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
Following the climactic events of the French Indian War and the Lexington and Concord skirmishes, tensions bubbled between the colonies and the mother country, Britain. This friction stemmed from debate over whether the parliament had the right to legislate over the colonies. Britain felt they should have full jurisdiction over the colonies, while the colonies wanted true representation from within the colonial legislatures. The French and Indian war garnered a large amount of debt and in attempt to repossess some of the money lost, the British Parliament imposed taxes upon colonists. Britain originally implemented the Stamp Act of 1765, but appealed the law after the obstinate reactions of colonists. However, they then issued the Declaratory Act of 1766 which only reiterated the
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.
Beginning in 1764, Great Britain began passing acts to exert greater control over the American colonies. The Sugar Act was passed to increase duties on foreign sugar imported from the West Indies. A Currency Act was also passed to ban the colonies from issuing paper bills or bills of credit because of the belief that the colonial currency had devalued the British money. Further, in order to continue to support the British soldiers left in America after the war, Great Britain passed the Quartering Act in 1765. This ordered colonists to house and feed British soldiers if there was not enough room for them in the colonist’s homes. An important piece of legislation that really upset the colonists was the Stamp Act passed in 1765. This required stamps to be purchased or included on many different items and documents such as playing cards, legal papers, newspapers, and more. This was the first direct tax that Britain had imposed on the colonists. Events began to escalate with passage of the Townshend Acts in 1767. These taxes were created to help colonial officials become independent of the colonists by providing them with a source of income. This act led to clashes between British troops and colonists, causing the infamous Boston Massacre. These unjust requests and increasing tensions all led up to the colonist’s declaration as well as the Revolutionary War.
When the British Parliament passed the Stamp Act, which was a internal tax on every printed piece of paper, the colonists were offended that the tax was imposed on them without consent from the colonial legislature. The British were using the colonies to help pay off debt for the previous Seven
After the war, the British Empire had a dark, giant, debt-filled cloud that loomed over it for years. In effort to relieve this they ended salutary neglect and began taxation in the colonies. For example the Molasses Act, Sugar Act, Stamp Act, Quartering Act, and Townshend Duties were created to generate revenue from the colonies.
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
The French and Indian War in 1754, left the British government in large debts. The war was known as the French and Indian War because thousands of Native Americans fought alongside the French. The British won the war thanks partly to the Americans, while they took over most of France’s northern territory. By 1764 the British had accumulated a national debt of 130 million pounds. The British decided, as a result of the debts, that they will take the people of the British colonies. This occurrence the Stamp Act. The Stamp Act wa a law that required all people that lived in the colonies, to pay a stamp tax on practically everything that was printed on paper including legal documents, bills of sale, contracts, wills, advertising, pamphlets, almanacs,
The war had greatly enlarged Britain's debt so the government decided to implement taxes on the colonists. While the colonists were resentful of these taxes, the British felt the colonists should pay for their own defense. George Greenville's Program contained a series of acts including the Stamp Act which said any document must have a stamp on it. This action enraged many colonists. The outrage over the taxes was justified by the British government as necessary because of the amount of land they now had. (Document 5) That the huge increase in territory and population drove them to regulate trade. The British also saw the taxes as fair because the British were “protecting” the colonists. Many colonists such as Benjamin Franklin wanted the Stamp Act repealed because of its unfair taxing. (Document 6) Franklin called for an immediate repeal of the act in a letter to a friend. The taxation of the colonists was a significant change that cause the shift between the British and the
The Constitution enabled the colonists to be fairly represented in the government, a privilege that the British government denied the colonists. After the French and Indian War in 1754, Britain was left with a massive amount of debt. To raise revenue, Parliament enforced multiple acts on the colonies. Two of these acts were the Sugar Act and the Stamp Act. The Sugar Act taxed imported items while the Stamp Act taxed anything that was on paper. Being that the Stamp Act was a direct tax, it infuriated the colonists. The colonists believed
The passing of a series of laws regulating trade and tax, most notably the Sugar Act (1764), the Stamp Act (1765), and the Tea Act (1773) increased tension between Great Britain and its colonies in the period 1763-1776. Near the end of the French and Indian War, Great Britain was in desperate need of money to pay for their war debts. The British Parliament believed that they had a right to tax their colonies. Their legislations placed duties on certain imports that had never been taxed before. By the end of 1764, tensions heightened between colonists and imperial officials as they were disagreeing more and more about how the colonies should be taxed and governed. These feelings of dissatisfaction would soon swell into rebellion, leading to the American Revolution.
Since their involvement influenced Colonist success, they decided that taxes should be payed. In March of 1765, Parliament passed the Stamp Act, which required a tax to be paid on the transfer of certain documents. Much like the the Stamp Act, another tax was put in place known as the Sugar Act, which would forge a tax on molasses. The Colonists argued that such taxes could not be imposed on them since they lacked representation from the Parliament, and yet at the same time they rejected the offer to gain such representation. Instead, the Colonists rallied boycotts on many British goods and services. Soon enough they would see their day, as the Declaratory Act would take its place, limiting and even ending some of these taxes due to regain British trade lost from boycotts. Many were pleased, but some Colonists knew better, they knew more was in
When its greatest asset, the british pound, went into a deficit exceeding 140 million, Parliament, in an effort to begin earning money once more, passed the Sugar Act and Currency Act on the American colonies in 1764. Neither act was especially lucrative as it affected a small portion of the population or was almost entirely ignored. Consequently Parliament passed the Stamp Act in 1765, a tax on all paper goods in the American colonies. This act was the right move for Britain, it served as a potential source of unending and reliable income that could pay dividends for the future of maintaining solid defenses and economics throughout the British empire. Even the move to station 10,000 British regulars in the American colonies at the closing of the Seven Years’ War was reasonable, it served as the British affirmation of loyalty to the American colonists’ defense and well-being. Yet, the colonists resented both the stationing of the soldiers and the Stamp Act as violations of their English rights as desire for home rule. With widespread boycotts, symbolic violence, the formation of the Sons of Liberty, and argumentative pamphlets published in response, Parliament recognized that the colonists had rendered the Stamp Act ineffective by 1766. In a bold move, Parliament repealed the Stamp Act in the same
By them directly taxing the colonist could the British could gain a profit, which affected everyone and really angered the colonist. The Stamp Act was one of the first direct taxes the British put upon the colonist, it taxed all printed documents from newspapers to licenses. This increased Britain’s revenue from the colonist by ten percent. Not until the House of Burgesses aroused that colonist felt they can take action about the taxes. This help the colonist feel lead to stand up to British rule and at one point colonist thought they had defeated the Stamp Act, but little did they know Britain pass the Declaratory Act which implement complete their parliamentary control over the colonist. One of the last Acts implemented that topped off restatement was the Tea Act. This was specifically put in demand so Britain could send of stocks of tea that did not sell in England. They did not pay the regular taxes that they imposed on the colonial merchants to import the tea to the colonies. This caused colonist to take action and
Following the 7 Years War, Britain had a debt of $140 million, half of which was incurred from defending the colonies. In 1765 Parliament passed the Stamp Act which placed a tax on newspapers, legal documents, and commercial documents. This act was enacted to raise funds for the British military. The colonists were enraged by this tax which led to its repeal in 1766.
The French and Indian War ended in 1763 but it had lasted 7 years and it was not an easy victory for the British and the colonies. Since it was not an easy victory, England had spent a lot of money to help pay for the war cause and it led to England's pricey debt. The English had used the colonies for personal gain before by taking advantage of the colonists trading system but by this time, the colonists were fed up with England’s unfair treatment towards them. The British had put taxes in place to help pay for their debt. One of these taxes was known as the Stamp Act. England placed a tax on something they knew the colonists used everyday to get the