Mr. Donley
AP US History
September 11, 2014 The Declatory Act of 1766 fueled the American’s hatred for the British more than the
Stamp Act of 1765, because it was a major blow right after repeal of the Stamp Act, it gave the
Parliament total power to tax the colonies, and acts like the Townshend Acts scared colonists even more and damaged their confidence. The Stamp Act confused and angered colonists because for the first time, a tax seemed to be all about making money, and not regulating commerce. Yet the Declatory Act was worse, because though the Stamp Act had been repealed,
British Parliament could now pass binding laws on the colonies “in all cases whatsoever,” which included the power to tax as well. This angered yet scared colonists, pushing them further down the road to revolution.
The repeal of the Stamp Act was a major victory for the colonies against Parliament, but
Parliament wouldn’t be defeated so easily. In 1766 Parliament passed the Declatory Act, which said that Parliament could legislate for the colonies “in all cases whatsoever” (a quote from the
Act). This insulting insinuated that Parliament could not only pass binding laws on the colonies, but it could also tax them as much as it pleased. Because of this utter defeat to them, the colonists didn’t openly dispute with Parliament.
With the Declatory Act, Parliament could pass any binding laws on the colonies “in all cases whatsoever,” including further taxes. Parliament used the colonies’ inactiveness and the significance of the Act to push the colonies more. The Declatory Act was like an expansion on the Stamp Act. With this Parliament created new and reinforced old acts to exert their power over the weakened colonies. The important acts Parliament used to agitate the colonies were the
Townshend Acts, the Quartering Acts, and the Navigation Acts.
Parliament used the Townshend Acts, the Quartering Acts, and the Navigation Acts to further anger and weaken