ipl-logo

How Did Taxes Affect Colonial America

900 Words4 Pages

The 1770s brought to America changes in many forms. Britain’s rule over the colonies seemed to be slipping away as the monarchy struggled to maintain its influence over the people. The disjoint between the colonies and Britain allowed for a breeding ground of insurgency. Taxation on all sorts of goods such as tea, paper, and molasses were at an all-time high. Taxes were so important to the British that they even passed acts which specifically benefited companies that would directly benefit the crown. The taxation also affected colonists by angering them over the fact that their collected monies were used to pay the salaries of English representatives appointed by the crown instead of the people. Among other things, quartering was something …show more content…

Because of all the war debt inherited by King George, both the Sugar and Stamp Acts were enforced to bring in extra income in an effort for the crown to be able to satiate their debt. Even in the efforts of the colonist to suggest alternatives to the taxes, the crown remained obstinate in their crusade for American monies. After claiming that they were lacking actual representation in England, The Monarchy continued to work off the existing system of virtual representation to represent the colonists. Much of the animosity towards the topic of fair and honest representation stems from the British’s own wording of their agreements with the settlers. Verbiage in official acts, like the Navigation Act, only further confirmed that the British viewed Americans as non-English citizens under the protection of the …show more content…

This was some of the first concrete pieces of evidence of anti-British ideals to be observed within the time. The monarchy system had alienated colonists so much that Thomas Paine, in Common Sense, even went on to call it “the disgrace of human nature” (Paine). Once Britain decided to react to the supposed American rebellion, they sent troops to the colonies and forced its citizens to feed, clothe, and house them; thereby leading to another major issue for the common man. The act of quartering seemed to be in direct violation to the rights of free men. After the extremely tragic event which was the Boston Massacre, colonist saw the British troops occupying the areas as thirsty for American blood. Why should they have to house those which mean to slit their throats? All was permissible from a lack of a

Show More
Related
716 Words | 3 Pages

Even though I agree with. T.H. Breen, when Britain enforced the taxes on the colonies it had an effect on the colonists’ desire to become independent. He didn’t explain why the Britain felt the need to levy taxes on the colonies. . In the 18th century, Europe was going through the movement known as the Age of Reason. During this period, people started to question authority and embraced the idea of change (Week 4 lesson notes).

Read More
416 Words | 2 Pages

After the French and Indian War, the British set out to reform the relationship with the new colonies, (Shultz,n.d.). They issued a number of tax acts on the colonists to raise money. These acts were met with great opposition from the colonists, as they felt it was interfering with the liberties they had fought so hard for. Acts such as the Sugar Act, the Quartering Act, and the Stamp caused the colonists great frustration and this lead to rebellion toward the Crown. The Sugar Act would lower the taxes sugar and molasses, but much to the dismay of the colonists Europe had increased its enforcement of these taxes, (Shultz,n.d.).

Read More
540 Words | 3 Pages

The French and Indian War between Great Britain, France and Spain had a large impact on the colonial- Britain relationship. The Treaty of Paris (1763) ended the war leaving Great britain with a immense amount of debt. Great Britain mistreated the colonies by heavily taxing them and imposing unfair acts. Great Britain also became Great Britain aimed to control the colonies, soon heavy taxation and began to alter the relationship between the two. The most immediate effect felt by the colonists was the proclamation of 1763, Issued by King George 3, the goals were to establish governments for their new territories gained after the war, to encourage peace between the colonists and remaining tribes and to keep colonists confined to the coast.

Read More
1491 Words | 6 Pages

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

Read More
596 Words | 3 Pages

The American Revolution was a product of British taxation on the colonists. First, the colonists were very upset with Britain after they passed the Stamp Act. Second, the colonists didn’t react well to the Townshend Act which the British enforced on the colonists. Last, the Tea Party is a good example for the colonists

Read More
1558 Words | 7 Pages

Between 1763 and 1775, there were three ‘Imperial Crises’ which occurred between the British and the American colonists. The conflict that was produced during this period arose through an undefined balance of political and economic power between the two parties. In 1763, Britain had just concluded the French and Indian war and was left with an immense and almost crippling debt of around 140 million pounds sterling (“Turning Point In American History”). In Britain’s eyes, the most effective way to reduce this debt was increased taxes. Unfortunately, the people of England were already massively overtaxed, which meant the last option for the British was to tax the American colonists.

Read More
1807 Words | 8 Pages

To remedy this situation, Great Britain determined that the American Colonies should be taxed as an instrument in dissolving the country’s debt. The American colonists, especially in the North, took great exception with this decision. This arbitrary, and ultimately Draconian, course of action would result in punitive

Read More
685 Words | 3 Pages

Soon after the Seven Years’ War, the British and the colonists learned that victory came with a rather expensive price (Kennedy, Cohen, & Bailey, 2010). Great Britain tightened its grip on the colonies in North America, expecting colonists to pay for their financial struggles. In order to make colonists pay for the war, Great Britain reminded the North American colonies who had authority by controlling the colonists to submit to various ordinances ratified by British Parliament. This action only showed that arrogance leads to rebellion socially, economically, and politically. Socially, a lack of communication between Great Britain and the North American colonies was to blame for the Revolutionary War.

Read More
832 Words | 4 Pages

(Add dates) From the late 1760’s to July 4, 1776, American Colonists moved from merely protesting the decisions of King and Parliament to a Declaration of Independence and a Revolutionary War. (Remove caused socially, politically and economically). Colonists thought that they had no rights; their freedom was limited, causing many of the colonists to rebel, the quartering act required them to quarter soldiers showing that their freedom was limited. The Quartering Act (1765, 1774) stated “if there shall not be sufficient room in these barracks, then in such a case the soldiers must be quartered in the homes of the people in the colony” (Doc 5).

Read More
1492 Words | 6 Pages

With regards to the revolution, this can be translated into the colonies’ aggressive retaliation or response in the form of the Boston Tea Party and the First Continental Congress on September 5, 1774. (1764 and 1765). Similarly, the Progressive school of thought supports the notion that the American Revolution was incited by the economic motivations of the British and the merchants of the colonies to each maintain or enhance their highly profitable status. With such debate as a motivating factor of the investigation, I will investigate if the Boston Tea Party can be considered the primary cause in the American Revolution. At the same time, I shall attempt to delve in to the backgrounds of the socio-economic factors that have also played a role such as the Stamp Act and political factors such as the passage of intolerable acts.

Read More
426 Words | 2 Pages

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.”

Read More
767 Words | 4 Pages

In 1763 conflicts began to occur between the American colonists and British policy makers. The issues began as George Grenville, prime minister, believed that the colonists should have to obey more laws and pay a part of the expense for defending and administering the empire (Brinkley, 2012). This was an attempt to apply the principles of mercantilism to the colonies (Brinkley, 2012). From 1763 until the Revolutionary War began, the British kept making decisions of enforcement that caused more and more resentment from the American colonies. On his quest for more control over the colonists and to gain money from them, the Sugar Act and Currency act were passed in 1764.

Read More
739 Words | 3 Pages

Living in America is a privilege considering all of the rights we, U.S. citizens are given. These rights include freedom of speech, freedom of press, trial by jury, right to bare arms, right to vote and so many more basic things people should be given. But back in the colonial era the colonists didn’t have any of these rights that they thought were “unalienable rights” meaning every person should have them and they can't be taken from us, so they fought for those rights. And because of this war we now have so many rights that we take granted of every day and love. Some of these important rights also include the right to a capitalistic economy and a fair chance at wealth and gain.

Read More
369 Words | 2 Pages

Taxation became one of the main causes for the colonists to fight for their independence. Colonist felt that they could not be taxed without representation and that it was

Read More
533 Words | 3 Pages

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.

Read More

More about How Did Taxes Affect Colonial America

Related Topics

Open Document