Solutions To The Salutary Neglect Of The American Colonies

Since the founding of the Thirteen Colonies, the colonists enjoyed a degree of autonomy and self sufficiency from the mother country, England. The colonies had colonial assemblies, which were more democratic than England’s and were independent governments. British mercantilist laws were not strictly enforced due to the policy commonly referred to as salutary neglect. However, as the British increasingly ignore the problems the colonies faced, the colonies began to look for a common government to lead them. This eventually led to three distinct efforts at intercolonial cooperation and union: The New England Confederation, Penn’s Plan of Union, and The Albany Plan of Union. Therefore, although there were unsuccessful attempts to unite the

After the fall of Puritan rule in Massachusetts, Great Britain regained control over Massachusetts and expanded throughout North America, making it one of the greatest empires in the world. In order to maintain their power in the colonies they enacted rules and regulations regarding traded goods. However, most colonists resorted to smuggling and boycotting items. It was not until the French and Indian War did England begin to strictly enforce these restrictions due to a large war debt. The Sugar Act was one the first acts that had started a domino effect which led to the American Revolution.

Before 1750, the undocumented British policy of salutary neglect greatly impacted the methods through which American colonists regulated their daily lives. Through mercantilist thought processes, Britain created the colonies merely for gain of the mother terrain itself. Therefore, it did not give them any specific attention and allowed them to simply rule itself by personal means—and this idea makes up salutary neglect. The colonies used their own assemblies, such as the House of Burgesses, to govern themselves.

Soon the Quartering Act was passed, directing the colonies to provide quarters for British soldiers. Americans found this oppressive because it meant that soldiers were placed in colonial homes. In 1764 Parliament passed the Stamp Act, putting a duty on most printed materials. This was a normal tax for the British as it had been going on in Britain for a long time, and it made sense that the rest of their empire would pay the same tax. This placed a burden on merchants and the colonial elite who did most legal transactions and read the newspapers. Also passed in the same year was the Declaratory Act, which stated that the colonies were subject to the will of Parliament. This made a lot of sense to the British, as Parliament was their ruling body, but, to the colonies who had become used to their own government during the years of salutory neglect, this was a direct threat to their way of life.

As generations grew up in America, nationalism within the colonies grew towards their new country. These settlers slowly lost their patriotic tie to Great Britain and it’s ruler, King George III. So when the French and Indian War ended in America, and the indebted England needed some compensation from American settlers in the form of taxes, the colonists questioned the authority of England and their ability to rule them. British imperial policies such as the Sugar Act of 1764 and the Townshend Tea Tax caused uproar within the colonies against British rule without

To begin with, the British government abused its power. Parliament passed many laws and taxes which infuriated the colonists. They were imposed for power, regulation, and money. These new laws encroached the freedoms of the colonists. For example, the Sugar Act of 1764 increased the tax on sugar imported from the West Indies. The Quartering Act of 1765 required colonists to provide food and

While the colonists had many grievances surrounding King George III the strongest grievance was his plan “To force colonist to buy English products” he had Parliament place high taxes on goods from other countries. The key word

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.

The biggest reason that colonists were becoming disgruntled with their mother country, Britain, was Britain’s heavy debts that Britain had accumulated while fighting wars with France which needed to be alleviated. As with all governments, Britain had to tax its people to procure the funds needed to pay these debts. Britain saw their colonies as thousands of British citizens that they had not taxed satisfactorily. After realizing this, Britain imposed several new taxes on goods imported and exported to and from the colonies. The colonists were livid over the new taxes. After all, Britain had practiced salutary neglect for almost 100 years. Salutary neglect is the practice of leaving one’s foreign acquisitions to their own devices with little to no interference of their government, social, or economic aspects. The colonists immediately began to petition these new taxes. Their logic: “No taxation without representation.”

After the French and Indian War ended in 1954, the British government was in a huge debt by the cost of the war spending. In order to pay for this debt, the Parliament set up a system policy that using the colonies as a source to pay for their massive debt. They passed many act like Tea act, Intolerable acts, and Stamp act to increase the paying tax on the colonies which provoked strong antagonism from the colonies people. From 1763-1783, the colonies blindly accepted the tyranny rule by the British which represented the idea of the colony always loyal to them. However, the British didn’t too much to help their colonies instead forced the colony accepted unequal laws which only bring benefits to their homeland, and this problem will never change

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.

Firstly, the King’s absolute power was a reasonable grievance of the colonists. King George prosecuted the making of laws that were to bind the colonists despite any circumstances. Although, the colonists believed that his power was too unlimited to apply defeat on. This meant that Americans would lose everything if they were to oppose him. Moreover, the Quartering Act portrayed how people’s own homes were resided by militants under the king’s orders. This was a violation to their rights of property. Similarly, the people demanding their laws of nature are in no way for the King’s personal benefit. As a matter of fact, the King should be considered the servant of the people, as his purpose is to serve their injustices. Moreover, the colonists’ rights by nature averse to King George’s beliefs. As expected, his beliefs only respond to the

By 1765, at a Stamp Act Congress, all but four colonies were represented as the “Declaration of Rights and Grievances” was passed. They were determined to let Parliament know that they were equal to British citizens, that there would be no “taxation without representation,” and all efforts to stop tax on colonists would continue (Kennedy, etal 2011.) Although Lord Rockingham, the predecessor of Grenville, sought to repeal of the Stamp Act, this in no way meant Parliament was conceding their control. In fact, while the Stamp Act was repealed, another called the “Declaratory Act of 1766,” gave Parliament the authority to make laws binding the American Colonies, “in all cases whatsoever.” In 1767, George III passed the Townshend Acts to collect tax on glass, lead, paints, paper and, tea. Recognizing that tea was a favorite among the Americans, it ensured greater revenue the British government. Again, the colonists’ rights for representation were ignored and they started to boycott British goods and ultimately, smuggle tea. When the Quartering Act was passed, which specified that colonists were to give room and board to British troops, tension began to rise. For two years, the colonists tolerated British troops on their soil and their dissatisfaction with the British Parliament and King George III became evident through many violent riots, abusiveness of tax collectors and destruction of property. According to Kennedy, etal (2011), Parliament, continually met with

All of sudden after over a century and a half of permitting relative self-rule, Britain was exercising direct influence over colonial life. In addition to restricting westward movement, the parent country was actually enforcing its trade laws. Writs of assistance, or general search warrants, were granted to British customs inspectors to search colonial ships. The inspectors had long been charged with this directly but until this time had not carried it out.

It was easy for the colonists to work around the law, but England did nothing to stop it because trade deals were still happening, and everyone was still making money. This caused Americans to think of their government as equally as powerful as the British bureaucracy. England lost major control over the colonies during the Tradition of Neglect, but they didn’t do anything to stop it. Even though the colonies still considered themselves a part of the British Empire, people understood that they could lead themselves.