The Colonists Actions And British Government 's Responses

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.

After the victory towards French in the Seven Years War, the political and social relationship of the colonists and Great Britain had shifted to a different direction. The colonists began to think of themselves as Americans. At that time, The British government felt that the colonies had become quite independence, and they wanted their colonies to start paying tax in order to help England pay the national debt. Not only were Americans forced to pay direct taxes, but they were also obliged to involve in strict regulatory acts such as Sugar Act and Currency Act. Sugar Act (1764) strongly affected American’s trading in which their oceanic vessels and cargos could be inspected by the British Navy and might be confiscated if the paper and the goods that being transported were in disagreement. Currency Act (1764) restricted colonial governments to print their own paper money. These two acts put some colonists in anger but they were not enough to result in civil disorder until the Stamp Act was passed. The reason that the colonists resisted government authority with the passage of the Stamp Act (1765) was because the Stamp Act collected taxes in all type of papers including newspapers, playing cards, licenses, and stamps. This outraged many colonists especially the educated and

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 passing of the Stamp Act by Parliament in 1765 caused a rush of angry protests by the colonists in British America that perhaps "aroused and unified Americans as no previous political event ever had." It levied a tax on legal documents, almanacs, newspapers, and nearly every other form of paper used in the colonies. Adding to this hardship was the need for the tax to be paid in British sterling, not in colonial paper money. Although this duty had been in effect in England for over half a century and was already in effect in several colonies in the 1750?s, it called into question the authority of Parliament over the overseas colonies that had no representation therein.

     The Stamp Act, however, created much more protest. In 1765, Parliament passed an act requiring the colonists to pay tax stamps on any paper product. The act infuriated colonists because this act was a direct attempt to raise money without the consent of the colonial assemblies. The colonists felt that they were being taxed without representation. With great anger, colonists refused to allow the tax stamps to be sold. Merchants even agreed not to order British goods until the act was abolished. Then, in October of 1765, delegates gathered to discuss the Stamp Act. The Stamp Act Congress stated that the right of taxation belongs only to the people and their elected representatives. Also, they decided that Parliament couldn’t deny their right to trial by jury. They argued that Parliament didn’t have the power to tax them because they had no representatives in Parliament. They denied Parliament’s right to tax them for revenue. The Stamp Act was repealed in 1766, but following that, Parliament passed the Declaratory Act. It stated that the kind and Parliament had full legislative power over the colonies regardless.

The political views of the British colonies in America were different from Britain’s views. Britain emerged from the French and Indian War with a huge amount of debt. Britain wanted to maintain its control over the British colonies in America and also wanted the colonies to help pay the debt from the War. Parliament passed several acts, one being the Stamp Act, levying taxes on the colonies. The colonists felt they had no representation in Britain and should not be taxed without representation. The colonists did not want the Stamp Act to be a precedence for future tax acts. The Virginia legislature passed resolutions against the act. Riots broke out throughout the colonies, including Virginia. Effigies of George Mercer, the stamp distributor in Virginia, were hanged and burned. In Williamsburg, Mercer was greeted by an angry mob. The Virginia legislature in Williamsburg passed resolutions against the Stamp Act. Eventually, Parliament repealed the act. Actions by both the colonists and the British demonstrated their philosophical differences. The colonists boycotted British goods in an effort to avoid paying import taxes. Interestingly, there was

After a long time coming, the 13 colonies: New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia, finally won their independence against the british government on July 4th 1776. This war of independence made not only political changes for the US but also around the world. After years of tension building up, the first strike for americans to be against britain was when the British government implemented the Stamp Act. This was a tax on all stamps to help reimburse Britain for the land they acquired for the 13 colonies. The colonist weren’t all that thrilled about this tax not only because the tax was high but because they had no representation

Organized colonial resistance began between the years 1763-1776. The policies of Britain toward their American colonies over this time period escalated tension between the two, and finally led to the rejection of Royal power by the colonies. The British policies caused this outcome because they threatened the colonists’ republican values. These were ideals adapted from the early classical Greek and Roman republics, as well as from laws established by the British. These core beliefs centered strongly on God-given inalienable rights, liberty of the people, and the belief that all should take part in the government. The combination of harsh British policies regarding taxation, settlement and everyday

In the past, when the British had control over the thirteen colonies they were using their power to make citizens pay off war debts from the French and Indian War. The British did this by making the colonist pay taxes without their consent through: the sugar act, townshend act, stamp act, declaratory act, etc. These taxes made the colonist furious and had created distant relationships with the british government which was in sense forming a rebellion for later on. Then the tea party act made the Colonist finally disobey the British government because they were outraged by tea act and how the tea act was able destroy their jobs. The Colonist responded by disguising themselves as indians in order to dump the tea into sea--which was known as 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

In early spring of 1765, Prime Minister Grenville introduced the Stamp Act. As a “direct tax” on the colonists, the Stamp Act stipulated that “anyone who used or purchased anything printed on paper had to buy a revenue stamp for it” and these included items such as newspapers, legal documents, and playing cards. In a sense, the Stamp Act affected every level of society; landowners, merchants, printers, and sailors were all required to pay taxes for the printed papers they used. The Stamp Act was not welcomed with open arms in the colonists because it raised constitutional issues that initiated the first serious protests against British imperial policy. The colonists felt, compared to their counterparts in Britain, the British Parliament wasn’t treating them fairly.

The Stamp Act affected everyone by placing taxes on every printed document. This included newspapers, almanacs, pamphlets, deeds, wills and licenses. Britain was receiving ten times more from the colonies, and America took notice. It was an obvious attempt by England to get money from them without their approval. This made them feel hopeless until Patrick Henry spoke out on May 1765, to the House of Burgesses. Henry claimed that Americans had equal rights as the British, such as the right to be taxed by their own representative; Virginia shouldn't have to pay any taxes not given by the Virginia Assembly, and anyone who opposed the (soon called), Virginia Resolves was an enemy to the

The primary source document chosen for this assignment is a newspaper from the Pennsylvania Gazette. Stamp Act was commenced on November 1, 1765. The primary source was produced just six days after the commencement and gives an account of how the cities of Boston, New York, and Philadelphia responded to the first accounts of Stamp Act distributors trying to collect dues. All three cities hanged the distributors names in effigy and destroyed the distributors personal property in bonfires. In 1765, most colonists were still loyal subjects to the Crown, but the Act was seen as an encroachment upon their personal liberties, namely the right to tax the colonists without the colonists having representation in the British Parliament.

“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)

The british were very unfair and very unattractive to the american colonies mostly because of power and money the american colonies just wanted independence and self ruling for their own colony that's why we had the american revolution. In the 1760s, shortly after the conclusion of the french and indian war, the british parliament passed a series of laws and taxes on the american colonies.They created unfair laws and taxes on the british.The colonist disagreed with great britain on the fairness of these laws and taxes which led to conflict between the two sides.Eventually, this erupted into the American Revolution.(doc 1) The american colonies wanted to make there own decisions and have their independence.But the british wanted to rule and make laws and taxes for the american colonies also to punish the americans for their wrong doings.The american colonies do organized protest in spite of these laws and actions.Patrick henry responds to the stamp act patrick says in one of his speeches king George is a tyrant he breaks rules he is a threat to his own people.When Patrick Henry puts that in his speech it really lets you know that what they were doing was wrong and for king George to be leading it makes it even worst because he knows what he is doing and did not really care alongs as the british colonies were getting money for the debt they were in after the French and Indian war.