Why Is Quartering Act Important

Quartering Act When the Bill of Rights was written in 1791, the writers were influenced by different things than we are today. For instance, people in 1791 did not have the internet, cars, or electricity. They also did not have local police. Instead, they had a militia. They also had rules, such as the “Quartering Act” and “writ of assistance”. These things, along with the experience from being controlled by Britain, caused the Bill of Rights to be written the way it was. The Quartering Act was an act established by Great Britain. The act stated that colonists had to give lodging and food to British soldiers when they needed. However, the homeowners were not repaid for any of the food or services they had to provide. This made the colonists very angry, as they had no choice but to follow the law. The Quartering Act resulted in the writers of the Bill of Rights creating the 3rd Amendment, which states “providing lodging for soldiers in private homes is only permissible with consent of the owner.” This amendment basically vetoed The Quartering Act.

This was essentially a search warrant, that allowed British officers to search any home or business for smuggled goods. Since Great Britain was putting high taxes on certain imported items, the colonists would smuggle items into the country, so they would not have to pay the tax. This ideal influenced the writers of the Bill of Rights in creating the 4th Amendment. The 4th Amendment states “Prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures, and requires a warrant if there is probable cause or reason to believe that a search will produce evidence of a crime.” This is like a Writ of Assistance, but is more detailed, and requires a reason and a cause to search the