Imagine one day after a long day off work in the fields, you go to your local pub or watering hole and you ask for your favorite brand of whiskey on the rocks. Then bam, there’s a tax on it. Not much, but not only do you have not just pay the 2 cents for your whiskey but you’re paying an extra penny for your favorite drink to the government. You thought your Government was getting rid of taxes forever but no, you have to pay for the cost of your freedom, because freedom is never free. In 1791, almost 20 years after the Revolutionary War, the United States was facing a monetary deficit. Alexander Hamilton, the Secretary of the Treasury, proposed the idea in order to keep a sustainable government, he wished to propose a small tax law, “set at a varying six to 18-cent per gallon tax rate, with smaller distillers often paying more than twice per gallon what larger producers paid. " Many eastern farmers, could easily transport the grain of their farms to market, but, “The western part of Pennsylvania at this time was separated from the east by the Allegheny Mountains .” These mountains made it very difficult for western farmers to get their products to market, to make it easier for them so they distilled it, and turned their grains into whiskey, making it a taxable product by the 1791 tax on whiskey.
The tax was unfair due to the idea it was “based on the capacity of the still rather than the quantity produced. ” Also, it “was required to be paid in cash - something unusual for
After the war the British didn’t have a lot of money left. Therefore, they created and passed the Sugar act. This act put taxes on sugar, certain wines, coffee, pimiento, cambric, and printed calico. The colonist didn’t want to pay these taxes because they believed that it wasn’t their fault, so they shouldn’t have to pay for it. The thing that made them really mad was the fact that they were being taxed without a voice in
From the period of 1754 to 1763, the British engaged in a war with the French within American territory. This war, fought due to both French and Native American hostilities, affected both the Americans view on the British and British treatment of their colonies. Ultimately, the French and Indian war lead to political, economic, and geographical changes for the American colonists and Great Britain.
As the Revolutionary War ended, the United States faced a completely new set of challenges. Now the United States had to shift focus from gaining independence from England to gaining their own financial security. The newly formed country had to figure out a way to pay for the war debt incurred by the colonies. In order to do this, the Secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton, convinced congress and the president that a tax on whiskey would be able to provide the revenue needed to repay the debts. However, the tax on whiskey was met with heavy resistance. To Hamilton, the tax was only “a few dollars a year for the average small distillery” but for the Frontiersmen it was an attack on their way of life. The resistance to the tax, the
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.
In addition, revenue obtained were to be used also to pay the expenses of governors and judges. As John Hancock states in his document “Bostonians Protest the Townshend Acts” 1768, “Taxes designed for the support of the Civil Government in the Colonies, in a Manner clearly unconstitutional, and contrary to that, in which ‘till of late, Government has been supported, by the free Gift of the People in the American Assemblies or Parliaments”. This was a clear display of corruption, which ultimately, led to a night of anger resulting in rioting and disputes against customs officials. As the American colonists perceived this to be an overthrow on their legislative authority.
The American Revolutionary War was a long hard fought war that lasted about 8 years. Many Countries were involved in the war, such as The United States, France, Great Britain, Spain, and The Dutch Republic. Not all countries actually fought but they provided either side with weapons and supplies to help them have a greater chance of winning the war. More than 70,000 people were killed during the great American Revolutionary War. The Americans were tired of the loyalist British taking advantage of them. They were tired of the new taxes that kept being created by the British. The Americans were tired of being pushed around, so they decided to do something about it. High Tensions eventually got between the two countries and they began to start a war, which was known as The American Revolutionary War. Before the war began, a great man implied, “One of the most essential branches of English liberty is the freedoms of one’s house, a man’s house is his castle”, informing everyone that the colonies should be freed from British control (Otis). The American Revolutionary war was a war started, so the 13 colonies of America could gain there independence from Great Britain. Thousands of soldiers were killed while many others were severely wounded. The American Revolutionary war was one of the greatest wars in American history, because it had many great battles, was led by some of the greatest leaders, and got the 13 colonies independence from Great Britain.
This is significant because if actually collected, the tax would have destroyed a large part of the rum industry. This was extreme compared to the Sugar Act, when passed by Parliament, because the Sugar Act cut the previous tax on molasses in half. However, the government promised stricter enforcement in 1764, and the writing of the bill made it clear that the it’s purpose was not to regulate trade but to raise revenue. Both acts were intended just for the colonies, but the Sugar Act was less justifiable to the colonists. Native English were not being taxed in the same way the colonists were. The Molasses Act was focused on trade, which was specific to the colonies because of their location. However, the Sugar Act was just to raise money after the French and Indian War. Native English were not being taxed equally. This caused outrage and strain on the relationship between the colonies and England because the colonists felt they were taxed
Imagine being an active participant in the American Revolution in the late 1700s. Not only that, imagine being on the side fighting for your freedom. The war ends, you're in the clear for a leisurely life of freely doing what you please, and you're happy. You're also a farmer that happens to be located in Pennsylvania. Before you know it, Congress comes to the decision to pass a tax on the production and distribution of whiskey, one of your main crops. What? Woah, woah, woah, wait a minute, did you not just fight a whole war against the taxes being imposed on you? A war for your rights? This can't be right, it just cannot be. Ah, but it is all too true. In the 1790s, a tax was passed that raised the price on distributing whiskey. This
Part two of the book sets the chronology of events regarding the excise tax on distilled spirits, which was to be an intricate part of Hamilton's financial planning aimed at righting the fiscal ship of the new nation. It is made up of five
In 1776, the American people declared themselves an independent nation. The American people were traumatized by the Revolution and feared a strong central government. This led to their first attempt at a government, the Articles of Confederation, which ultimately failed. After this let down of a government, the founding fathers wrote the Declaration of Independence, which would become the law of the American land. John Adams and Thomas Jefferson were two influential individuals, who were originally involved in the writing of the Declaration of Independence. Both were involved in the political side of the Revolutionary war, but when speaking of it, told alternate versions of the war. As they approached the end of their lives, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams dedicated themselves to telling extremely differentiating versions of the Revolutionary War; Jefferson focusing on the glory and Adams focusing on the hardships, while Jefferson’s version is the only one recorded in the textbooks students use today.
This was a tax, also to get revenue from the colonists, on glass, lead, paper, tea and paint imported into the
It went from 6 pence per gallon, to only three. However, it was only one and a half pennies to bribe a customs agent to smuggle untaxed molasses. The colonists maybe wouldn’t have minded this payment had Lord Grenville went about it another way. It was the first ever direct tax placed upon the colonists and was considered quite fair. The renowned cause of their discrepancy was that Parliament was forcefully taxing them without a representative in Parliament. This led to the famous revolutionary battle cry, no taxation without representation. As a direct tax, it affected the consumption of all popular goods such as sugar, wine, textiles, tropical foods, silk and numerous other items, and had, as its stated purpose, the purpose of raising revenue for the Crown. This intent is stated clearly in the preamble of the Sugar Act, "It is expedient that new provisions and regulations should be established for improving the revenue of this Kingdom... and... it is just and necessary that a revenue should be raised... for defraying the expenses of defending, protecting, and securing the same." This caused the colonists to come to the conclusion that Parliament was using them for their own selfish benefit. The fact that this tax was placed directly upon them violated the British principle that taxes could only be levied if the common people approved through their elected representatives. They didn’t have representatives in Parliament and were taxed solely by their own legislatures for the past century. They completely understood the circumstances and why they were partially responsible to contribute to the payment of their defense, but at the same time, Parliament truly had no
A motivating force behind the revolution was the American embrace of a political ideology called "republicanism", which was dominant in the colonies by 1775. The "country party" in Britain, whose critique of British government emphasized that corruption was to be feared, influenced American politicians. The commitment of most Americans to republican values and to their rights, helped bring about the American Revolution, as Britain was increasingly seen as hopelessly corrupt and hostile to American interests; it seemed to threaten to the established liberties that Americans enjoyed. The greatest threat to liberty was depicted as corruption. The colonists associated it with luxury and, especially, inherited aristocracy, which they condemned.
However, before I explain my reasoning I should explain the further terms about the tax system. The tax system is a legal system for assessing and collecting taxes. Taxation is a sum of money demanded by a government for its support or for specific facilities or services, levied upon incomes, property, sales, etc. Tax history for over 2,500 years has concentrated on two noteworthy issues: who pays and what is exhausted. For the majority of mankind 's history, expenses were paid by poor people laborers, slaves, settlers, or vanquished people groups to backing the administration and the wealthy classes. Taxation as the obligation of free natives is a cutting edge idea that began with the rise of established governments—first in England and later in the United States and Western Europe. ("Taxation.")
In order for these governments to function there was a need for revenue to meet the expenses incurred by these governments. This need for revenue was met by levying taxes on individuals and businesses. It has always been a question to the population being taxed as to whether or not the government was doing a good job in assessing and managing the money it collected from taxes.