenses, and they shouldn't be expected to pay for even more of England’s expenses. Ben Franklin also informed Parliament of the colonies changing temper toward Great Britain. Before 1763 the colonists held Great Britain in the highest regard and considered themselves fully Englishmen, with the only distinction being where they lived. Post 1763, the colonists started to realize that they were not treated the same as the English in the British Isles, and they wanted more representation if Britain wanted to continue to Tax them. They wanted a return to salutary neglect that allowed the colonies to prosper for so long, and they feared they would run out of silver and gold to pay the tax in just one year. Ben Franklin also made the risky assertion that the colonies would only submit to the Stamp Tax if England sent troops to enforce it. Parliament did not like this statement because it made them seem like they did not have the power to enforce it if they chose not to, but all the same, they repealed the act soon after Ben Franklin’s
A colonial family 's reaction to the stamp act The stamp act was a law passed by the king of England in 1765. The king of England adapted this law because he lost so much money from the French and Indian war that was in 1763. The stamp act was a tax created on paper with a stamp from the king. The colonists had to pay this tax from the big loss of money from the war.
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.
Imagine, a new land across the sea found so people can get away from all their troubles and start a new life. Everyone get’s there is excited for their new life but come to see it’s exactly the the same but worse. A tyranny that’s being run into the ground by bad decisions and bad relations with other people will they realize they're issues before it’s to late or will the continent be saved by a different cause. When examining the events of Stamp Act, the similarities and differences between Patriot and Loyalists’ While both sides had their differences they all had common ground, they both shared the British tax system and laws. Whether the Loyalists agreed with the Parliament or the Patriots thought it was an imposition on their rights,
It made the colonists angry for many reasons. Some of these include the fact that the act could only be paid in silver, which was hard to come by, and the fact that the colonists had no representation in Parliament to represent their thoughts. They protested a lot, screaming “Taxation without representation is tyranny!” Things often became violent. Finally,
These acts of violence had gotten the British to repeal the act in 1766 but, the declaratory act was issued at the same time as a countermeasure from the British. The stamp act had created the colonist slogan of, “No taxation without representation.” This slogan meant that the colonists thought that the British should not be allowed to create taxation laws without someone from the colonies representing the entire colonies in the British House of Commons. However, it was beneficial that they did not have a representative in the British House of Commons because they would have been outvoted by the overwhelming amount of British members. The mentality of this slogan is a factor why the colonists decided to pursue independence from Britain and this almost tyrannical grip they had over the thirteen
The Stamp Act of 1765 is widely known as one of multiple events that built up to the American Revolutionary War. One of the misconceptions of this act is the purpose behind it. This act was not enacted just because, but rather to help pay for British troops stationed in the colonies during the Seven Years' War also known as the French and Indian War. Colonists were required to pay a tax, represented by a stamp, on various forms of papers, documents, and playing cards. The issues with this act did not rise because the colonist didn't want to be taxed, instead the source of anger was caused by not having representatives in Parliament.
Though the Colonists had the stamp act, most of them never had the need to use stamps. Yet, they still revolted against the act only four months after it was established (1765). The British had just finished funding a huge war the colonists started, so it’s completely justifiable that they simply enacted minor taxes in order make up for the chaos that was created by colonists’ unsatisfiable need for land
I believe the British had the right to tax the American colonies because they were British territories, received protection from the British Army, and the people who lived there were considered British subjects. While the colonists were unrepresented in Parliament, the laws of Great Britain were clear that the taxation of the American Colonies was completely legal and well warranted. Up until the 1760’s the colonist had enjoyed tax-free living. However, in Great Britain the subjects there were under heavy tax burdens because of the ongoing Seven Years’ War in North America. To cover the cost of the war and the army in the Colonies, the British Parliament passed tax acts on the colonies.
After the Act was revoked people didn’t trust the British anymore. According to the Historical Background- from the Stamp Act to the Revolution colonists didn’t trust the British anymore and started to boycott their goods. This resulted in a decrease in the economy because there was no flow of trade within the colonies. There were protests throughout the colonies and people started to destroy personal property. People threatened the government by saying they were going to destroy the town.
The Stamp Act required all the colonist to use stamps on all paper documented goods. Enraged, the colonies protested and demanded their natural rights. Before 1763, Great Britain placed a policy of salutary neglect towards the colonies. This policy didn’t really harmed the colonist in any way, but it did give the colonist a taste of Independence. After the French and Indian war, British was in debt and needed a way to earn large revenue.
In debate Darla Davis discusses the Taxes imposed on the American Colonists by Parliament. First not everyone in parliament believe that taxation of the colonies was right thing to do. According to Darla’s Article, Will Pitt and Edmund Burke, were two members of the parliament that under stood why the colonist were opposing the tax. Colonist were opposing men felt that the opposition from the colonists concerning the taxes existed, because the colonist had been practically ignored by England since having been established.
In “The Resolution of the Stamp Act Congress October 1765” by John Dickenson he discusses the fact that the taxes are far too much for the colonists to pay and it would affect their way of life including business with Britain in section XI “That the restrictions imposed by several late Acts of Parliament, on the trade of these colonies, will render them unable to purchase the manufactures of Great- Britain.” In section IX he even states that the taxes “will be extremely burthensome and grievous; and from the scarcity of the specie, the payment of them absolutely impracticable.” However, Soame Jenyns rebuttles this argument in “The Objections to the Taxation of our American Colonies by the Legislature of Great Britain, briefly consider’d” by saying having no legal representation is simply an excuse and other towns also have lack representation in Parliament. The hesitation of the colonists to pay the taxes also led him to question their loyalty to Britain “The towns of Manchester and Birmingham sending no representatives to parliament,
Benjamin Franklin was the voice of his generation from his early life to its end he had always given solid advice , and information to those that welcomed it. No matter the person be it colonists, Englishmen, or the French nobles. Benjamin Franklin was one of the world’s most well-known person since he had accomplished many achievements from politics, inventions, to opinions on various topics. In politics, Franklin was a well renowned problem solver as stated in (American history , (47) ).
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.
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.