British Taxes pave the way for American Revolution

British Taxes pave the way for American Revolution

If Britain had not placed unreasonable taxes on the colonists in the 1700’s, the America we know and love would not exist. The British colonists rebelled against the unjust series of taxes that were placed by Britain, which were just enforced to prove Britain’s power over the colonists. These taxes were first passed by George Grenville, but later passed by Charles Townsend.

The first act to be passed was the Revenue Act of 1763. This was a tax on sugars from other countries. Although these taxes were low, it began to rise tension between the colonists. This tax was placed for financial gain of Britain. Grenville stated “in helping to meet the [$2 million] expenses, Grenville considered it was only proper that at least part of the high cost of maintaining a force of ten thousand men in America . . . should be met by the colonists themselves.”

The Stamp Act was next to be placed on the colonists. Just like the Revenue Act of 1763, the Stamp Act was placed by the British because they wanted more profit, due to Britain’s financial situation. Although, the Stamp Act was the first real attempt and completion of Britain proving it’s authority over the colonists. The Stamp Act was taxes on goods and services produced by the colonists. According to www.u-s-history.com, “The act required the use of stamped paper for legal documents, diplomas, almanacs, broadsides, newspapers and playing cards.” This was the first official internal tax placed on the colonies in America.

The third and final tax to be placed by George Grenville was the Declaratory Act. The Stamp Act was eliminated in 1766. This was enforced because of the resistance of the colonists on the Stamp Act. This act was British stating that the Parliament could pass any and every law in all cases and was expected to have no resistance whatsoever.

The final acts were passed by Charles Townshend. The first of his acts was the Townshend taxes. This was a tax on imported colonial goods. This included paint, tea, paper, lead, and glass. After the colonists refused and resisted this act, it was repealed by the Parliament in 1770. All the taxes were lifted, except the tea tax.

Since the tea tax remained on the colonists, they grew weary. The Tea tax was yet another symbol of British remaining authority over the colonists. Britain wanted to prove that they still had complete control of the colonies. The colonists found this outrageous, and push came to shove. They refused to sit and let the British do what they pleased. This was when the Boston Tea Party took place in December of 1773. Don’t be fooled by the name, the Boston Tea Party was not a social gathering of any kind. It was an act of rebellion against the British. They took the taxes placed on the tea and chose to show their opinion to Britain by not only refusing to drink tea, but refusing to let it even arrive to the markets. Groups of colonists, which were estimated to be hundreds, climbed on to ships holding tea imports and over threw it into the sea. The tea was a source of profit to Britain, so by ruining the tea, they ruined the profit for the British. According to www.bostonteapartyship.com, “£9,659 worth of damage in 1773 currency” was caused because of the Boston Tea Party. After the tea party, the Boston port was closed, which was a part of the Intolerable Acts.

The Intolerable Acts was the last straw and was passed by Townshend. The Boston port was closed until the city agreed to repair the cost of the tea. Aside from the Boston Port Act of the Intolerable Acts, the Massachusetts Government Act, the Administration of Justice Act, the Quartering Act, and the Quebec Act were implemented. According to www.landofthebrave.info, “The Massachusetts Government Act revoked the colony's 1691 charter effectively ended the constitution of Massachusetts and restricted the number of town meetings that a community might hold and prohibited the election of town officials.” This was used as a kind of punishment for the Boston Tea Act.

The Administration of Justice Act was passed on May 20th, 1774. This act enforced that any British Officials who harmed a colonist while enforcing the law would have their trial and sentencing in Britain. As www.americanhistorycentral.com said, “The act is sometimes referred to as the Murder Act because of colonial fears that it might enable royal officials to escape punishment for committing capital offenses.”

The Quartering Act forced colonists to shelter and provide food for the soldiers who ruled and had authority over them. The soldiers were British soldiers that had fought in the French and Indian War. According to www.bostonteapartyship.com, “the colonists disputed the legality of this Act because it seemed to violate the Bill of Rights of 1689, which forbid taxation without representation and the raising or keeping a standing army without the consent of Parliament.”

All of these Acts placed by Britain and the colonist reactions were what caused the American Revolution. They were the cause of American Independence from Britain.

CITATIONS

The Revenue Act of 1763 (Sugar Act) and The Stamp Act of 1765. (2012). Retrieved October 9, 2015.

Quartering Act. (2015). Retrieved October 12, 2015

Townshend Acts. (2015, January 12). Retrieved October 14, 2015.

Administration of Justice Act. (2015). Retrieved October 17, 2015.

Boston Tea Party Facts. (2015). Retrieved October 17, 2015.