No Taxation Without Representation: The American Revolution

The American Revolution was undoubtedly the most influential series of events in American History. Not only did it bring about freedom from British rule, but it set the precedent for a system of government that is still in use today; democracy. The idea of no taxation without representation was the driving force of the Revolution as well as the establishment of a democratic government. Because of both the unfair taxes put in place by parliament and the lack of say that American colonists had in the way they were governed, they had no choice but to rebel. The impact of the demand for no taxation without representation can be seen in the establishment of self-government, the morale of Patriot forces, and social changes in America as a whole.

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.

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.

After about 4 years the Townshend acts were passed. The Townshend acts were originated by Charles Townshend. They were meant to add even more taxes on all imported goods, which makes everything almost double the original price. Great Britain needed to pass this act because they still had so much of the debt to pay ofF. This was a huge financial burden for the colonists. There were many violent protests.This act eventually led to the Boston tea

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.

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 taxes were a huge part of the Revolutionary war and they caused one of the key rebellions in the British Colonies that sparked major conflict. This rebellion is known as the Boston Tea Party. In the Boston Tea Party, a group of Patriots who called themselves the Sons of Liberty dressed themselves as Native Americans and went to the Boston Harbor. Once there they went aboard ships that were carrying tea and they threw 92,000 pounds(340 chests) of tean into the harbor. This act changed the world as the colonists knew it. It sparked the Coercive acts, known as the intolerable acts in America to be

In being colonies of England, a country whose government is partially representative and partially monarchic, the American colonists struggled to create democratic societies because they were forced to accept the British laws and duties passed by the British government, however, they did succeed. Though at first, while the colonists were struggling to establish themselves in the colonies, they welcomed the support of their motherland. As time pass went on, however, the colonists were divided in opinions. Some colonists became loyalists, many felt patriotic to their colony and some remained undecidedly neutral. When the colonies realized how interconnected and alike they were, they decided to call for intercolonial congresses. Through these intercolonial assemblies whichever colonies chose to be represented were able to be. Therefore, the colonists in colonial America were governed by a government for and by

The American colonies had good reason to suspect some other motives were at play in Britain and with their fears came more taxes. With their ever-growing belief that in some way Britain was devising a plan to seize their liberties, colonists started to boycott British luxury goods so Britain would have to stop the taxes since they would not be making revenue. However, this did not stop Parliament from adding new taxes to the list. In 1767, the Townshend Revenue Acts were imposed and set a new series of taxes on the colonists to offset the costs of administering and protecting the American colonies. Items taxed include imports such as paper, tea, glass, lead and paints. The restrictions Britain

After the French and Indian War the United Colonies and Britain began to clash. This was, for the most part, due to taxation without representation. Britain had began to tax the colonists heavily due to the debt of the war. On top of this King George III had just made the proclamation of 1763, preventing all colonists from settling west of the Appalachian Mountains. This upset the colonists because they had just fought risking their lives for that land and now they are told they cannot use it. Britain's point of view on “taxation without representation” was that the colonists were being represented through virtual representation. While the colonists’ point of view was that virtual representation was not a fair way to be represented and instead should be represented through actual representation.

The 1773 Tea Act did cause the American Revolution in that it sparked huge opposition amongst the colonists. It was the third time that the British had tried to tax the Americans — both the 1765 Stamp Act and the 1767 Townshend Duties had been repealed due to such opposition. The Tea Act was the final straw for many colonists — the Sons of Liberty organised a huge protest in which they boarded the ships carrying the East India Company’s tea, and threw £10,000 worth of tea into the sea in defiance. This was known as the Boston Tea Party and demonstrated to the British that the Americans were not willing to accept British taxation. The slogan ‘no taxation without representation’ was frequently used, showing how the Americans felt the British, in trying to tax them, were attempting to impose a tyrannical rule. The Boston Tea Party provoked outrage in Britain, with many of the politically conscious calling for the Americans to be punished. This then led to the Coercive Acts in 1774, which aimed at isolating Boston — although it only resulted in increasing the tension between the

As the colonies and England grew further apart the resentment of additional taxes and tariffs increased the distance between the two. England came up with the Tea Act, Sugar Act, and Stamp Act, all of which were designed to regain the money England felt was due. All tea imported to the colonies was hit with an additional tax covered by the Tea Act. The Sugar Act allowed British troops to enter, search, and seize any items that they desired without probably cause, this supposedly allowed them to control the flow of illegal and untaxed goods. The Stamp Act was a tax placed on all paper goods including those materials that could possibly be made into paper. These three taxes were collectively known as the Intolerable or Coercive Acts. Probably the tax that hit

The British had the power to enact various laws in Parliament outside of America which significantly effected life and trade in the 13 colonies. But the British Laws were used like a 'one-way street' - the Acts of Parliament benefited the British but not the colonies and, to compound this, the Americans were not afforded the same rights as the British people, nor did they have any representatives in the British Parliament to present their points of view.

The British retained controlled over the colonies. After many years under British control, the colonists became discontent. This discontent was due to unfair acts and laws the British placed on the colonists. The colonists had no representation in the parliament, nor could they protest without consequences.

In addition, the British did not consider those living in their colonies, or in other colonies, as citizens who should be represented in the British Parliament. Therefore, the colonist’s people’s demands were disregarded. For example, even though the colonies wanted full rights as British citizens, the British refused to do so. Thus, the colonies had less political power compared to the people in Europe. In addition, since the British were not able to agree to the colonist’s prime demand, the colonies developed a separate and unique “American” identity. Therefore, over a period of time, colonists went from viewing themselves