French And Indian War Dbq
The French and Indian War culminated in the Treaty of Paris in 1763, which would end French power in North America and British power would reign over North America east of the Mississippi River (Tindall). The French and Indian War, also called The Seven Years ' War, nearly doubled Britain 's national debt and post-war expenses were expected to remain high because the government decided in early 1763 to keep ten thousand British regular soldiers in the American colonies (Stamp Act).
The primary reason for retaining such a large force was that demobilizing the army would put 1,500 officers, many of whom were well-connected in Parliament, out of work. Stationing 10,000 troops to separate Indians and frontiersmen was one role. The outbreak in May 1763 of Pontiac …show more content…
's Rebellion, an Indian uprising against the British expansion, reinforced the logic of this decision (Stamp Act).
George Grenville became the prime minister in April of 1763. He knew that he would have to find a way to pay for this large peacetime army. Raising taxes in Britain was out of the question, since there had been virulent protests in England against the 1763 cider tax. The Grenville ministry therefore decided that Parliament would raise this revenue by taxing the American colonists without their consent. Parliament had previously passed measures to regulate trade in the colonies, but it had never before directly taxed the colonies to raise revenue (Stamp Act).
The first tax in Grenville 's program to raise a revenue in America was the Sugar Act that was passed on April 5, 1764. American colonists initially objected to the Sugar Act for economic reasons, but before long they recognized that there were constitutional issues involved. The British Constitution guaranteed that British subjects could not be taxed without their consent, which came in the form of representation in Parliament. The colonists elected no members of Parliament, and so for Parliament to tax them was seen as a violation of the British Constitution (Stamp Act).
Following the Sugar Act, The Stamp Act was passed by Parliament on March 22, 1765. Because of its potential wide application to the colonial economy, the Stamp Act was judged by the colonists to be a more dangerous assault on their rights than the Sugar Act was. While the colonial legislatures were acting, protests began taking place in the streets. It was during this time of street demonstrations that the well known group, the Sons of Liberty was formed. Groups identifying themselves as Sons of Liberty existed in almost every colony (Stamp Act).
The British government had gotten the impression that because the colonists had objected to the Stamp Act on the grounds that it was a direct (or "internal") tax, colonists would therefore accept indirect (or "external") taxes, such as taxes on imports.
With this in mind, the Townshend Act was passed in 1767 that placed new duties on paper, paint, lead, glass, and tea that were imported into the colonies. These were items that were not produced in North America and that the colonists were only allowed to buy from Great Britain (Townshend Acts). This act proved to be short lived and by 1770 most of the Townshend taxes were repealed, but that on tea was retained. Colonists were still opposed to the tax on tea, which resulted in the return of tea back to Britain. In Charleston, the colonists even left the tea on the docks to rot. Things would eventually culminate and on December 16, 1773, after officials in Boston refused to return three shiploads of taxed tea to Britain, a group of colonists boarded the ships and destroyed the tea by throwing it into Boston Harbor (Boston). Today this iconic event is known as the Boston Tea Party, which was one of the key events leading up to the Revolutionary
War.
Works Cited
"Boston Tea Party." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 25 May 2013. Web. 14 June 2013.
"Stamp Act 1765." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 7 June 2013. Web. 13 June 2013.
"Tea Act." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 11 June 2013. Web. 13 June 2013.
"Townshend Acts." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 12 June 2013. Web. 13 June 2013.
The primary reason for retaining such a large force was that demobilizing the army would put 1,500 officers, many of whom were well-connected in Parliament, out of work. Stationing 10,000 troops to separate Indians and frontiersmen was one role. The outbreak in May 1763 of Pontiac …show more content…
's Rebellion, an Indian uprising against the British expansion, reinforced the logic of this decision (Stamp Act).
George Grenville became the prime minister in April of 1763. He knew that he would have to find a way to pay for this large peacetime army. Raising taxes in Britain was out of the question, since there had been virulent protests in England against the 1763 cider tax. The Grenville ministry therefore decided that Parliament would raise this revenue by taxing the American colonists without their consent. Parliament had previously passed measures to regulate trade in the colonies, but it had never before directly taxed the colonies to raise revenue (Stamp Act).
The first tax in Grenville 's program to raise a revenue in America was the Sugar Act that was passed on April 5, 1764. American colonists initially objected to the Sugar Act for economic reasons, but before long they recognized that there were constitutional issues involved. The British Constitution guaranteed that British subjects could not be taxed without their consent, which came in the form of representation in Parliament. The colonists elected no members of Parliament, and so for Parliament to tax them was seen as a violation of the British Constitution (Stamp Act).
Following the Sugar Act, The Stamp Act was passed by Parliament on March 22, 1765. Because of its potential wide application to the colonial economy, the Stamp Act was judged by the colonists to be a more dangerous assault on their rights than the Sugar Act was. While the colonial legislatures were acting, protests began taking place in the streets. It was during this time of street demonstrations that the well known group, the Sons of Liberty was formed. Groups identifying themselves as Sons of Liberty existed in almost every colony (Stamp Act).
The British government had gotten the impression that because the colonists had objected to the Stamp Act on the grounds that it was a direct (or "internal") tax, colonists would therefore accept indirect (or "external") taxes, such as taxes on imports.
With this in mind, the Townshend Act was passed in 1767 that placed new duties on paper, paint, lead, glass, and tea that were imported into the colonies. These were items that were not produced in North America and that the colonists were only allowed to buy from Great Britain (Townshend Acts). This act proved to be short lived and by 1770 most of the Townshend taxes were repealed, but that on tea was retained. Colonists were still opposed to the tax on tea, which resulted in the return of tea back to Britain. In Charleston, the colonists even left the tea on the docks to rot. Things would eventually culminate and on December 16, 1773, after officials in Boston refused to return three shiploads of taxed tea to Britain, a group of colonists boarded the ships and destroyed the tea by throwing it into Boston Harbor (Boston). Today this iconic event is known as the Boston Tea Party, which was one of the key events leading up to the Revolutionary
War.
Works Cited
"Boston Tea Party." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 25 May 2013. Web. 14 June 2013.
"Stamp Act 1765." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 7 June 2013. Web. 13 June 2013.
"Tea Act." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 11 June 2013. Web. 13 June 2013.
"Townshend Acts." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 12 June 2013. Web. 13 June 2013.