Mercantilism Research Paper
explanatory Essay
1088 words
Jacob Eshet
September 21, 2015
11 AM
Research Paper 1 (#3)
Describe the series of taxes and regulations that the English government imposed on the American colonies during the 1700s. What specific economic policies were incorporated by the English government during and after the 1760s? What global war and post-war circumstances prompted the English government to impose these policies? Provide examples of American protests and aggravations against the English. Also explain the steps American statesmen took that eventually led to independent declaration from England.
In the 1700s, the British government imposed a series of taxes and regulations on their American colonies. Influenced by the theory of mercantilism, these policies
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In this essay, the author
- Explains the series of taxes and regulations that the english government imposed on the american colonies during the 1700s.
- Explains how the british government imposed a series of taxes and regulations on their american colonies in the 1700s. influenced by the theory of mercantilism, these policies took away most of the colonies’ economic freedom.
- Explains that the french and indian war ended with massive debt for the british government, established british supremacy, and caused conflict with the weakened indian tribes.
- Explains how the british government initiated new taxes, aggressive collections, and severe methods of enforcement.
- Explains how the stamp act congress was formed in response to the crisis. parliament passed the declaratory act, which reaffirmed british authority over the colonies, and repealed it.
- Explains that all the colonies formed the first continental congress in philadelphia in 1774, which included patrick henry, john adams, and george washington. the rapidly deteriorating relationship between britain and its american colonies ended with the start of the revolutionary war.
While Americans were supportive of monarchism and embraced their British roots, they began to believe their overseas government was looking to strip them of liberty. The first American colonies were established at a time where mercantilism was a popular theory. With mercantilism, colonies only existed to support the mother country. This occurred through monopolies, import/export bans, taxes, and limited wages. The colonies were also expected to export their natural resources and purchase finished products back from the mother country. Mercantilism also focused on exporting more than importing. The result of mercantilism was severely limited economic liberty in colonial America, which eventually led to the American Revolution as colonists no longer believed they could remain in the British Empire and have their rights protected (Keene, Cornell and O 'Donnell). Before the war, North American colonists were barely paying any taxes compared to other British territories. .After the war, a new prime minister, George Grenville, was hired and ordered to investigate colonial revenues (Dockswell). After discovering that they were making much less than they should, he initiated a new program of taxation and its enforcement; Americans and Britain’s view of taxation, and the “morality and legality of Britain’s new policies put the two on a collision course” ( (Keene, Cornell and O 'Donnell). The first tax was the Revenue Act, also known as the Sugar Act. While lowering the tax on molasses, it increased the tax on sugar and other popular goods, along with increased penalties for smuggling. Another part of the act imposed compliance with juryless British courts, something Americans viewed as an attack on their basic rights. Following resistance to the Sugar Act, they imposed a massively unpopular tax called the Stamp Act, which affected a
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- Analyzes how the boston massacre was a propaganda ploy by samuel adams to rally the colonists against the british.
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- Explains that the mercantile system was a major factor in the american revolution. the boston tea party and the declaration of independence were short-term causes of the war.
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- Explains how the stamp act of 1765 imposed a tax on every printed document in the colonies.
- Explains that the stamp act congress met with delegates from nine colonies and petitioned the king of england, along with the two houses of parliament.
- Analyzes how the boston massacre exemplifies how british military measures backfired and allowed the americans to gain a sense of unity.
- Analyzes how the boston massacre was used as pro-revolutionary propaganda and spread across america like wildfire the injustices of british rule.
- Argues that locke's ideas can still be seen in the declaration of independence, which states every man has the natural right to life, liberty, and property.
1443 wordsRead More - Causes of the American Revolutionexplanatory essayTheoretically, under the concept of mercantilism, which affirmed that the sole purpose of a colony was to provide for its mother country, Americans were restricted economically. But, until 1763, with England's practice of salutary neglect, Americans enjoyed economic freedom and were able to trade covertly with whomever they wished. In 1763, England won the French/Indian War at a heavy financial. The high cost of the war forced England to take a firmer hold on its North American colonies. Since the French/Indian war was fought on American soil for the protection of the American people, the English government thought it elementary that the colonists should help pay off some of the debt incurred by the war. But the Americans were outraged. When the Stamp Act of 1765 was passed colonists reacted with widespread anger and violence.
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- Explains that england had a hard time controlling its american colonies from the very beginning, leaving them to develop relatively on their own for several generations.
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- Explains that america's history changed when the 13 colonies decided to become independent from great britain. the stamp act, the coercive act, and the pamphlet common sense by thomas paine led to revolution and independence.
- Explains that the stamp act of 1765 was devised by george grenville to gain revenue from the colonies.
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In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how the colonists' way of life changed drastically from the freedoms they had been granted by living separate from a main empire.
- Explains that after the french and indian war, the british decided that the colonists should help pay off the debt since it was acquired through protecting them.
- Analyzes how the stamp act and the declaratory act caused the colonists to voice their hatred towards the king for the first time.
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