The Influence Of Taxation On The Revolutionary War

“No man should be subject to any tax which he has not given his own consent”, said John Adams, a young lawyer from Braintree, Massachusetts. How is this simple quote significant to the American Revolution? To start off, one reason the American Revolution happened was because the colonists kept getting taxed without consent. One of the first taxes enforced was the Stamp Act, which required colonists to pay fees for any printed documents. Afterwards, Parliament granted the British East India Company to sell directly to colonists, causing the tea to become cheaper, but still taxed. This lead to the Boston Tea Party, a protests by the colonists where they dumped 300 cases of tea into water. They wanted Parliament to know how they breached their

The 18th century can be marked as a period of internal and external struggle for the American colonists. From improper representation, to unfair taxes, such as the Stamp Act, to being overall abused by Britain, the colonists were justifiably angry. From this anger, the slogan “No taxation without representation” was born and quickly began to emerge from the lips of almost every colonist all across America. The demand from colonists everywhere for no taxation without representation weighed heavily as a symbol for democracy, as it revealed the mindset of many – Britain was using the hardworking colonists and took their money without even giving them a say – and laid the foundation for the American revolutionary war, allowing more arguments and

“No Taxation without Representation” cried colonists all over the 13 colonies in the 1760s. Many of whom who only saw the taxes as a dent in their income rather than a necessity for a nation to survive. In the pamphlet (“Considerations…” by Thomas Whately), the author who is an advisor to the British Chancellor of the Exchequer references to the French and Indian war and states “We are not yet received from a war undertaken solely for their Protection ( the colonies)...”. Evidently wars depend upon tremendous amounts of money win or lose, fortunately with the support of its mother country, the colonies prevailed and won the French and Indian war. In order to replenish its

The American Revolutionary War in 1755 spouted from a conflict between the British government and British people living in the then 13 American colonies. The crown and his legislature passed tax measures, which the people of the thirteen American colonies fiercely opposed. American leaders took action against taxes because the government that created the laws offered no representation for those being taxed which is where taxation without any representation stems from. The crown only allowed upper-class men vote in England and most elections within American colonies, although the American voting class weren’t able to express on the ballots their views of the parliament.

The topic of revolution is extremely subjective. What may appear as an insurrection to some might not be as extreme to others. When talking about the American Revolutionary War, however, the answer is clear. While the War certainly brought about change within the United States, it wasn’t necessarily very revolutionary. The most important aspects of the colonies, such as ideas about government, various types of societal equality, slavery and freed blacks, and the rights of women remained for the most part, unaffected.

“Join or die” was once the slogan of the colonists during the French and Indian War. However, it changed to “liberty and justice for all” or “No taxation without representation” during the American Revolution. The British and the colonies had just won the French and Indian War, one would have thought that they would grow closer, however, they did not. England was in great debt from the war, and they made the colonies pay for it, Bypassing multiple acts and taxes. Factors such as harsh taxation without representation, unacceptable mandates, and oppression against colonists lead to the American Revolution April, 1775 as shown in Documents 1, 2, 3, and 4.

Beginning with the Stamp Acts, the first tax (March 22nd, 1765) to the colonists by the British, ignited the strong belief of “no taxation without representation” coined by Jonathan Mayhew. The Stamp Acts consisted of a tax on ship’s papers, legal documents, licenses, newspapers, other publications, and playing cards; which in the colonist’s defense, is a common item especially with merchants who would have to buy licenses and ship papers on the daily. The money gathered by the Stamp Act was to pay for the ten thousand troops to be stationed near the Appalachian mountains in the case of defending them. However, colonists believed that taxes previously were to help economic growth, but not raise money. Also, no colonial legislative actions had given approval either (Document 6).

With the end of the French and Indian War came an influx of new taxes on the British American colonies. Beginning with the Proclamation Line of 1763, resentment of Parliament grew. Where colonists had once been proud Britons, and enjoyed “the British system of government—with its limited government and respect for the rights of the individual”, many now were frustrated and felt crushed under the boot of tyranny (Document 3). These are sentiments that drive the narrative of the Revolutionary War today; most non-historians see the war for independence as an organized rebellion of a united people against an oppressive, tyrannical government. Evidence suggests, however, that the Founding Fathers overstated the “death, desolation, and tyranny” they

Patriotism defines America like no other continent. The victory of the Seven Years’ War evoked the patriotism in the inhabitants of North America, however, the aftermath of the war led to a series of events that would create a domino effect, resulting in the Revolutionary War. The outset of this domino effect was the taxation passed by the Parliament to reduce the debt after the war, named Stamp Act. The impact of this taxation was extremely poignant since it was the first direct taxation applied to the population of the colony. Through the employment of boycotts as a form of rebellion, Americans manifested that the tax seemed outrageous since it was meant to collect a profit rather than to regulate trade.

Unjustified taxes and laws forced onto the colonists consequently started the beginning of the revolution. The colonists, who were understanding civilians, accepted most of the taxes that they had to pay until a new act was passed. The king ran the stamp act which unreasonably raised revenue and to one civilian John Dickinson “the raising of revenue was never intended...never did the British parliament, [until the passage of the stamp act] think of imposing duties in America for the purpose of raising a revenue.” (Document 2) This is just one comment from one civilian about his disagreement on the stamp act while others took action and revolted against the Kings new act.

Chapter 6: Empire and Resistance records how the Revolutionary War unfolded as the result of the French Indian War or as the Europeans called it, The Seven Years War. When the British were victorious, they gained territory west of the Applicants Mountains and east of the Mississippi River. Colonists were eager to settle on these lands but King George III, the newly crowned king of Britain, issued the Proclamation of 1763 which prohibited the desires of the American Colonists as the result of Pontiac’s Rebellion. Afterward, the British had imposed hefty taxes on the colonies with the first being the Sugar Act which was created by Greenville’s program and passed by the British Parliament. It taxed not only sugar but coffee, animal hides, and

What would have happened if Britain never had to tax the American colonists? Would the colonies have ever become independent? Would the United States still be under British rule? Unless there was another cause for America to wish to become independent, America might as well have still been under the control of Great Britain. King George III’s, a ruler of Great Britain, major choice, during his reign, made all the difference, in his country’s and the American Colonists’ future.

After the end of the French and Indian War in 1763 the American people had taxes placed on them by the British. The British Parliament claimed that by placing the taxes they were defending the colonies for the Americans. During the twelve years following the war, the British enacted a numerous amount of taxes that allowed them to raise revenue from the American economy. This taxing of the American people hurt the American economy and started to push the American colonists toward an independence movement so they could have a free economy. Over the course of the twelve-year period there were six acts enacted to take money from the American economy.

The American economy has a storied history for its relatively short existence. The British ruled America until the country was recognized as independent in 1776. There has been much debate over what was the cause of the American Revolution, but many hypothesize the catalyst to be one of Britain’s aggressive taxation policies, consequentially, leaving the colonists with an incentive to revolt. In this paper, I will summarize Reid’s article, I will then analyze the underlying theories that Reid uses in making his arguments and show my positions on the incentives that he puts forward. I will also take a closer look at his model of the political economy and critique its usefulness and applicability to everyday circumstances as well as its unique interaction with the topic of the American Revolution.

Furthermore, Great Britain had commanded new payment methods which created a ruckus with the Americans causeing great anger. Rebellion and discontent were rampant. The colonies started rebelling against ‘Mother England’ because of taxes issued to the colonies, in as much, England’s power did not allow them to have representation. The Revenue Act of 1764 made the Constitutional issue of whether or not the king had the right to tax the people who are living in his kingdom or the thirteen colonies. Eventually, this "became an entering wedge in the great dispute that was finally to wrest the American colonies from England" (Carey 48). "It was the phrase "taxation without representation" (Montgomery 138) that was to draw many to the cause of the American patriots against the mother country. That has royal authority to be able to term public opinions into a revolutionary battle.