Their were mounting tensions between the Britain and its colonies between 1750 and 1776. This was evidently a result of the Stamp Tax, Townshend Duties, Boston Massacre, and Tea Tax. The majority of these offenses were money based. While the colonist had no objections to taxes, they did not appreciate being forced to pay for things that did not benefit them and was solely created in order to alleviate some of Britain’s enormous debt. The first offensive tax that the settlers had to pay was the Stamp Act. It had an affect on anyone who used paper, primarily those who worked in business and law. They resisted this with public demonstrations, such as assaulting effigies of stamp distributors. Next, came the Townshend Duties. These were a broad …show more content…
The Boston Massacre took place after British soldiers were antagonized and became fed up. The soldiers opened fire and in the end eleven men were hit and five of them died. This stoked the flames of fury in the British colonies. One colonist said, “The fatal fifth of March, 1770, can never be forgotten. The horrors of that fateful night are but too deeply impressed on our hearts” (Document 6-2). People could not accept this terrible treatment from Britain any longer. Colonists took the opportunity to protest when news of the Tea Tax spread throughout the colonies. It was seen as “an insidious plot to trick Americans into buying the duties tea” (Roark 142). On the last day to pay the duties for British tea, around 150 men dressed as indigenous people dumped every last ounce of tea into the Boston Harbor. It was a political demonstration that showed the British that their taxes would not be tolerated. The protestors “rowed them [the boats] into those parts of the harbor wherever the tea was visible, and by beating it with oars and paddles, so thoroughly drenched it, as to render its entire destruction inevitable…” (Document 6-3). The goal to make a point was successful, but it came with intense repercussion, which the colonists also rebelled against. In summary, tensions between the British and their colonists were caused by Britain’s unsavory actions, primarily
The economy of the colonies was also impacted. Britain's attempts to raise revenue after the war caused tension among the colonies. With the end of salutary neglect, a stricter enforcement of mercantilism and new policies soon replaced it. Facing the enormous debt of the war, the British realized, “not only [was the] revenue impaired, but the commerce of the colonies diverted from its natural course” (Doc F). In order to resolve this issue, they decided to impose taxes on the colonists through various acts such as the Revenue Act, Sugar Act, and, most notably, the Stamp Act of 1765. The act, passed by British Parliament, imposed a direct tax on the colonists, requiring them to pay for a stamp on all printed materials. These various acts sparked
The British colonist of North America had many reasons of why did they dissolve all ties with England in order to form a new country. In this essay, I will talk about the top 5 reasons of this issue, these reasons are the Stamp Act in 1765, Boston Massacre in 1770, Tea Act in 1973, The Intolerable Acts in 1774, and Lexington and Concord in 1775. All these reasons led the British colonists break away from England.
Some of the ways in which the colonists responded to British actions between 1765 and 1770 were the Stamp Act, the stationing of British troops in Boston, the Townshend Act, and the Tea Act 33. The Stamp Act was put in place so the colonist would pay tax on every legal paper, license, newspaper, and almanac. The stationing of British troops in Boston were because the Boston and Philadelphia both agreed to not give goods or take good from Britain until the Stamp Act was taken away. The Townshend Act was placed a year after the Stamp Act was taken away. The Townshend Act was almost like the Stamp act but it did not place a tax on every little thing, it was the more important things they placed a tax on like glass, lead, paint, and paper also
The Boston Massacre is know as the unjust killing of five American colonists by British soldiers on King street on March 5, 1770. This massacre fueled the rage of the colonist which was already burning in them from eighteen months prior when the British sent four regiments of soldiers to Boston. The four regiments contained over two thousand soldiers who were sent to patrol a town that only contained about one thousand six hundred, and the majority were children. With these statics there was about one red coat or British soldier for every two grown men. Which just cause more tension between the colonist and the soldiers, and some that even led to violence.
On March 5, 1770, colonists were taunting a British sentry outside the Customs House. This was common for a day in colonized America. However, this day was more meaningful than any other before. The British sentry retaliated causing a considerable mob of colonists to get involved. Then some more British came to aid their comrade. Amid the chaos, the British fired their muskets into the crowd killing five and injuring three. This would later be referred to as the Boston Massacre. A lack of discipline by the British Soldiers prompted the Boston Massacre.
The Boston Massacre of 1770 was fated to happen once Parliament passed the Townshend Acts of 1767 on the American colonies. These acts placed taxes on goods such as glass, tea, and paper. When these taxes reached throughout the colonies, colonists began to boycott British items, and some of them rioted. Things were getting out of control, so in the following year, Parliament sent soldiers over to the Americas to suppress it. The presence of British troops only served as another factor in
The Boston Massacre was a street fight between a Patriot mob, and the British soldiers. On that day a British soldier was standing guard and had gotten into a fight with a colonist. A group of colonists was talking about the British and was mad about all the taxes. The colonists were walking when they came across a british soldier. The colonists were mad at the british, so they started to mess with the soldier. The colonists started to call the soldier names and started to throw snowballs, stones, and sticks at the soldier. The soldier called more british soldiers over, and the colonists got even angrier. One of the other soldiers shot the colonists and the other men heard the shot and thought they were commanded to shoot. The soldiers shot into the crowd and ended up with 5 dead colonists. The soldiers went to trial and some people argued that the soldiers were acting in self defense while others argued that it was murder. The troops were found not guilty in the end. The Boston Massacre was a awful situation because 5 colonists ended up being killed. The colonists grew even more angry, the British were requiring them to pay more, and then the British kill 5 of their own. The colonists were fed up, and had to do something about the British and their rules over America, which lead to the Boston Tea
The arduous effects of Great Britain’s actions provided Colonists with many reasons to fighting for independence and breaking away from the threatening state. Under British rule, Colonists faced unconstitutional abuses directed at colonial liberty, in the form of harsh taxes causing their justifiable mutiny. One of the earliest orders the British enacted on the colonies, was the Stamp Act. The 1785 Stamp Act, created by the British Parliament, imposed a tax on all printed paper in the colonies.
Huge debts were owed to Great Britain for supplying the colonists with military support and supplies. To pay the dues, there was the establishment of the Stamp Act, the taxation on domestic goods and services. A tax on domestic merchandise brought even more anger to the colonists. The Sugar Act, the Townshed Duties and the Tea Act were also all introduced with the same fundamentals: applying tax on goods whether it be directly or indirectly, domestic or international. “British commercial regulations imposed a paltry economic burden on Americans, who enjoyed a rapid economic growth and a standard of living higher than their European counterparts” (McGaughy). Each act resulted in irritated colonists. Some even retaliated by tarring and feathering certain English tax enforcers living in the colonies.
With anger and hatred growing in the colonists, no one expected the following event to occur, the Boston Massacre. In early colonial times, people wanted freedom and they fought for it hard. They put everything on the line, even their lives. When the colonists thought they didn't get what they deserved, they took to the streets to protest, but this time it ended up in a bloody occurrence. Most people believe that the event started with British soldiers firing into the mob, which ended up wounding many and killing five people. This raised anger and eventually led to a famous trial where John Adams took a brave patriotic stance; he defended the soldiers who took 5 of the colonist's lives. Below is a timeline event of what happened during these times, which illustrates the many reasons why the colonies were upset with England.
The next grievance the colonies faced would be the British forcing taxes upon the colonists, without their consent. During this time, Parliament was full of British people and no colonists. This was a problem because the Colonists then had no vote or say in anything they passed. Through not having any colonists vote, they passed an act that put taxes on all colonial good exported and bought. After it was voted in, the colonists were made and coined the term “No taxation without representation”. This term meant that they can not get taxed if they were not apart of the vote or in Parliament. The colonists agreed and put this into the document of declarations and resolves, and said “every idea of taxation internal or external, for raising a revenue on the subjects, in America, without their consent.”
The Boston Massacre took place on March 5th, 1770. This historic event was caused because of an ongoing conflict between the British soldiers and the people of Boston. According to George Hewes account, “Crowds of artisans and laborers joined the elite in protesting British policies, although their differing points of view revealed the divisions within colonial society.” People were upset over the British passing the Towsend Act, which was a surplus of unpopular taxes. The people of Boston also resented the British troops, who were also looking for jobs.
There were multiple things that happened before the Boston Massacre but the major one was the taxing of tons of products like lead, paper, and sugar. The colonists strongly disliked the taxes Great Britain was placing on them and were outraged. They thought that it was against there rights and unfair. Because of the taxing, they started protesting British goods. One event that happened just before the massacre was the Townshend Acts; this was when Britain placed a tax on things like glass and paint. From this source it says, “Just like when Britain imposed the Stamp Act, the colonists began to protest and the British brought in soldiers to keep order”(ducksters.com). Besides protesting, things then started getting violent. To try and keep stuff in order, Great Britain decided to send some of their soldiers to the colonies. All of the different taxes Britain placed on different things sparked a rebellion within the colonies. Finally, the colonies realized that they wanted to be free.
Great Britain saw their relationship with the colonies as a way to make money. The colonies were a source of the raw materials they needed such as sugar, tobacco, and hides. The colonists, in turn, were restricted in their trading so they relied on Britain for all their imported goods and the supplies they needed. England provided great amounts of money and protection to the colonies so they believed they had full authoritative control over the colonists. This can be seen in a quote from the Declaratory Act which states that all “All resolutions, votes, orders, and proceedings in any of the said colonies, whereby the power and authority of the parliament of Great Britain, to make laws and statutes as aforesaid, is denied, or drawn into question,
The tension between the colonies and Britain was nothing new. There were several occasions where the colonies became greatly infuriated with the unpleasant treatment they were receiving. Prior to the year 1770, much of the outcry came from the acts passed by the British government, such as the Stamp Act, Quartering Act, and Declaratory Act (“A Timeline of the American Revolution”). Even though the colonists were infuriated, it would take something more to push them over the edge. This something would turn out to be what is now called the Boston Massacre. Although the Boston Massacre won’t go down as the deadliest massacre in American history, it will go down as one of the most pivotal turning points due to the colonists’ depiction of the event.