Examples Of Virtual Representation In The American Colonies

Virtual representation, the belief that the politicians elected would represent the whole empire meant that a person elected in Europe would represent the people of New England. The problem with virtual representation, is that how can an elected official from Europe, quite possibly know the needs of the people 3,000 miles away? The British would claim that through virtual representation, that the colonist’s needs would be met. But this would not be the case.

Many colonists were angered because of high taxes England chose to enforce on them. These taxes were a result of the British participation and victory in the French and Indian war. However, what made the colonists even more angry was the fact that they were being taxed without representation in England’s Parliament. The colonists thought that, in order to be taxed by the British, they should have representation in it. They saw it as unfair to be taxed by a government they had no say in. As Patrick Henry said in his speech made to the Virginia House of Burgesses, “We can under law be taxed only by our own representatives...The Stamp Act is against the law. We must not obey it…” (Doc. 1). Since many colonists thought this taxation broke the law, some of them chose to protest by going to the House of Burgesses, boycotting imports, or simply not paying it in response. This response is justified; if

The 18th century can be marked as a period of internal and external struggle for the American colonists. From improper representation, to unfair taxes, such as the Stamp Act, to being overall abused by Britain, the colonists were justifiably angry. From this anger, the slogan “No taxation without representation” was born and quickly began to emerge from the lips of almost every colonist all across America. The demand from colonists everywhere for no taxation without representation weighed heavily as a symbol for democracy, as it revealed the mindset of many – Britain was using the hardworking colonists and took their money without even giving them a say – and laid the foundation for the American revolutionary war, allowing more arguments and

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.

In 1764, the irritated Americans, who failed to persuade the British government to give their provincial assemblies the same intrinsic rights as the House of Commons in England, turned the tide of the debate on the meaning of representation. The Americans were angry at the British for taxing them without letting them have a representative of their own at the Parliament, who could stand for their political interests. Instead of seeking for a compromise, the British offered the Americans a ridiculing notion known as virtual representation in which the august body, that had no direct contact with the colonists, "virtually" represented its subjects' interests. At this critical point, Americans were not intending to step back.

In contrast to Britain, the colonists believed in direct representation which is representation in government by having someone from a certain region represent that area. British government or Parliament believed in virtual representation

The American Revolutionary War in 1755 spouted from a conflict between the British government and British people living in the then 13 American colonies. The crown and his legislature passed tax measures, which the people of the thirteen American colonies fiercely opposed. American leaders took action against taxes because the government that created the laws offered no representation for those being taxed which is where taxation without any representation stems from. The crown only allowed upper-class men vote in England and most elections within American colonies, although the American voting class weren’t able to express on the ballots their views of the parliament.

Virtual Representation has been a topic of the colonial era for a great time. During this time the British gave the colonists’ no actual representation in parliament but claimed that they were “virtually

The colonists strongly desired independence and separation from Britain once taxation without representation was imposed on them. The colonies struggled to earn their representation in the Parliament of their mother country. They were turned down repeatedly and this caused huge issues for the colonists; it was the complete reason for the Revolutionary War. Therefore, the demand for no taxation without representation was the primary force to motivate America against Britain and it was also a symbol for democracy.

The American colonist and the British started out having a very civil relationship. They provided each other with resources. During the French and Indian war the colonists were on the British side and helped them fight. Unfortunately, after the war the British started to change their ways and started to come up with new stricter rules. The British started to tax the colonist on different kinds of items, which was not fair to the colonists. They were controlling the colonist with everything they did. The colonists wanted them to back off a little but the British weren't budging. They thought they could tell the colonists what to do but the colonists were not going to be treated that way, so they took matters in their own hands. The colonists

The French and Indian War was a war that was funded by the British. After the war was finished, it caused Great Britain to go into debt. As a result of this, British Parliament imposed taxes on the colonists. This angered many of the colonists because they had no say in the taxes that Parliament enforced on to them. Many people thought that they should have no “taxation without representation”. This caused many different reactions from all of the colonists. Some people thought that Parliament had no right to tax them and that they should have representation, and others thought that the taxes were unfair, but there was no reason to act up against them. The actions that the British took after 1763 caused various reactions by the colonists.

Consequently, the British Parliament imposed taxation on the colonists in the 1760’s. The colonists resented this intrusion, for they felt they were not truly represented in the British government. Taxation without representation became the rallying cry of the colonists.

The British had control of the thirteen colonies for many years prior to the French and Indian War. After the war Britain took sole possession of the thirteen colonies. The French and Indian War had put Britain in debt so they began taxing the colonists. Britain also began to enforce laws made by the King of England. This led to the phrase "no taxation without representation". The colonists had no other choices but to try and settle their differences with Britain or attempt to break away.

The infringement upon their liberties to which Richard Henry Lee was referring was largely an economic concern for the colonists. Taxes and duties implemented solely by the British government and the Navigation Acts limited trading rights. The colonists believed that they held the right to tax themselves, especially since there were no Americans in Parliament. After this claim England replied that colonists were represented by “virtual representation” as a result of the Magna Carta. The inferred inferiority of the Americans to Britons by this fallacy insulted colonists and further pushed them into unrest, causing a movement that resulted in the Non-Importation Agreements being enforced The Non-Importation Agreements demonstrated the power of the American colonists over the depressed English economy. Once the Stamp Act and the Townshend Acts were repealed, there was no turning back for the seditious Americans; they had discovered who truly was dependent on whom.

Furthermore, Great Britain had commanded new payment methods which created a ruckus with the Americans causeing great anger. Rebellion and discontent were rampant. The colonies started rebelling against ‘Mother England’ because of taxes issued to the colonies, in as much, England’s power did not allow them to have representation. The Revenue Act of 1764 made the Constitutional issue of whether or not the king had the right to tax the people who are living in his kingdom or the thirteen colonies. Eventually, this "became an entering wedge in the great dispute that was finally to wrest the American colonies from England" (Carey 48). "It was the phrase "taxation without representation" (Montgomery 138) that was to draw many to the cause of the American patriots against the mother country. That has royal authority to be able to term public opinions into a revolutionary battle.