The English army. In the eighteenth century, It was probably the most powerful force in the world. Picture columns and columns of red-coated men marching in unison, with rifles on their soldiers, ready to destroy any opposition. This army and the government that controlled it had an extreme amount of influence over the relatively young nation of America and it is easy to see why. It indeed had power over the colonies and could do as it wished. It could tax the people under its rule, occupy the cities that it wished, and take charge over the citizens of those cities. The Americans had many complaints against the British because of their power over them, some which they expressed in open battle, others which they grumbled to each other …show more content…
This is one of the most famous impositions made by the British and was described in the Declaration of Independence with the short item “For imposing taxes on us without our consent”. This is a small statement for describing something that caused so much trouble among great nations. The second of the major actions which caused the colonies grief was actually a series of events that led to no end of anger on the part of the citizens of Boston and the whole of Massachusetts. This was the shift of power to the King’s own General Gage and the infestation of Boston with the King’s army of Lobster Backs. Gage’s governorship became somewhat of a dictatorship in that he possessed an unusual amount of power and had support from the king. Under this dictatorship, the houses of townsfolk were occupied by soldiers and the soldiers were allowed to make their beds in the peoples’ homes and eat from their stores. It truly was one of the most abominable discourtesies committed by the British before the war began, because it required the occupants of the homes to serve the demanding officers who would insist upon having their needs met. This act of the King was one of the major offences which would create a resentful grudge towards Britain that the colonists would eventually release in fury on the
After the French and Indian War, tension was increasing in the English Colonies due to over taxation laws. In March of 1770, hatred between the colonists and the British soldiers erupted into fighting in an event known as the Boston Massacre. The Boston Massacre was a significant event in the American Independence movement. The source of the conflict with the British troops and the Bostonians was the Townshend Act in 1767, three years prior to the massacre. The primary sources in this collection of documents are of different accounts of the massacre: a pamphlet of the testimony of William Wyatt, an article from the Boston Gazette and Country Journal, a sketch by Paul Revere, an account of Captain Thomas Preston, and a court case from John Adams. These documents expose the turmoil of that day from different perspectives of Bostonians and British soldiers. They also show how some colonial leaders used this event to advance the patriot cause. The account of Captain Thomas Preston said that he tried to
When the colonists got mad and were rebelling British acts, Thomas Gage, governor of what is now Massachusetts, also took action by making orders to seize Patriot supplies. Gage started taking responsibly on April 14th, 1775 when he got a letter to take force against the Patriots. In response to the letter he ordered to seize and destroy colonists artillery, ammunition, small arms, and tents and the only way for this plan to be successful was to make it very secretive. If word got out Gage knew the Patriots would gather up and face his troops, so he made the strategy so private his own troops didn’t know what they were going to be ordered to do only his most authorized men knew. The colonists were suspicious of British movement and watched all their activity. On April 15th, 1775 Patriots knew that the British were up to something when they started testing boats and
When the Founding Fathers resisted these taxes on principle that Parliament did not have the authority to tax the colonists, Britain attacked and minimized colonial self-rule , declared colonists subject to any act of Parliament , reestablished internal taxes , closed colonial ports, dissolved
Parliament imposed the Townshend Act, which raised taxes on imported goods. According to John Dickinson, Parliament was justified in imposing the Stamp Act on the colonies. “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” (Doc2).
“‘No taxation without representation!’”(Hart,67). This explains the anger in the colonist on how britain was taxing for the lost items without their consent.
There were several acts that were passed without the consideration of the colonists that would force them to pay a ridiculous amount of taxes to the British mainland. One of these acts was named the Stamp Act, which was enacted in 1765, forced the colonists to pay a tax on every piece of printed paper that they used. This would include legal documents, license, commercial contracts and newspapers in the tax. This tax mostly effected the wealthier and influential of the colonists and would force them to unite in opposition. There were several other acts that would be passed that would force the colonists to pay undue taxes to the British, such as the Quartering Act and the Tea
In an excerpt from the Second Continental Congress, the colonists questioned, “What is to defend us against so enormous, so unlimited a power?” (Document 5). They felt as though they were unprotected under British rule. King George of England acted as a tyrant, freely taxing the colonies for no good reason. John Dickinson, a leader who served in the Stamp Act Congress, stated, “Never did the British parliament, (until the passage of the Stamp Act) think of imposing duties in America for the purpose of raising revenue” (Document 2). After the Stamp Act, none of the taxes were justified; the colonies were being taxed simply to create income for Britain. With the unlimited control and absurd taxes, the colonists were bound to start a
By March 5, 1770, only 600 British troops remained in the city (Zobel, 181). “On Monday, March 5, Boston seemed to be holding its breath” (Lukes, 32). The friction between
England made any town meeting, except authorized by the governor illegal, and housed British soldiers in select public buildings. In Massachusetts the British military governor, General Gage, ordered his 3,500 British soldiers in Boston to seize armories and storehouses in Charlestown and Cambridge. After the seizure, 20,000 colonial militiamen mobilized to protect other military supply depots and in the town of Concord the famous defensive force, the Minutemen, were organized.2 With these acts Parliament declared that Massachusetts was in open rebellion. British Secretary of State, Lord Dartmouth, quickly ordered Gage to send his soldiers on a search and destroy mission to capture colonial leaders, and military supplies in Concord. “At the same time Gage would attempt to find, capture, or kill John Hancock and Samuel Adams.”3 The stage was set for the first major engagements of the American Revolution.
The taxes imposed on the colonists by Britain were preposterous. One of the first taxes to be imposed on the colonists were the taxes stated in the Stamp Act. According to Document 10, no man should be subject to any tax to which he has given his own consent. The Stamp Act caused the colonists to revolt since they
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
Consequently, the British Parliament imposed taxation on the colonists in the 1760’s. The colonists resented this intrusion, for they felt they were not truly represented in the British government. Taxation without representation became the rallying cry of the colonists.
The Boston Massacre is considered by many historians to be the first battle of the Revolutionary War. The fatal incident happened on March 5 of 1770. The massacre resulted in the death of five colonists. British troops in the Massachusetts Bay Colony were there to stop demonstrations against the Townshend Acts and keep order, but instead they provoked outrage. The British soldiers and citizens brawled in streets and fought in bars. “The citizens viewed the British soldiers as potential oppressors, competitors for jobs, and a treat to social mores”. A defiant anti-British fever was lingering among the townspeople.
“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)
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.