Initially, American independence meant freedom against British Crown imposed taxes such as the Stamp Act and Townshend Acts. This can be seen in document one. The first document features a teapot with the words “No Stamp Act” and “America, Liberty, Restored.” (EVIDENCE 1). This was made after the Stamp Act in an effort to get Americans to believe that repealing the Stamp Act would result in America’s freedom. (CONTEXT) (ANALYSIS 1)The writing on the teapot indicates that Americans at that time believed the repeal of the Stamp Act would signify the restoration of American liberty and saw no need for a complete break from the British crown. (REASONING). The second document supports this idea as well. It was written by the House of Burgesses in response to the Townshend acts in order to assert their power over the British Parliament in terms of the right to tax the colonists. (EVIDENCE 2) The document asserts that taxation is a right solely belonging to the House of Burgesses. (CONTEXT) (ANALYSIS 2). It does not suggest the eventual need for a separation from Britain to obtain independence but rather removing the taxes to restore the liberty of the colonies. (REASONING) …show more content…
The Rights of Colonists supports this claim, stating that “in case of intolerable oppression, civil or religious, [people] can leave the society they belong to and enter into another.” (EVIDENCE 3) The author Samuel Adams who was continually involved in the removal of the British tax on America intended to persuade people to support a peaceful leave of Britain amid (historical situation) This goes against the previous idea that a stop of the Crown's taxation would suffice as independence and suggests the idea of separation from British rule. (ANALYSIS
Hundreds of years ago, there was a war that made the British stop controlling the American colonies and made what is today the United States of America. The colonies were huge underdogs with poor amounts of supplies and clothing, but surprisingly found a way to victory and got their independence from the British. Since the war, America has been an independent and powerful country in the world as they still are today. Sparks flew in colonist anger as British Parliament passed acts that America thought were unreasonable, such as the stamp act, this act was in place so the British could raise money. The colonists at this time had to buy stamps that were imprinted into paper goods, newspapers, documents, advertisements, and playing cards. The stamp act was one of the most hated acts by the Americans since it applied to everyone and they always needed the stamps. Another act the British made was a series of taxes called the townshend acts in 1767. This act was a tax on all imported goods, and made the Patriots
The first reason colonies claimed their independence from britain was the king was taxing without the consent of the people. This happen because the sugar act, stamp act, tea act, and the french and indian war had a lot of debt and lost items with very high prices.The british did not take the complains of the colonist so the people rejected all the taxes from each of the events. According to
The colonists began to question if independence was for them when parliament passed the Stamp Act. The stamp act was meant to raise money for British soldiers and also to pay off some of Britain’s debt. When the King/Parliament passed laws the colonists believed that if they weren’t there when the laws were passed they were illegal (according to the Bill of Rights), which is where the slogan “no taxation against representation” came in to play. The people wanted to separate from England because of how the king only passed laws that benefited him. Colonists had a problem with their government. Thomas Paine says that government is a necessary evil. He says that their government is being hampered by oppression; he believed, along with other people, that the King was leading cruelly and not caring about his people. The Declaration of Independence also says, “That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government”. Thomas Jefferson is saying that the laws that the King/Parliament were passing were becoming destructive and it was the right of the people to become independent or change their
The right of the Legislature of Great-Britain to impose taxes on her American Colonies, and the
“No Taxation without Representation.” Everyone has heard this quote, but how many know where it came from? In March of 1765, British Parliament passed a law that the colonists must pay a tax on any licenses, contracts, wills, warrants, playing cards, and paper. Every one of these things had to have a stamp on it to show that they paid the tax. (Stamp Act Powerpoint) This was called the Stamp Act. The Stamp Act was the most important event that caused the Revolutionary War.
I was at school, during history I told Mr.Bush if the Stamp Act was enacted. Some historians believe that the Stamp Act was one of the most ridiculous enactments because the British taxed everything the colonists bought from the British. Even though it was a good way of raising money,(the British did not have enough money after the French and Indian war) it was unnecessary. The British could have raised money multiple different ways, like conquering another area or mining in the mountains near the colonies, but instead of these ways the British created the most ridiculous enactments in U.S. history. They made multiple families suffer from financial problems. That is why the colonists protested against the Stamp Act. This is also why people burned down tax collectors houses they felt like the took their freedoms away.
Junior Gonzalez The Stamp Act was horrible for the colonists because they didn't have a say in the stamp act, the tax was used to pay off the money they used in the French and Indian War. The colonists tried to get rid of the tax collectors but this would result in the colonists destroying their town, and the colonists boycotted British goods so they had to start making their own clothing or have them wear the clothing for months. The British bought raw materials from the colonists, then the British would make something out of the material they bought and then the British would sell it back the colonists. But since the colonists refused to pay the additional tax, the British didn't want to buy anything from the colonists, which
When unreasonable taxes such as the Stamp Act, were implemented, the colonists passively expressed their complaints, grievances, and rights to others in the colonies or even to the king and British Parliament. They published pamphlets, letters, and other forms of expression that were widely viewed and read in the colonies, spreading and encouraging ideas of independence and rebellion. For example, in document 1, the images depict two clearly written phrases, “No Stamp Act” and “America, Liberty Restored.” These affirm their resentment towards
In the year 1765 on November 1 the stamp act was enacted. The revolutionary war was in 1775 so the Stamp Act could have sparked the war. People hated the stamp act immensely because of many reasons like the fact that it took away lots of their freedom, or how The Stamp Act costed them money that went to the king and queen of England which they didn't even want but didn't get to vote on. Because of these reasons, many people rebelled against The Stamp Act which made a number of reactions that were mainly all bad. Surprisingly there were a lot of people who actually liked the stamp act. There were people who actually liked The Stamp Act even though The Stamp
American colonists were justified after their separation from Great Britain and gaining independence. At first, the colonists didn’t mind being apart of the British colonies. However, colonists were upset at the fact that the British were abusing their power and being unjust. Soon later, with the help of Enlightenment views from several American philosophers, the colonists wanted to break free from the British crown’s chains.
The four acts the British imposed from 1764-1767 were the Sugar Act, the Stamp Act, the Quartering Act, and the Townshend Act. The Sugar Act was enacted in 1764, taxed sugar and molasses, and harshly penalized smugglers who found ways to avoid the taxes. In reaction to this act, Samuel Adams founded the Committees of Correspondence to improve communication among the colonies. The colonists also found new ways to smuggle goods by smuggling them at night. The second act, the Stamp Act, was enacted in 1765 and taxed paper products including legal documents, licenses, newspapers, and even playing cards.
The extent of change in the ideas about American independence was prominent from 1763 to 1783. This shift in ideas was an essential role in forming the US that exists today. At first, the idea of American independence was not well-known due to the fact that the colonists initially wanted to fix their problems with the British instead of breaking away from them. As it is seen in Document 1, the messages on the teapot are in reference to the Declaratory Act, which repealed the hated Stamp Act and, in a sense, “restored the liberty in America.” The purpose of the maker of this teapot was probably to poke fun at the act that replaced the Stamp Act because the Declaratory Act was not much better than the Stamp Act even though the British really
The American Revolution was not only a battle between the British and the colonists; it was a historical movement that brought about new ways of thinking. The ideas of liberty and equality began to be seen as essential to the growth of the new nation. The separation of the American colonies from the British Empire occurred for a number of reasons. These reasons are illustrated in the Declaration of Independence. Although Thomas Jefferson wrote the document, it expressed the desire of the heart of each colonist to be free of British rule. British rule over the colonies became unbearable in the early months of 1776, making it clear to the colonists that it was time to either give in
The Americans in the colonies decided to break away from Great Britain for many reasons. One reason was the taxes being put on items. This made the colonists come up with the phrase "no taxation without representation". (Doc #1)
Furthermore, Great Britain had commanded new payment methods which created a ruckus with the Americans causeing great anger. Rebellion and discontent were rampant. The colonies started rebelling against ‘Mother England’ because of taxes issued to the colonies, in as much, England’s power did not allow them to have representation. The Revenue Act of 1764 made the Constitutional issue of whether or not the king had the right to tax the people who are living in his kingdom or the thirteen colonies. Eventually, this "became an entering wedge in the great dispute that was finally to wrest the American colonies from England" (Carey 48). "It was the phrase "taxation without representation" (Montgomery 138) that was to draw many to the cause of the American patriots against the mother country. That has royal authority to be able to term public opinions into a revolutionary battle.