The Action Of The Colonist

The British government had just fought a costly war with France and needed money to pay for medical care and damage. Needing a source for funds, the British turned to their newly acquired land and sought after the colonies for payment. This led to the British government tightening control over the colonies and made them feel oppressed. The British imposed several acts on the colonies. One of these acts was the Sugar Act of 1764. The purpose of the law was to stop the smuggling of goods in and out of the colonies. Naval officers used writs of assistance to enter colonial

In 1763, the French & Indian War came to an end with Britain on the winning side. While triumphant, the war had expanded the British territory and plunged the nation into severe debt that stressed Britain's finances. In an effort to increase revenues during the war, the British government further exploited the colony by imposing new tax laws. During 2 years, the Parliament of Great Britain had passed the Sugar Act, the Stamp Act in succession, which unjustifiably taxed daily supplies from sugar to paper. The Currency Act was also enforced in colonies, prohibiting the colonies from issuing legal tender paper money only for the benefits of British merchants.

During late 18th century America, there was much debate regarding the topic of the where the American colonies should stand: with Britain, or separate from them. The British crown, along with parliament, continuously imposed taxes upon the colonies and with each tax imposed the colonists grew increasingly angrier. Some might say that the British government behaved as a tyrant towards their American subjects. Opposing, there still was the debate that the British were justified for the taxes they imposed and their “tyrant’ behavior since they had supported the colonies in the French-Indian War and for many other reasons. While the British did have a good argument regarding their justification of their taxes and behavior the colonies were the

From 1754-63, America and Britain fought side by side in the colonies. The French and Indian War made the colonies rethink their allegiance to Britain and fostered the idea of independence in the colonies. Firstly, British soldiers made American soldiers feel inferior. Then a multitude of proclamations, laws, and rules, were passed that negatively impacted the colonies without their input. These actions led the colonies to band together and nurtured a spirit of independence in the British colonies in America.

al, 132). Any violators were going to be sentenced in front of a judge in England without a jury (Boyer et. al, 133). Britain’s prime minister projected this would make them 100,000 euros which would account for 20 percent of North American military expenses (Boyer et. al, 133). Unlike the the Sugar Act this was and internal tax which was literally Britain just trying to taking the colonists money whereas the Sugar act was supposed to boost the economies by trading within. The stamp act was one of the last things Britain did before the iconic American Revolution. This also is when the colonists came up with the slogan no taxation without representation. These unfair acts and taxes are key contributors that pushed the colonists over the tipping point to ultimately revolt from the British

In 1764 Parliament passed the Sugar Act, which lowered the tax on the molasses the colonists imported. Grenville hoped this change would convince the colonists to pay the tax instead of smuggling. The act also allowed officers to seize goods from accused smugglers without going to court.

In 1776, the original thirteen colonies officially declared their independence from Great Britain after the American revolution. This fight for freedom was not an easy one however and was brought on by a chain of events following the French and Indian War in 1754. After fighting in the French and Indian War, Great Britain had greatly over-extended itself, causing a period of severe debt. To cope with this debt, Parliament started trying to generate revenue for the country; one way this was done was though the passing of acts. In 1764, under the order of George Grenville, Chancellor of the Exchequer at the time, the Sugar Act and the Currency Act were implemented. These two acts were consumption taxes on sugar and printing currency, respectively. Not too long after these acts were passed, the Stamp Act of 1765 occurred, requiring colonists to pay for an official seal to have their mail sent. After this act was passed, colonists were becoming angry that they were being taxed on nearly everything. This anger led to the

Parliament decided that the colonies should help pay towards the cost of the recent war debt and for future defense. The first step towards this was the Revenue Act of 1764, generally referred to as the Sugar Act. The Sugar Act was also known as “an Act with Teeth,”(Mass Historical Society) symbolizing that it was an act with depth or of importance. The Act itself was divided into two sections. First, it was intended to raise money from trade between the British colonies in America. It levied import duties on a list of raw materials including: sugar, coffee, indigo, wine, rum, lumber, and various cloths. The Sugar Act made the Molasses Act of 1733 perpetual. Although it cut the tax on molasses in half, from sixpence to threepence per gallon, to discourage smuggling and to make the tax attractive. Second, the Act revamped and reinvigorated the customs service, which managed the collection of these import duties. For the first time, colonists argued that Parliament was depriving them of a fundamental constitutional right to have these goods duty free.

The Sugar act of 1764 placed taxes on all sugar products in hope to raise revenues. The reaction from the colonists were overwhelmingly negative. Colonists denounced this act as a "violation of American political rights because the taxes are imposed without consent"(Burg 5) Following the Sugar Act, the Stamp Act of 1765 placed direct taxes on any paper documents in order to raise revenue for the British government. "Where the Sugar Act primarily affected shippers and merchants, the Stamp Act had a far bigger impact" (Belmonte

On April 5, 1764, the Sugar Act was the first of many taxes to be placed upon the American colonies to help pay off Britain’s debt from the American Revolution. In the Sugar Act, products imported into the colonies were being taxed, such as coffee, textiles, and, of course, sugar. The colonists did not take too kindly to this, as the number of places that they could sell to was lowered, which led to the amount of money for them to buy things was decreasing, so their economy became weaker. And as they had less money to support themselves, the taxes were affecting them more than ever. In this way, the colonists became much more aware about how the British were treating them.

When the conflict between the American colonists and Britain is summarized in one sentence, any person would agree that the colonists were completely justified in revolting against Britain. After more than a century of self-rule in the American colonies, Britain had the audacity to barge in and hand down taxes to every colonist to benefit itself, a country located at the other end of the Atlantic Ocean. Britain clearly seems like the enemy in this retelling, but taking an objective view on the subject uncovers a number of reasons why the contrary is true. Britain was a benign mother country that was justified in taxing the colonies because Britain treated the colonies

In 1764, the British Ministry stated that they were initiating a tax requiring the colonist to pay for the stationing of British troops. This act, which got its name from how it was carried out, placed a stamp on items such as Newspapers, Legal Documents, diplomas, etc. George Grenville stated that, “If they are not subject to this burden of tax, they are not entitled to the privilege of

Which is why they had come up with the Quartering Act, assemblies made the colonials pay for supplies and let the British soldiers stay in their housed for free British Parliament, and King George III, viewed these actions as aggressive to the British effort to defend imperial territories. Another major area of argument was taxation. The colonies had profited greatly form the war. Military contracts and expenses by British troops had meant a large inflow of British money. Trade grew, and many American's traded many goods with the French West Indies. This trade was illegal at this time, and seen as ethically bad during a war against the French, but it had proved a lot of their profit at the time. The British national duty had climbed from 72 million pounds before the war to 132 million at its end. To pay down this debt, Britain started a land tax at home, and forced remove tax on many commonly traded goods. The Sugar Act was the first attempt to funding the cover of the colonies by the British Government. In order to prevent stealing and to reassure the making of the British rum, taxes on molasses were dropped. The Stamp

Upon arriving in North America, John Winthrop stated the purpose of the colonies, "We shall be as a city upon a hill, the eyes of all people are upon us." The passengers on the boat that left England had a vision, to be an example for the rest of the world. And for over 100 years, Great Britain ruled over these colonies, under the undocumented policy of salutary neglect. Salutary neglect was a long standing policy that allowed the colonists to violate the laws of trade. However, the British reversed this policy to raise taxes for the debts caused by the French and Indian War. After the reversal of the policy, the colonists started to grow tired and angry over the taxation. They debated Great Britain’s legal power to tax them with no direct representation in Parliament. Soon their disgruntled behavior turned violent, and the American Revolution begun. Although the unfair taxes were placed on the colonists for good reasons from the British point of view, the economic restraints and the lack of political representation in Parliament justified the revolution.

“The Revenue Act of 1764 did not bring in enough money to help pay the cost of defending the colonies. The British looked for additional sources of taxation. Prime Minister Grenville supported the imposition of a stamp tax. Colonial representatives tried to convince Grenville that the tax was a bad idea. Grenville insisted in having the new taxes imposed and presented to the parliament. The parliament approved the tax in February 1765. The colonies responded with outrage. It was considered a “shocking act”.(2)