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Political and economic issues in the American Revolution
Economic issues of the american revolution
Economic issues of the american revolution
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“Highly burdened by taxes themselves, the British were merely asking the colonies to bear the expense of their own administration and defense.” So, Britain needed money because they were helping them out but when they asked for it, the colonists protested. By doing this they were hurting Britain. Overall, they didn’t show any respect towards the King who had helped them out when they needed
The Seven Years’ War had been seriously costly. The national debt was so much by 1764. Gladly to pay the taxes, it was said that they should pay it since the taxes were being imposed by Parliament to make up the money that was spent on war. However, there is something that Parliament had overlooked. They overlooked the fact that the colonists gave a large amount of
Who was justified committing mass murder? The first shots of the American Revolution were fired at Lexington and Concord. On April 19, 1775, british soldiers marched into a rebel armory demanding that they turn over their weapons. Back in the 1700’s guerrilla warfare was not yet used in military combat. British combat usually consisted of line combat, which is where you line up and fire upon a still target.
The poor Virginian tobacco-growers of the 1700s blame the pressing economic issues they faced within the realms of slavery and debt as their driving force behind the American Revolution and battle for independence. (Holton, 60) The conflict between the British Merchants and Virginian farmers wasn’t shy of bloodshed; the intense debt to the merchants that the farmers found themselves in stirred anger and thoughts of rebellion which were not easily appeased. (Holton, 42) The cause for their debt is caused by a culmination of lavish spending, the decisions of Parliament (such as the Navigation Acts), and slavery.
The American colonies established their resistance to the British royal crown, as the ministers of King George III began to impose new taxes trying to reduce debt that incurred during the French and Indian War, aka the Seven Years War (1754-1763). The American
After the French and Indian war, Britain was in heavy debt and needed to acquire as much revenue as possible. Britain was so desperate for money, they did not care how they received the money and whose rights they violated in the process. Because of this unjust mindset, Britain was not merciful when creating ways to collect revenue. The British methods for acquiring money were purposeful but not just.
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
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.
Beginning in 1765, one principle the Americans believed was, “No taxation without representation.” The American colonial society rejected the right of the British Parliament to tax them without colonial representatives in the government. It did not matter what the motive of the tax was, it could not be enforced without the agreement of the colonists themselves. This argument about representation was not of huge significance to the English because according to their constitutional theory, members of Parliament did not represent individuals or particular geographical areas. Instead, each member represents the interests of the whole nation and empire.
The Britain felt that it was only natural that the American colony would pay the mother country more for their protection after the Seven Years War with France. England was trying to relieve some tax burdens by increasing the tax on the colonies (xix). “that the main purpose of country’s overseas possessions were to serve the business interest of British merchants and manufacturers and to provide the mother country with raw materials” (xvii). However, such increase in demand, and pressure seemed unfair to the American colony despite the fact that they had been paying less tax compared to an English
Thirdly, king George broke the laws he made and the American colonist wanted that to stop. This is why the American colonist were justified for their independence. The British took advantage of taxing the colonist. First, the British taxed the colonist after the French & Indian war.
The American Revolution had four main underlying causes: taxation without representation, the Whig Theory, political power struggles, and the British Empire’s tyranny over Americans. The phrase “taxation without representation” refers to the British government adding unlawful and egregious taxes to goods at a time when America had no representatives in parliament. This is often attributed as the main cause of the American Revolution, and though it was an important conflict, taxation without representation was not the main cause of war. The Whig Theory effectively shifted American’s perspective of their British rulers, believing them to be powerful, deceitful tyrants. This belief became stronger after the French and Indian War.
At a time when the British Monarchy was establishing itself as the cornerstone of the emerging and dynamic British Constitution, and all British subjects, including those in the North American Colonies, were subjects of the Crown, Price provided the theoretical foundation to justify, and even advocate, the actions of the colonists in severing their ties with Britain. This was a very dangerous thing to do, he was after all lending support to those who were seen by most people as treacherous. However, although he was heavily criticized and was, at one time, fearful of his life, Price resolutely supported the colonists believing that their cause was justified and that the British Government, and the King no less, were guilty of denying these
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 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
