No Taxation Without Representation Dbq Analysis

The demand for no taxation without representation was the primary force motivating the American revolutionary movement, and for many it became a symbol for democracy. Throughout the late 18th century, the British colony of America was oppressed by Parliament from "across the pond". This oppression included unequal rights compared to English citizens that lived on the mainland, unneeded taxation, and no representation in Parliament, which resulted in many laws that were unfavorable to the American colonists. It was this "taxation without representation" that was a powerful catalyst in firing up the American revolutionary movement. America was "all grown up", and no longer needed to be monitored on by Britain.

The colonists were in every right, aspect and mind, not only justified but also it was about time that they stood of and actually take action against the British. The choice of going to war with them, was the only choice that they had. All diplimatical options that they had ceased to stand a chance against the tyrant Britain. From the very beginning when the colonists felt upset against their mother country and the way that they went about the law making, up until the beginning of the war, they tried all diplimatical options that they had, by sending letters, you name it. When they didn’t work then they had no other means but to declare war.

By suddenly ending “salutary neglect”, the British Parliament had, unknowing, prompted the beginnings of the Americans' grievances. Though not much protest occurred in response to the Proclamation (most colonists moved West anyways), the Act itself would set a precedent for Americans' sense of anxiety. The first direct tax on the American colonies, the Stamp act, contributed significantly to the beginnings of pre-Revolutionary unity. With the rallying battle cry, “No taxation without representation”, the American colonists proceeded to call together the Stamp Act Congress. Not only was this event significant due to the fact that it was another group meeting, automatically signifying at least some unity, but major proponents of Revolution, such as Samuel Adams, started new efforts towards uniting colonists against Britain, such as the Sons of Liberty. The following several years, though not marked with tremendous amounts of unification, definitely contributed to a growing sense of anxiety and oppression amongst the American colonists. With more direct taxes such as the Tea Acts, Coercive Acts, and Quartering Acts. Grievance after grievance, the number of “unreasonable” British actions inevitably forced the Americans into a dilemma. While some colonists, such as Richmond Henry Lee, equated such acts to the British desire to “ruin” the colonies, others, such as Mather Byles, believed that a radical

4. What was the Revolutionary movement, at its core, really all about? Was it about the amount of taxation, the right of Parliament to tax, the political corruption of Britain and the virtue of America, the right of a king to govern America, or the colonies’ growing sense of national identity apart from Britain? Was the Revolution truly a radical overturning of government and society—the usual definition of a revolution—or something far more limited or even conservative in its defense of traditional rights?

While all of the above social, cultural and economic circumstances were playing out and laying the groundwork for the American Revolution, several important political developments came to fruition in the concluding half of the 18th century that sealed the certainty of the American Revolution and made it inevitable. These developments, namely, the relative strengths of the local and colonial governments at the time, the betrayal of the colonies by the British Crown after King George’s War, and the end of Salutary Neglect, proved to present insurmountable odds to the colonists.

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.

The level of resentment between the 13 Colonies and the British was enough to spark a revolutionary war and it did. The outrage over taxation without representation was only intensified when the town of Concord got word that the British were coming to confiscate their weapons and their gunpowder. According to Forsht (2011) author of the Boston Tea Party the British fought several costly war of which they wanted the American Colonies to pay by stamping them for printed materials such as newspaper, magazines and playing cards. Forsht (2011), stated that the American colonies had no representation in parliament yet they were being taxed by a government in which they had no voice. This was all going to change on the night of 19 April 1775.

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.

“Join or die” was once the slogan of the colonists during the French and Indian War. However, it changed to “liberty and justice for all” or “No taxation without representation” during the American Revolution. The British and the colonies had just won the French and Indian War, one would have thought that they would grow closer, however, they did not. England was in great debt from the war, and they made the colonies pay for it, Bypassing multiple acts and taxes. Factors such as harsh taxation without representation, unacceptable mandates, and oppression against colonists lead to the American Revolution April, 1775 as shown in Documents 1, 2, 3, and 4.

The colonists believed they had a right to be represented in Parliament before being taxed or at least vote for the taxing officials. The phrase “no taxation without representation” began to become popular within the colonies.

The American Revolution, one of the most significant events in our world’s history, has established a huge impact on not only life back in the eighteenth and nineteenth century but our society today. The Acts of Parliament highly benefited the British but did not afford those same rights to the colonists until the formal issuing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4th, 1776, in which colonial freedom was granted. The most controversial issue is which group caused it; a result of propaganda by the colonists. Multiple acts and protests contributed to this war, three influential ones being the Stamp Act, Boston Massacre and the Boston Tea Party.

For a better part of the eighteenth century, the American colonists expressed vexation and disapproval of the "coercive " acts, which the British Government perpetrated on the colony through series of legislative acts by the British Parliament. Prior to the acts that the colonists in America termed as atrocious and oppressive, they were willing to cooperate and reaffirm loyalty to the King of England. Some of the legislations and declarations that colonists participated in was the sustenance of British soldiers in the colony, payment of import tariffs and other forms of taxes to support the British central government. These are but a few, the reasons as to why colonists objected to the mode of British rule in America. Another concern was the "Rights violations" by the English government regarding economic progress and representation. Because of these grievances, British colonists in America stepped up agitation through violation of the "tyrannical" Acts and petitions through the Continental Congress. The essay explores the grievances that Colonists in America held against the British government, in riposte to "My Dear America Cousin" letter.

A common need for a revolution is due to economic oppression among the people of a country. During the French Revolution, the Second Estate, otherwise known as nobles, were privileged compared to the Third Estate, or the lower class. The second estate made up 5% of the population and owned 95% of the land along with the first estate, but paid no taxes. In addition, King Louis XIV and Queen Marie Antoinette were spending more money than the country had on jewelry, residences, and much more. This oppression of the third estate and the weakening of King Louis’ power led to new ideas and small groups of activists to ignite a revolution. Before the French Revolution, the American Revolutionaries were battling against taxes. A popular phrase used as “anti-British slogan” in Boston in 1785 was “Taxation without Representation”. The phrase resonated the frustration of the American colonies “being taxed by a British Parliament to which they elected no representatives”. To fight this oppression, small groups of activists followed new ideas and combated against Britain. In The Farmer Refuted, written by Alexander Hamilton and published in 1775, he wrote, “If that is closed up, no step can be taken but to surrender at discretion. If Great-Britain can order us to pay what taxes she pleases, before we take them away, or when we land them here, we are as abject slaves as France and Poland can shew in wooden shoes.” Hamilton reflects the colonist’s resentment towards the tax, and claims

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.

“No Taxation Without Representation was the cry of James Otis…”This saying occurred because of the stamp act as well as other laws.these laws made the colonist very angry. So on October 1765 colonist met in new york city to talk about the taxing issue.This conversation lead to a group called the “stamp act congress” this group included Patrick Henry and Samuel Adams.They wrote angry letters to the King wanting tax to repeal. In 1766 the stamp act was repealed colonists were thrilled they thought this meant freedom. In 1767 the king decided that the kingdom needed revenue so the king made different items have