The Corruption Of England In The Colonial Period

The colonists were being heavily taxed, and treated very unfairly. With acts such as the

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.

Dictating that Massachusetts produce a certain annual allowance of cotton for the crown would be ridiculous. Due to distance, the Crown was unable to directly regulate economic policy and trade within the colonies so the colonists were forced to devise a regulatory system. This system allowed “a young business man [to] borrow money and move into trade, challenging the commercial position of older, more experienced merchants” (Text, 51).

By creating more strict Navigation Acts, the British tightened control of mercantilism and angered the colonists by restricting their rights. The British enacted acts such as the Stamp Act, Townshend Act, Sugar Act, Molasses Act, and Tea Act, all of which increased taxes on many goods. This resulted in the colonies relying on each other for aid, and thus developing American identity via trade and unity. The Coercive Acts, which were a result of the Boston Tea Party, decreed that the ports of Boston would be closed and the expenses of the Boston Tea Party had to be repaid. To relieve Massachusetts of this massive debt, the other colonies began to help by donating grains, livestock, money, and other necessities (Doc G). This economic aid resulted in the colonies becoming more and more united by forming a national identity against the British. The intended audience for this document was likely the colonists that didn’t live in Massachusetts, that they could be informed on what the situation is in Massachusetts and be encouraged to donate as well. These things economically resulted in the people forming a new, American

The first reason the Colonies were justified is that they were being treated unfairly by England. The first reason the Colonies were treated unfairly by Britain was during the Boston massacre. This event was initiated by an unarmed colonist, who was speaking against the crown. The Redcoats present unnecessarily tried to calm the now group of protestors, one of these soldier’s opened fire on a colonist creating a chaotic scene which wound up killing five colonists. But this shot only sparked more resentment towards the English crown. We can see in document 4, the Boston massacre was completely unnecessary, and altogether avoidable. The tyrannical actions of the Redcoats inspired many forms of propaganda against the British government. Secondly, the British government passed the intolerable acts, closing the Boston harbor. Because the colonist protested against the British government punished them by passing the intolerable acts. As seen in document 6, parliament was abusing its power by passing the tyrannical laws which closed the Boston Harbor as a punishment for the destruction of tea during the Boston tea party. Bostons harbor was a trading hub and many

Since the first civilization Jamestown, the colonists slowly adapted and improved the environment of the land and gained more and more people due to the rapid overpopulation in England. But as the more advanced and smarter the people got. They began to import and export goods to other countries as a growing country, the British began to levy all kinds of trade regulation and taxes, all to stop the aid it was giving to other world power country that British was enemy and the selfish greed British had to only be the one gaining from the colonist. Therefore causing unsettling feelings of the colonies towards them, as they felt they are been treated unfairly and taking away what they felt is their own right and own money.

Economically “In 1763, the average Englishmen paid 26 times as much in taxes each year as the average American colonist paid.” (Shi, Tindall, 120) These taxes were raised because of the war. This money that was coming from the British citizens and was going to “maintaining and defending” (Shi, Tindall, 34) the colonies, and because of this “British leaders thought it [was] only fair that the Americans should pay more.” (Shi, Tindall, 120) So, after all the complaining the Britain’s did British leaders tried to enforce many different taxation “acts” that would lessen the taxes on Britains and raise taxes on colonists. These acts such as the Stamp Act, the Currency Act, and the Sugar Act all ended up falling because the Americans revolted and boycotted the Britain’s in many ways such as, “Thousands signed nonimportation

The colonial economy, geography, and politics had all been subjected to unfair consequences. The acts that were passed served as a way for England to push the responsibility its debt and issues on the colonists. If the colonists’ grievances were appealed, the colonists may have never rebelled against their mother

The colonists were not allowed to send products to other countries or had to pay large tariffs to send them there so that England profited

From the 1650s to the 1750s, the British colonies in America economically thrived under salutary neglect. The British crown would turn a “blind-eye” to merchants and sailors trading with foreign nations– outlawed by Parliament. During this period, the colonists felt as if they had control over the respective state governments and the taxes they paid. However, in the mid-1700s, the period of salutary neglect by the British ended, resulting in greater Parliamentary control and the imposition of many direct taxes, such as the Sugar act of 1764 and the Stamp Act of 1765. These direct taxes angered many colonists, as previously they had been paying indirect taxes, but these direct taxes where place without any direct representation in Parliament.

The colonies were able to trade with Spain, France, and the Netherlands (Even when they weren’t supposed to under the Navigation Acts). Great Britain later tried to enforce those Acts so that they could gain some power back. The colonists ultimately rebelled because of Britain’s

British officials caused angry colonists. Laws like the Sugar Act, Stamp Act, and Tea Act made colonists stand up and resist. British believed the Parliament makes the decisions, but because of the location, difference rules were hard to inforce. The lust for power to control the colonies was very strong but they were not going to keep letting it happen.

The British’s strict enforcement over the American colonies never sat completely well with many of the settlers to begin with, but to go along with their control issues on how they should be ran came many more policies to ensure their restrictions. Unfortunately for Britain, more rules and regulations only increased the colony’s desperation for freedom and their rebellious behavior rather than teaching them a lesson to mind their wonderful Majesty. The colony’s rebellious outbreaks, once began, would not stop until they were completely satisfied in their way of living. These colonies’ resistance towards Britain was due to their policies that had resulted in superfluous taxing, the loss of their trading rights, and

In the colonies, before the French and Indian war, life was good. Things were simple in Britain’s relationship with the colonies, they traded with each other and Britain gave salutary neglect to the colonists trading with people they were not supposed to trade with. Everybody was happy and taxes were limited, and internal taxing was not something Britain did. Mercantilism

The past few years have been some of the most detrimental to the relationship between the Colonies and Britain. Certainly some kind of action must be taken against Britain, because the clear abuse of power which has been prevalent for the past few years cannot stand any longer. Parliament has already forced taxation without representation on the colonies, created monopolies, and have sent British soldiers into the Colonies where they have harassed, and even murdered Colonial citizens. These actions go against our most basic rights and liberties. For many of us, forming mobs is our only voice in the world. Our opponents argue that mob action is nothing more but a barbaric attempt to spread violence. However, what many may not realize is that