American Colonies Dbq

It seems that from the moment colonists began to settle in America they stopped viewing themselves as English. The distance alone required them to start their own government, though officially they were under the rule of England. Their lifestyles separated them even further with religious views and values causing major differences in culture. Though the colonists attempted to be involved in the English government the English did not see a plausible way or reason to do so. When the Stamp Act of 1765, which taxed all paper goods in the colonies, was implemented it was obvious Parliament was blind to the colonists’ perspective. Colonies did not believe they should be taxed without fair representation in Parliament and therefore boycotts and protests made the Stamp Act unsuccessful. Parliament’s response to this refusal would set the tone for American history.

These Acts were shortly followed by the Townshend Acts of 1767, which attempted to tax the colonists through customs. British customs agents were stationed in Boston to enforce the Acts. Through these actions the British only aggravated the colonists. It had become obvious that Parliament was completely ignorant of the issues surrounding the colonies. It was not that the taxes were too difficult to enforce, it was that the colonists refused to participate in taxation from a government that they were not involved in. In 1768 Samuel Adams and James Otis Jr responded with the Circular Letter which outlined James Otis Jr’s belief in unwritten rights of human law and fair representation in Parliament. The letter circulated amongst the colonies and bonded the states into a mindset of opposition. This opposition led to the Liberty Riot of the same year, in which James Hancock’s ship, which had been taken by customs agents, was freed by an angry