Should The British Colonists: Purposeful Or Justified?

In 1689, the British and the French entered a long period of frequent warfare known as the Second One Hundred Years’ War. The British government had to start directing its focus towards the French rather than its colonies in the New World. Due to the constant warfare, the British did not enforce the Navigation Acts that regulated and controlled trade going to and from the colonies. This sort of political and economic strategy was called salutary neglect. The Americans enjoyed minimal interference in their trading and the American economy grew and developed under this salutary neglect.

In fact, all the colonists had to provide full housing and feeding for the invasive troops. These governing actions failed to provide and protect the right of privacy, something they clearly didn’t receive. (Document B) Lastly, to help clarify their justification and valid reasons, you can refer to the social contract, which provides correct ways of government and laws. It states that bad leaders ,or government in this case, can be overthrown by its citizens, if the leaders fail to secure basic rights which they all deserve. As discussed above, England undoubtedly failed at their duties, therefore this adds on to the fact that the colonists were justified in declaring independence.

In order to compensate for the enormous debt, Britain issued taxes on the colonies. However, contrary to what the colonists believed, Britain wasn’t singling America out. British citizens were being taxed as well, in fact even more so. The tax ratio between the British and the Colonists was 30-1 (American). Although the British didn’t have the Stamp Act, or the Sugar Act, or other inflammatory tariffs, their purpose was not to overtax the Americans.

The mindsets of the British government and the American colonists differed greatly leading up to the American Revolution because of Britain's need to recoup some of their losses from previous wars and the cost of keeping up their vast empire. The colonist’s mindset leading up to the American Revolution was that the British had taxes on everything and the colonists felt that they did not need the British government to meddle in their affairs. This lead to popular resistance from the colonists and the eventual start of the American Revolution. Before the American Revolution, the Seven Years’ War was the cause of significant debt for the British.

Britain had built up a great debt and the colonies were a financial burden to run, to try and resolve their problems the British instituted various measures

Between 1763 and 1775, there were three ‘Imperial Crises’ which occurred between the British and the American colonists. The conflict that was produced during this period arose through an undefined balance of political and economic power between the two parties. In 1763, Britain had just concluded the French and Indian war and was left with an immense and almost crippling debt of around 140 million pounds sterling (“Turning Point In American History”). In Britain’s eyes, the most effective way to reduce this debt was increased taxes. Unfortunately, the people of England were already massively overtaxed, which meant the last option for the British was to tax the American colonists.

The American Revolution was, to date, the best event to happen on American soil, providing freedom and representation in government to the individuals who fought so hard for it. France and Spain aided our cause, helping this group of brave colonists to defeat the strongest army in the world. But, there is a question still not answered; were the colonists justified in breaking away from Britain? The American colonists were justified in breaking away from the British because there was taxation without representation, they had no freedom, and the British government violated their individual British rights. I believe the American colonists were justified for breaking away from Britain because there was taxation without representation.

The British government was not looking for the best of the people. They were only thinking about what they wanted; the government was not interested in what the people wanted so they decided to make decisions on their own, which resulted in changes that form the United States today. Because of this, they were justified in rebelling and declaring independence. One reason why the colonists decided to rebel and declare independence was because of taxation.

During the Colonial Era (1492-1763), colonists were justified in waging war against Great Britain; due to the inequitable Stamp Act, the insufferable British oppression, and the perceived tyranny of King George III, the king of Great Britain, however, the colonists were unjustified in some of their actions. In Colonial America, colonists were justified in waging war against Great Britain, because the Stamp Act was unfair and viewed as punishment. Because of the war, Britain had no other choice but to tax the colonists to pay for the debt. For example, according to document 2, the author states that the act was not only for trade but for “the single purpose of levying money.”

Financial stability of the colonial people was often thought to be put at stake with the introduction of new taxes and regulations which caused much frustration. Before Parliament had laid out any questionable taxes (i.e. stamp act), the citizens appeared perfectly content with Parliament 's power (Doc C). The stamp act required that every document, used by the colonists be stamped and taxed. One can see why this would anger people (as paper was the “big thing” before modern technology). Chaos ensued, the colonists were not fond of tax collectors whatsoever.

On the other hand the British deprived the colonists of even the most basic of rights. The American Revolution was more about Civil Liberties because there are three main arguments that support it: Taxation without Representation, the Quartering Act, and the Intolerable (Coercive) Acts. These actions that the British did justified the colonists’ revolution. First of all, one civil liberty that was exempt from the colonists reaches was taxation without representation.

The French and Indian War left England with a debt of £130,000,000. To help pay off the debt Britain set up taxes, to collect money, on frequently used products by the colonists. The Molasses Act put a six pence tax on every gallon of molasses. The colonists thought this was a lot of money to pay so they did everything to avoid it. This act was not really enforced and the colonists did not really obey this act.

When the war ended they were wore down and weak. This made the actions of the colonists more effective. Because of the debt, Britain’s economy was not strong. To help pay for the debt, Britain passed the Stamp Act. The Stamp Act put a tax on every printed item they used and required them to buy a government-issued stamp for legal documents and other paper goods.

At the commence of the War England had a National Debt of 72,000,000 Pounds in 1754. By 1763, England had a National Debt of 135,000,000 Pounds, which equivalent to $10,000,000 today. With this economic collapse, England had to find newer ways of paying this money and a way of paying this off was by making tax and putting them on the Colonies. Mercantilism was employed to give/buy from England the manufactured goods and other items that will keep its economy stable. The British Council in 1763 Complained saying, “ We find that the revenue arising therefrom is very small and inconsiderable, ….

England then sought to reinforce their rules and command over the colonies. English officials used Mercantilism. This confirmed their authority. Parliament then passed Acts to help pay off the debt for the war and show the colonies who was really in charge. This angered the colonies.