Morgan Nason
History 103 (Bridge History)
Journal #2
Power Struggle
The vast dispute between Great Britain and the Colonies before the Revolutionary War was a struggle over power. The dispute started during/after the Seven Years’ War (French and Indian War) when the British had taken all the credit for winning, even though the colonists had played a very big part in fighting the war. After the war ended, the British had huge war debts. The war very costly and Britain didn’t really have a way to fund it. When the war ended they come up with the idea of taxing the colonies on certain items; two ideas they had were the Sugar Act and the Stamp Act.
The Sugar Act, also known as the Revenue Act, was created to help enforce the Molasses Act, which stated you would have to pay six pence on each gallon of imported molasses you bought. The Sugar Act lowered the tax to three pence and also raised penalties for people who smuggled it. The Stamp Act was the first direct tax on everyone who lived in the colonies, it set a tax on all printed materials, legal or commercial. The colonists had to pay taxes on birth certificates, house deeds, land deeds, newspapers, etc. These taxes contributed to the power struggle between the British and the Colonist’ because they felt like they shouldn’t be taxed on something without having any say on what the money would be used for. …show more content…
The colonists considered this to be taxation without representation (virtual representation) because the British were coming up with the taxes without any colonist being there. The taxes were an infringement on the colonists’ rights and created anger within the colonies and ultimately caused huge street protests. Due to the protests from the Acts, Parliament repealed them and put the Declaratory Act in their place, which asserted Parliament’s powers over the colonists’ and the colonies. During 1766, Charles Townshend became chancellor of the exchequer. Charles Townshend knowing that Britain still needed to pay off all its war debts and pay for British troops in America, gravitated towards taxation on the colonies again. Charles Townshend had come up with the Townshend Duties. The Townshend Duties were a tax on items imported to the colonies, such as glass, paint, lead, paper, and tea. These Duties were controversial and led to rage within the colonies and drove the Colonists’ to boycott all British-made goods. The boycott caused problems for the British, it led London merchants to pressure Parliament to annul the duties and since the goods were being boycotted, the British were making little to no money. With rejecting goods, imports fell by more than 40% and Boston had easily become anti-British. Governor Bernard and Hutchison decided that the only way to make everything go back to how it was before, was to bring in British troops. By 1768, thousands of British troops inhabited Boston to help gain control of the city. While British troops were populated in Boston, a massacre occurred. …show more content…
In Boston, Massachusetts on March 5, 1770, the Boston Massacre occurred. The Massacre was a big brawl in the streets of Boston between a bunch of Colonists’ and British soldiers. It all started with a group of Colonists’ taunting the soldiers. Then, the Colonists’ started throwing snowballs, rocks, and other objects at the soldiers who started firing their weapons back at the Colonists’ when a person in the crowd shouted “fire.” As a result of the fight, five Colonists’ had died. Due to the Boston Massacre, the relationship between the colonists’ and the British was tense. The British were mad and the colonists were furious. After the massacre, the Tea Act of 1773 was implemented. The Tea Act was used to persuade the colonists’ into buying tea from the East India Company (instead of smuggling tea from the Dutch) by lowering the tax and the retail price. But, the low price of tea made some colonists suspicious ( they believed it was a plan to make Americans buy the taxed tea). On November 28, 1773, three ships had arrived in Boston, Massachusetts carrying over
History 103 (Bridge History)
Journal #2
Power Struggle
The vast dispute between Great Britain and the Colonies before the Revolutionary War was a struggle over power. The dispute started during/after the Seven Years’ War (French and Indian War) when the British had taken all the credit for winning, even though the colonists had played a very big part in fighting the war. After the war ended, the British had huge war debts. The war very costly and Britain didn’t really have a way to fund it. When the war ended they come up with the idea of taxing the colonies on certain items; two ideas they had were the Sugar Act and the Stamp Act.
The Sugar Act, also known as the Revenue Act, was created to help enforce the Molasses Act, which stated you would have to pay six pence on each gallon of imported molasses you bought. The Sugar Act lowered the tax to three pence and also raised penalties for people who smuggled it. The Stamp Act was the first direct tax on everyone who lived in the colonies, it set a tax on all printed materials, legal or commercial. The colonists had to pay taxes on birth certificates, house deeds, land deeds, newspapers, etc. These taxes contributed to the power struggle between the British and the Colonist’ because they felt like they shouldn’t be taxed on something without having any say on what the money would be used for. …show more content…
The colonists considered this to be taxation without representation (virtual representation) because the British were coming up with the taxes without any colonist being there. The taxes were an infringement on the colonists’ rights and created anger within the colonies and ultimately caused huge street protests. Due to the protests from the Acts, Parliament repealed them and put the Declaratory Act in their place, which asserted Parliament’s powers over the colonists’ and the colonies. During 1766, Charles Townshend became chancellor of the exchequer. Charles Townshend knowing that Britain still needed to pay off all its war debts and pay for British troops in America, gravitated towards taxation on the colonies again. Charles Townshend had come up with the Townshend Duties. The Townshend Duties were a tax on items imported to the colonies, such as glass, paint, lead, paper, and tea. These Duties were controversial and led to rage within the colonies and drove the Colonists’ to boycott all British-made goods. The boycott caused problems for the British, it led London merchants to pressure Parliament to annul the duties and since the goods were being boycotted, the British were making little to no money. With rejecting goods, imports fell by more than 40% and Boston had easily become anti-British. Governor Bernard and Hutchison decided that the only way to make everything go back to how it was before, was to bring in British troops. By 1768, thousands of British troops inhabited Boston to help gain control of the city. While British troops were populated in Boston, a massacre occurred. …show more content…
In Boston, Massachusetts on March 5, 1770, the Boston Massacre occurred. The Massacre was a big brawl in the streets of Boston between a bunch of Colonists’ and British soldiers. It all started with a group of Colonists’ taunting the soldiers. Then, the Colonists’ started throwing snowballs, rocks, and other objects at the soldiers who started firing their weapons back at the Colonists’ when a person in the crowd shouted “fire.” As a result of the fight, five Colonists’ had died. Due to the Boston Massacre, the relationship between the colonists’ and the British was tense. The British were mad and the colonists were furious. After the massacre, the Tea Act of 1773 was implemented. The Tea Act was used to persuade the colonists’ into buying tea from the East India Company (instead of smuggling tea from the Dutch) by lowering the tax and the retail price. But, the low price of tea made some colonists suspicious ( they believed it was a plan to make Americans buy the taxed tea). On November 28, 1773, three ships had arrived in Boston, Massachusetts carrying over