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The Relations Between Britain And Its American Colonies
The Relations Between Britain And Its American Colonies
The Relations Between Britain And Its American Colonies
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The moment American colonies declare independence in 1776, they became outlaws and disconnected from the British Empire no longer could a text Sam no longer could a profit for them no longer with the forces send their product products across the sea. The British heavily taxed their colony of America with ridiculous taxation of their people , since they declare independence they had a voice within their government stating how much should they be taxed as a people with interstate.
Colonists had no representation among the British Parliament’s decisions which had to change in the Articles of Confederation. The idea of no taxation without representation was brought to the colonists when King George III enforced taxes on the colonists even though the people had no representation to go against taxation. The colonists tried boycotting British goods and protesting. However, the British government kept enforcing tougher laws and colonist's petitions were ignored multiple times. Through these hardships, the colonists made sure that the white property owning men of each state could vote a fair state legislature to pass taxes.
In the Declaration of Rights and Grievances issued by the Stamp Act Congress, they claimed that Parliament lacked the power to tax the colonies because they had no representation. While the Stamp Act was repealed, the colonists were never given representation in Parliament. In the “Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms”, issued by the Second Continental Congress, this same issue was cited as a justification for fighting. “[The British declare] that parliament can ‘of right make laws to bind us in all cases whatsoever.’ What is to defend us against so enormous, so unlimited power?”
At the dawn of the 1770s, American colonial resentment of the British Parliament in London had been steadily increasing for some time. Retaliating in 1766, Parliament issued the Declaratory Act which repealed most taxes except issued a reinforcement of Parliament’s supremacy. In a fascinating exchange, we see that the Parliament identifies and responds to the colonists main claim; Parliament had no right to directly tax colonists who had no representation in Parliament itself. By asserting Parliamentary supremacy while simultaneously repealing the Stamp Act and scaling back the Sugar Act, Parliament essentially established the hill it would die on, that being its legitimacy. With the stage set for colonial conflict in the 1770s, all but one
The colonists insisted that what the British were doing was taxation without representation. I believe that these very different views on actual and virtual representation, played a crucial role in the commencement of the Revolutionary War, giving birth to America as a democracy. Most colonists came from Great Britain but there were also large amounts that came from all over Europe, which then led to a wide variety of hostility toward one another. Many of the governments that they were
Many of the reasons the American colonies believed they were justified in their rebellion from England lay in trade and taxes. When George III inherited the throne at the end of the Seven Years’ War England’s debt had risen to 145 million pounds and his chief minister believed that the American colonies needed to help shoulder the debt. (Nash, et al., 2007. , p. 134) In attempting to collect these taxes from the colonies to relieve the mounting debt Parliament passed a range of acts, which led to discontent among the colonists as many of them restricted trade, their political maneuverability and left many believing they infringed upon their “right to be taxed only by their own consent.”
During the Colonial Era (1492-1763), colonists were justified in waging war against Great Britain; due to the inequitable Stamp Act, the insufferable British oppression, and the perceived tyranny of King George III, the king of Great Britain, however, the colonists were unjustified in some of their actions. In Colonial America, colonists were justified in waging war against Great Britain, because the Stamp Act was unfair and viewed as punishment. Because of the war, Britain had no other choice but to tax the colonists to pay for the debt. For example, according to document 2, the author states that the act was not only for trade but for “the single purpose of levying money.”
The colonists wanted representation when it came down to being taxed, but the British government would not allow it. The government wanted full control over the people, so they made sets of acts and laws that were placed on taxation. For example, the Stamp Acts of 1765. These acts taxed all papers, pamphlets, newspapers, and cards. The Townshend Acts of 1767 were also a large part of taxation.
The rights that the American colonists felt like they were being denied was that they have no say in any important taxes that were placed on them. They also felt like they weren’t able to worship or make their own laws or at least have some say in that department. The overall story is that the American colonists felt like they must run everything through the King and parliament and that they had no say. An example of this would be the stamp act of 1765 which made taxes on all legal documents. There were taxes gradually growing in everything the British could think of.
The American colonies represent the ideals of the mother country through their devotion to their own liberty and justice, and to monetary gain. Colonists use English arguments to justify their aversion to the increases in taxes and regulations after the French and Indian War, using the British argument that it is a nation’s autonomy that determines its freedom. Because the colonists are not represented in the English government and do not have a substantial voice, they have reason to believe that they are not equal to the British, as citizens. Because they are not true citizens, they are unaffected by increases in taxation and denounce the stifling acts. Also, the colonies, like their mother country, are attracted by the profits generated by
To be fair to the colonies, the money that was collected would stay in America, and Americans would be selected stamp agents. However, this small token of hospitality from Parliament did little to cool the growing indignation of the colonists who felt that this act was invading their rights as British subjects. The British Constitution bestowed Englishmen the right of being taxed only by representatives of their own choosing. The colonists had no such representatives in Parliament; therefore they couldn't deny the Stamp Act and the Stamp Act was illegitimate. With this act, the colonists' fury and sullen feelings reached the boiling point.
After the French and Indian War the British were had a gargantuan debt! In order to pay off such a huge debt they imposed new taxes and enforced old ones. Great Britain thought that it was allowed to pass laws like these, because Britain had protected the colonists therefore the colonists have to give obedience. Laws like the Stamp Act, Sugar Act, Tea Act, and along with the British being oblivious to colonists’ pleas to change the harsh laws (Document 2) allowed
As the feeling of British identity radiated from England, the colonies began to reflect this identity and attempted to join in. They asserted their unwavering loyalty to the king in an attempt to be a part of the British nationalism.[5] However, this push to be a part of the identity led to the question of if being British was the same as being English.[6] Colonists began to question if they were truly seen as equal to the English. The American colonists had assumed they were viewed as equal since, they had fought against the French in Canada, participated in the same luxuries, and were an active part of the British market. They believed that they deserved equal standing with the English.[7] Since the American colonies were so new, they had no history to connect to.
“The history of present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations [unlawful seizures], all having in direct object the establishments of an absolute Tyranny over these States. ”(Document E). The British taxed just about anything they could; like tea, paper, legal documents, and stamps “Committees are appointed into the characters and conduct of every tradesman, to prevent them selling tea or buying British manufactures. ”(Document I) The British were taxing the American colonists to pay what Britain lost in the French and Indian war.
In result, economic changes would come to the colonies. Parliament met in 1763 and came to the conclusion that they were not receiving the profit they needed from the colonies (Document F). As a result, many taxes were passed by British Parliament upon the colonies, including the Sugar Act, the Stamp Act (Document H) and the Tea Act. The American colonies were not happy, to say the least. Americans protested, saying that these taxes were unnecessary and unfair.
