Breaking Points In The 18th Century

During the time period of 1600 to 1776, the relationship between Great Britain and the colonies changed massively. The relationship between Great Britain and the colonies changed greatly because of three main reasons: the relationships that the colonies and Great Britain were built on, the struggles that the colonists faced because of their relationships with Great Britain, and the anger that the colonists expressed because of the ridiculous taxes that they had to pay. Once the colonists realized that they were suffering under British rule, most of the colonists became eager to be independent from Great Britain. The colonists’ Second Continental Congress believed that the acts and taxes created by the British Parliament were unconstitutional, unjust, and unfair towards the colonists and because of that belief, the Declaration signers forever changed our country.

Parliamentary taxation was another one of the main sources of the colonists' anger. With the Sugar Act of 1764, they were forced to pay one-third of Britain?s French and Indian War costs. The Stamp Act was excessive for the colonists as well, but was met with much more hostility. They rebelled against these taxes because they were being taxed without representation in England, they felt the British had no right to tax their colonies when they themselves had no say in how they were ruled. ?For imposing taxes on us without our consent,? was another political whine that Thomas Jefferson inscribed in the Declaration of Independence. Thomas Jefferson had purpose in saying this, because political problems had most effect in the deciding factors of breaking away from Britain.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal.” (The Declaration of Independence, U.S. 1776, para. 2). The Declaration of Independence is one of the most important documents in American history. The colonists said that Parliament and the king, George III, were violating the people’s natural rights. The colonies were on their own for such a long time that they got used to handling stuff their own way. Out of nowhere, the king and Parliament started giving the colonists taxes. From this taxing we got the saying “No taxation without representation.” Some of the taxes they gave the colonists were the Stamp Act, Sugar Act, and the Quartering Act. The Stamp Act was tax on every piece of paper and book published or used. The Sugar Act was a tax on sugar being imported and any food containing sugar. The Quartering Act was when the colonists were forced to house british soldiers, the soldiers were there to enforce the taxes being placed. All of these problems started the American Revolution.

In the American Revolution, the British had firm control over the colonists and began implementing harsh acts to receive money. After the 7 years war, there was a huge money deficit and the British needed a way to regain their financial loss. This led to excessive taxation, which angered the colonists. They felt they were not given a voice in the government and that if they are going to give their money, they should have a voice. The colonists continued to protest these new rules and eventually caused the English Civil War. These struggles from the past led to new rules for the colonists and eventually the Declaration of Independence, which stated that all men were equality. The colonists and British would continue to fight through a revolutionary

England 's introduction of the intolerable acts upon American colonists created a ripple effect which they did not anticipate, which completely changed the views of many colonists. These colonists went on to become the voices that fueled the American Revolutionary War and spread the messages of liberty, freedom, and a new way of life. Some voices stood out more so than the rest, their names became etched in our history books their thoughts and beliefs paving the way for the Revolution. One such colonist is James Otis wrote a series of patriotic pamphlets outlining his views on the colonies state of affairs , one of those pamphlets is The Rights of British Colonies Asserted and Proved written in 1763. In The Rights of British Colonies Asserted and Proved James Otis outlines his perspectives on government 's rights and the rights of the people , these perspectives revolutionized colonial opinions and made famous the quote” no taxation without representation.”

After settling in America, colonists felt that their natural rights were being violated under British rule. This sparked their desire for self-government and independence from the British Empire. Under British rule, Parliament had the power to impose laws and taxes upon the colonies; many of the laws violated natural rights, and taxes were imposed despite the colonies not having representation in Parliament. These injustices encouraged colonists to fight for independence, basing their argument upon the philosophy of natural rights. Leaders of the colonies drafted the Declaration of Independence, which listed the many injustices and declared the colonies

This document contained the complaints of the colonists to many of the acts of Parliament. They objected to the oppression of Americans by distant British crown. They were taxed unfairly without representation and their trade was regulated for the benefit of England. To preserve the colonists’ rights, America’s independence form Britain was formally announced.

In the 1700s, the Colonists were enraged how the British Parliament were treating them. The British Parliament had been constantly ignoring their rights and forcing taxes upon the colonies. This set an outroar in the colonies, especially in Massachusetts. Parliament had created new laws that limited the Massachusetts-bay in shipping and landing goods and also an act that for a better regulation government in this providence. All of the colonists deemed this as “Impolitic, unjust, and cruel, as well as unconstitutional, and most dangerous and destructive of American rights”(Declaration and Resolves, para. 3) This forced them to send Parliament a document called, Declaration and Resolves of the First Continental Congress. This document was

The United States was once split into colonies that were mainly controlled by Great Britain. The colonists had very little control over their rights, taxes, and future. Tensions boiled when the British Parliament began passing laws that placed extra taxes on the American colonists to make up for the debt from the French and Indian War. Tax acts passed by the included the Sugar Act in 1746, the Stamp Act in 1765, and the Tea Act in 1773. The colonists felt their liberty and rights were being threatened, and decided to sever their ties with Great Britain by backing the Declaration of Independence in 1776.

The American Colonist’s largest complaint addressed in The Declaration of Independence was that rules were being passed in England that affected their life in the colonies; however, the colonists had no representation in their home country to voice the opinions of the colonists. The colonists believed that England was wrongfully taxing them in order to pay off the debt that was accrued by the French and Indian War. This issue became widely known as “Taxation without Representation.” Parliament had implemented various acts that taxed the American colonists on tea, stamps, oil, lead,

The American Revolution was not only a battle between the British and the colonists; it was a historical movement that brought about new ways of thinking. The ideas of liberty and equality began to be seen as essential to the growth of the new nation. The separation of the American colonies from the British Empire occurred for a number of reasons. These reasons are illustrated in the Declaration of Independence. Although Thomas Jefferson wrote the document, it expressed the desire of the heart of each colonist to be free of British rule. British rule over the colonies became unbearable in the early months of 1776, making it clear to the colonists that it was time to either give in

The period of events leading up to the Boston Tea Party and the American Revolution including; the Molasses Act, The Land Bank Ordeal and the French and Indian War these represented acts of rule over the American colonists by the British (Unger 8). Following Patrick Henry’s speech against the stamp tax, in his Stamp Act Resolves, the Stamp Act Congress held a meeting in New York by the Massachusetts Assembly (Unger 73). It was here that a Declaration of Rights and Grievances of the Colonists in America was adopted in October 1765; colonists outlined what they thought were injustices and inequalities that the British crown were trying to impose on the Colonists (Journals of the Continental Congress). The tone of the document was mild and polite to the British

The major issues and events that led the American colonies to declare their independence from Britain in 1776 was the start of it all in 1763 when the French and Indian war also known as the seven years’ war ended and that is extremely important because it led to very unhappy colonists because the British were broke. The French and Indian war was fought between the British and French on American soil and the British felt the colonists should pay them back for protecting them, The colonists majority of them being British were more than happy to assist in paying for the war but it was important that they be represented in the decision making regarding how payments would be made (taxation without representation), Obviously that did not happen. British imposed high taxes on the colonies without allowing them to represent themselves which that of course made the colonists very unhappy which some of the taxes was the sugar act (revenue-raising act), stamp act (required them to pay a tax on every piece of printed paper they used.), tea act (was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain.), Townshend act (Taxes on glass, paint, oil, lead, paper, and tea). On April 5th, 1764 the sugar act also called the plantation act or revenue act was the first act to happen and the sugar act imposed higher taxes and duties on sugar imported from the West Indies. On September 1st, 1775 Parliament passed the Currency Act, successfully assuming control of the colonial currency system. The act

For centuries, the British had continuously aggravated relations with the United States through the enactment of the Stamp Act, Sugar Act, Townshend Acts, Tea Act, virtual representation, and several other injustices to American freedom; correspondingly, the Declaration of Independence was passed to assure national rights and denounce the king’s violation of those rights, thereby preserving the concept of E Pluribus Unum by maintaining continuity in the emergence of one common ideal: liberty. For instance, amidst the turmoil of

Prior to taking this course, my understanding how the world functioned before the 18th century was vague. There were a few topics I knew a bit about; however, not enough to write a scholarly work on. That being said, I was like one of the bystanders watching the fight as it unfolded. I could only make an analysis on what I knew and that was not a lot. The knowledge gained so far from this course truly opened my eyes why many of the world’s institutions existed, or existed to this day. For example, much was known about the cash crop known as cotton and the impact it had on America, but what was not known was how it truly circulated throughout the world and in essence, made the world go ‘round. Yes, cotton was a driving force which helped set up the America’s market. Moreover, it also did the same for the creation of, what historians call, the “global economy”. The Atlantic Slave Trade affected so many nations and people outside of the western hemisphere, that it is only right to have an adequate understanding as to how this transformative process came into full effect. Truthfully, it is very elementary to believe the world did not already have trade routes set up prior to the insurgence of plantation slavery.