Question # 1
The political climate in England during the 1760s was one of desperation and uncertainty. Desperate because when the French and Indian War ended, England was in debt. Their national debt almost doubled from £75 million in 1754 to £133 million in 1763 and they needed to pay off some of that debt (Tax History, 2016, p.2). The capital had been borrowed from both British and Dutch banks. Parliament was hard pressed how they were going to raise the funds to cover the cost of the seven years of war, and take care of their newly acquired lands. Their new lands would come with a large price tag as well, and this weighed heavily on the British law makers. The uncertainty was created on exactly how they could generate the revenue to …show more content…
The Colonist could not believe that they would have taxes levied against them, because they had not paid taxes to the Crown, ever. The Colonial viewpoint on the French and Indian War, was that the Colonist fought alongside of their fellow Britain in order to defeat the French and Indians to allow for the westward expansion of the Colonies. This westward expansion meant exponential economic gains for the Colonists and as well as a boost in the products that could be traded with England. This was the mindset of many Colonists that dreamed of being landowners pursuing their inalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The Colonist felt like they were able of taking care of themselves. They did not want the Redcoats to remain in the country after the war, this led to a deep resentment. The Colonist did not want to pay the bill for having the Soldiers living amongst them. The Colonists found them as more of a policing force rather than protectors (Kowalski, 2014, …show more content…
The House of Commons passed Acts that taxed import and export goods from the Colonies. According to Rabuska (2008), collections under the Sugar Act of 1764 began in September of 1764. The main tax was placed on molasses. The original six pence per gallon duty proved to be too high and was initially lowered to one pence per gallon in 1766. This would align the taxes in both the Colonies and in England (Rabuska, 2008). This act showed some comprise on behalf of the House of Commons, according their own perspective. This was just one example of the widely divided viewpoints from one side of the Atlantic to the other. Next came the Stamp Act of 1765. The Stamp Act placed a tax on almost every piece of paper that the Colonist handled, except for their paper currency that was almost worthless at this point in time. Newspapers, correspondence, business transactions, to common playing cards required these stamps. This tax, largely internal to the Colonies, planted a seed of discontent and that seed was nurtured with every drop of ink that was used to affix the “required” tax. From the Colonial viewpoint, these taxes were levied against them without proper representation. There were
The political climate in England during the 1760s was one of desperation and uncertainty. Desperate because when the French and Indian War ended, England was in debt. Their national debt almost doubled from £75 million in 1754 to £133 million in 1763 and they needed to pay off some of that debt (Tax History, 2016, p.2). The capital had been borrowed from both British and Dutch banks. Parliament was hard pressed how they were going to raise the funds to cover the cost of the seven years of war, and take care of their newly acquired lands. Their new lands would come with a large price tag as well, and this weighed heavily on the British law makers. The uncertainty was created on exactly how they could generate the revenue to …show more content…
The Colonist could not believe that they would have taxes levied against them, because they had not paid taxes to the Crown, ever. The Colonial viewpoint on the French and Indian War, was that the Colonist fought alongside of their fellow Britain in order to defeat the French and Indians to allow for the westward expansion of the Colonies. This westward expansion meant exponential economic gains for the Colonists and as well as a boost in the products that could be traded with England. This was the mindset of many Colonists that dreamed of being landowners pursuing their inalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The Colonist felt like they were able of taking care of themselves. They did not want the Redcoats to remain in the country after the war, this led to a deep resentment. The Colonist did not want to pay the bill for having the Soldiers living amongst them. The Colonists found them as more of a policing force rather than protectors (Kowalski, 2014, …show more content…
The House of Commons passed Acts that taxed import and export goods from the Colonies. According to Rabuska (2008), collections under the Sugar Act of 1764 began in September of 1764. The main tax was placed on molasses. The original six pence per gallon duty proved to be too high and was initially lowered to one pence per gallon in 1766. This would align the taxes in both the Colonies and in England (Rabuska, 2008). This act showed some comprise on behalf of the House of Commons, according their own perspective. This was just one example of the widely divided viewpoints from one side of the Atlantic to the other. Next came the Stamp Act of 1765. The Stamp Act placed a tax on almost every piece of paper that the Colonist handled, except for their paper currency that was almost worthless at this point in time. Newspapers, correspondence, business transactions, to common playing cards required these stamps. This tax, largely internal to the Colonies, planted a seed of discontent and that seed was nurtured with every drop of ink that was used to affix the “required” tax. From the Colonial viewpoint, these taxes were levied against them without proper representation. There were