Why Did Colonists Break Away From English

Firstly, the colonists were justified for breaking away from Britain because they were unfairly taxed without any representation in the Parliament. People were furious when King George first imposed the Stamp Act. The Stamp Act was the first tax the colonists were ever given, and they were greatly disturbed (Document 2). The colonists were unhappy with the idea of a tax that they did not agree on and felt that they didn’t owe Britain anything. They believed that they were being unfairly taxed and resisted the Stamp Act as much as they could. Eventually the Townshend Acts were also added in attempt to raise revenue for Britain. The Townshend Acts taxed lead, paper, oil, glass,

Many colonists were angered because of high taxes England chose to enforce on them. These taxes were a result of the British participation and victory in the French and Indian war. However, what made the colonists even more angry was the fact that they were being taxed without representation in England’s Parliament. The colonists thought that, in order to be taxed by the British, they should have representation in it. They saw it as unfair to be taxed by a government they had no say in. As Patrick Henry said in his speech made to the Virginia House of Burgesses, “We can under law be taxed only by our own representatives...The Stamp Act is against the law. We must not obey it…” (Doc. 1). Since many colonists thought this taxation broke the law, some of them chose to protest by going to the House of Burgesses, boycotting imports, or simply not paying it in response. This response is justified; if

Before the colonies became states they had a few issues. They had a statement that said “no taxation without representation” this means that they believed that the parliament could not tax them and that only their own government could tax them. After the French and Indian war, the British had a really bad debt from the war and they were already having everyone in England pay enough so they decided that they were going to tax the colonists. The first thing they passed was a law called the Stamp Act. The Stamp Act taxed anything that was printed that included legal documents, bills of sale, calendars, pamphlets, contracts, ships papers, donations, diplomas, certificates (including marriage), Any kind of decelerations, official documents, advertisements in papers, licenses including liquor, playing

Huge debts were owed to Great Britain for supplying the colonists with military support and supplies. To pay the dues, there was the establishment of the Stamp Act, the taxation on domestic goods and services. A tax on domestic merchandise brought even more anger to the colonists. The Sugar Act, the Townshed Duties and the Tea Act were also all introduced with the same fundamentals: applying tax on goods whether it be directly or indirectly, domestic or international. “British commercial regulations imposed a paltry economic burden on Americans, who enjoyed a rapid economic growth and a standard of living higher than their European counterparts” (McGaughy). Each act resulted in irritated colonists. Some even retaliated by tarring and feathering certain English tax enforcers living in the colonies.

The first reason that the colonists were justified in breaking away from the British was because the British Parliament and soldiers made unjust decisions for their own personal gain and abused their powers over the colonists. As stated in Document 2 of the packet “Document-Based Questions--Path to Revolution”, the British parliament taxed the colonists for the sole purpose of levying money upon them (Stamp Act). The taxes was also mainly used to pay for the French-Indian War, which seems like it justifies the British taxing, except for the fact that it was taxes without representation, which can be labeled as tyranny. This supports my argument, as the American colonists didn’t like having to pay for the war, and let Britain take money away from them for profit. Another piece of evidence that supports my claim would be that on Document 10 of the packet it was stated that, “We have understood it be

     There was another by-product of the war for Britain; her national debt more than doubled during the course of the conflict. At a time when Britain was starting to bend beneath the weight of the debt, it was only a matter of time before parliament looked to the colonies to help shoulder some of the price incurred in their defense. The Sugar and Stamp Acts were the first of many measures to tax the colonists. The Townshend Duties and the Tea Act would follow. While these measures outraged the colonists because of their monetary implications, it was the constitutional implications brought on by the Acts that were most offensive to the colonists. Until after the Seven Years War, the colonists had been left to essentially tax themselves. Now the colonists had a rallying cry, as they deplored the idea of no taxation without representation. In 1765 the Stamp Act Congress was held, and in a bid of utter defiance the representatives agreed that the colonial legislative assemblies alone had the right to tax the colonies. Parliament repealed the Stamp Act, but only after agreeing to pass the Declaratory Act, which informed the colonies that Britain did in fact have the right to legislate for the

Beginning in 1764, Great Britain began passing acts to exert greater control over the American colonies. The Sugar Act was passed to increase duties on foreign sugar imported from the West Indies. A Currency Act was also passed to ban the colonies from issuing paper bills or bills of credit because of the belief that the colonial currency had devalued the British money. Further, in order to continue to support the British soldiers left in America after the war, Great Britain passed the Quartering Act in 1765. This ordered colonists to house and feed British soldiers if there was not enough room for them in the colonist’s homes. An important piece of legislation that really upset the colonists was the Stamp Act passed in 1765. This required stamps to be purchased or included on many different items and documents such as playing cards, legal papers, newspapers, and more. This was the first direct tax that Britain had imposed on the colonists. Events began to escalate with passage of the Townshend Acts in 1767. These taxes were created to help colonial officials become independent of the colonists by providing them with a source of income. This act led to clashes between British troops and colonists, causing the infamous Boston Massacre. These unjust requests and increasing tensions all led up to the colonist’s declaration as well as the Revolutionary War.

One of the most important reasons the people wanted to break away from English rule was to not have to pay such a great amount for taxes. After the French Indian War or the Seven Years War, the English began to tax the colonist extremely high to pay off war dept. The English fought the war on the colonists’ land, so they believed that the colonist should have to pay for English’s war dept. The first set of taxes they placed on the colonist was the Sugar Act. The Sugar Act was passed in 1764, and it was a high tax on sugar. Another act passed was the Stamp Act, it was passed in 1765, and this stated that all paper would have a tax stamp on them. The next large tax was called the Townshend Act. It was passed in 1767, and this was a tax on every imported good that the colonist received. Every tax was raised to the max and the colonist were suffering because they could not afford the things they needed. This lead to revolt everywhere in the new world.

There are many reasons why the American colonist decided to rebel. One cause is the British Parliament. They started The Stamp Act and The Sugar Act. They made and raised taxes on sugar and on every printed piece of paper such as stamps, licenses, newspapers and even playing cards. Another reason they rebelled is the French and Indian war. This war lasted from 1754 to 1763. Colonists were taxed to help pay for the troops fighting in the war.The taxes were often raised and colonists were angry because of this. The last reason of why the colonist rebelled is the Boston Massacre. The British were angered by the taxes from the government so they decided to protest and a battle broke out and several people were shot and killed.

All the documents had to be formally printed in England and were distinguished by a special stamp. Then these pieces of paper had to be bought from a special agent at a price. This meant that the colonists had to pay taxes on every thing they bought from the British government. It was expected that this tax would raise 60,000 pounds annually. The colonists despised this and tried to buy as little as they could from England. After this act the colonists realised that the British government was revenue-raising. The colonists felt that the British Government should be helping to protect ones property not to take it. The colonists argued that they had no say or representation in the government and that is when the outcry started, “No taxation without representation!”

In an excerpt from the Second Continental Congress, the colonists questioned, “What is to defend us against so enormous, so unlimited a power?” (Document 5). They felt as though they were unprotected under British rule. King George of England acted as a tyrant, freely taxing the colonies for no good reason. John Dickinson, a leader who served in the Stamp Act Congress, stated, “Never did the British parliament, (until the passage of the Stamp Act) think of imposing duties in America for the purpose of raising revenue” (Document 2). After the Stamp Act, none of the taxes were justified; the colonies were being taxed simply to create income for Britain. With the unlimited control and absurd taxes, the colonists were bound to start a

When the British Parliament passed the Stamp Act, which was a internal tax on every printed piece of paper, the colonists were offended that the tax was imposed on them without consent from the colonial legislature. The British were using the colonies to help pay off debt for the previous Seven

The taxes imposed on the colonists by Britain were preposterous. One of the first taxes to be imposed on the colonists were the taxes stated in the Stamp Act. According to Document 10, no man should be subject to any tax to which he has given his own consent. The Stamp Act caused the colonists to revolt since they

The first reason was that the British had a large amount of debt from the French and Indian war. Despite winning the war, the British had to surmount a large sum of debt, ergo the taxes on the colonies. The second was that the British at home felt the colonists should pay an increased number of taxes. The first tax; passed in 1764, was the Sugar Act, which taxed sugar and molasses. The Stamp Act, passed in 1765, led to a tax on all paper goods.

First they were taxed for printed papers they used, but they did not submit to that law. Next they were being taxed on imported good, which they also denounced and began to not take the imported goods from the British (boycott). The colonists were tired of having the British government ruling over them and not allowing them create their own laws and systems. They finally took a stand and had created a war that won them their independence.