Stamp Act

The Sugar Act of 1764 was an example of a tax that had many effects on the Colonial lifestyle. The act stated that any foreign export of lumber or skin had to first land in Britain. It also raised the price of sugar from the Indies. The British took advantage of the colonists, when the Quartering Act in 1765 passed Americans were forced to house and feed British soldiers any time they demanded. This limited the colonists’ freedom and only spread more anger throughout the colonies.

Parliament achieved this by the taxation of the American colonies; the Stamp Act of 1765 is an example of this. This act resulted in outrage from the Colonies and led to rioting, rhetoric, and the formation of the Stamp Act Congress. These actions quickly led to the repel of the Stamp Act; however, there were numerous new taxes levied to take their place. The Americans continued to object strongly to these new measures and formed organized political groups such as the Committee of Corresponding and the Sons of Liberty. These groups not only demanded less severe taxes, but Colonial representation in Parliament.

The British imperial policies affected the colonies economic, political, and geographic situation which intensified colonists’ resistance to British rule and intensified commitment to their republican values. The imperial tactics of the British Empire were exercised on the colonists through heavy taxes trade restrictions because of their mercantilist economy. The Stamp Act taxed the colonists directly on paper goods ranging from legal documents to newspapers. Colonists were perturbed because they did not receive representation in Parliament to prevent these acts from being passed or to decide where the tax money was spent. The colonists did not support taxation without representation.

The Currency Act was also passed in 1764. The colonists responded to the Sugar Act and Currency Act by protesting against the use of writs of assistance, or search warrants, which were filled out after the illegal goods were found, violating the Colonists rights. Alleged smugglers would be tried in the Admiralty Courts where the accused had no right to trail by jury and the judge pocketed 1/3 of the fines they imposed. The Stamp Act of 1765 enraged the colonists for this act was a direct... ... middle of paper ... ...looks at how the Revolution affected the minorities and is not interested in any other parts. The true nature of the conflict between the British and the Colonists was that the British had loosely governed the colonies in the beginning.

This act sought harsher punishment for smugglers. The next act to be passed was possibly the most controversial act passed by Britain. The Stamp Act passed in 1765 affected every colonist because it required all printed documents to have a stamp purchased from the British authority. The colonist boycotted British goods until the Stamp Act was repealed but quickly replaced by the Declaratory Act in 1766. The British still held onto the conviction that they had the right to tax the Americans in any way they deemed necessary.

Therefore, England viewed this taxes as a direct attempt to raise money in the colonies without the approval of the colonial legislatures. Due to this effects, the Stamp Act provoked such a violent reaction in the colonies, because it was seen as a threat to the colonist’s liberties and rights, as well as affecting multiple members of the society. When the French and Indian War had started in 1763, it was assured that Great Britain was deeply in debt. During this battle, England had occupied much of Eastern American colonies. When the British had taken over the colonies it angered the workers, because many of them thought they had to leave their jobs and work for British side.

The idea of wanting its independence from Britain was forced upon them after the French and Indian War when Americans felt that they were receiving unfair treatment from Great Britain. The French and Indian War altered British and American relations by changing the colonist's beliefs in having the need for British control, and these events brought American colonies together for the first time politically. Economically, the British made relations harsh by enforcing things such as the Stamp Act which made many of the colonist's unhappy. The ideological viewpoint of the American colonist's drastically changed with the opposing viewpoints of the British. American colonists questioned many of Britain's laws and beliefs after the French and Indian War.

The first major cause of the American Revolution was the French and Indian War, a long and brutal crusade that expelled the French from all of their American territory. The most negative outcome of this war was the arrears factor: once Britain came out victorious, they realized that they were deeply in debt, and thus they commanded the colonists to indirectly pay them for what they had lost. For example, unnecessary taxes were levied almost immediately without the colonists’ assent. As mentioned in Theodore Draper’s notions about the American Revolution, the colonists did not agree with this, but to prevent unnecessary violence, their only option was to comply, as the colonies were proud to be British. However, the colonies were still outraged and could not stand being taxed for things that had previously been free of charge, so they organized a sanction of British goods, only to fail after a short period of time.

The first of many British “missteps” was their need to tax the colonists on every day items, even after many protests. In 1764 the Sugar Act was enacted to raise tax revenue in the colonies for Englan... ... middle of paper ... ...the colonies in all cases whatsoever. This was an immature move on Britain’s part because it made the colonists think they were no longer being treated equal to the Englishmen residing in Britain. The Intolerable Acts limited colonists' rights and made restrictions on town meetings, which were especially crucial to the New England way of life. After hundreds of years of salutary neglect, by enforcing the laws of Mercantilism on the colonies, Britain backed the colonists into a corner where they had no choice but to fight for their rights.

The Townsend Act was put in affect to collect duties on colonial imports of glass, red and white lead, paints, paper, and tea. Both the Stamp and Townsend Acts were imposed to help pay for the costs of British soldiers living in America, and to protect the American colonies. Also, trading restrictions enforced by Britain angered the colonist. The British basically wanted, and tried, to have a mercantilist economy in Amemercantilismmentalist discouraged any trading between the colonist, and any other country other than Britain. The colonist did not really care about most of the British rules, and they again were able to overturn the rules once again.