Economics Leading to the Revolutionary War
After the end of the French and Indian War in 1763 the American people had taxes placed on them by the British. The British Parliament claimed that by placing the taxes they were defending the colonies for the Americans. During the twelve years following the war, the British enacted a numerous amount of taxes that allowed them to raise revenue from the American economy. This taxing of the American people hurt the American economy and started to push the American colonists toward an independence movement so they could have a free economy. Over the course of the twelve-year period there were six acts enacted to take money from the American economy. The Sugar Act of 1764 was the first act used by the British to channel revenue into Britain. The British specifically stated in the Sugar Act, "...a revenue be raised in your Majesty's said dominions in America, for defraying the expenses of defending, protecting, and securing the same" (The Sugar Act). This proves that the British were using this act just to raise revenue because they needed it to defray the cost of fighting against the French. The act forced tariffs on goods being imported into the colonies. Examples of these goods were sugar, molasses, foreign indigo, and
King, Peter. "Virginia Stamp Act Resolutions May 30, 1765." Peter King 1999. http://www.carleton.ca/~pking/docs/440docs.htm#3 (8 Mar. 2000). King, Peter. "Petition from the Massachusetts House of Representatives to the House of Commons November 3, 1764." Peter King 1999. http://www.carleton.ca/~pking/docs/440docs.htm#1 (8 Mar. 2000). Dickinson, John. "Letters from a farmer IV." The American Revolution - an .HTML project. 1999. http://odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/D/1751-1775/townshend/dickIV.htm (13 Apr. 2000). "The Stamp Act." Founding.com Library. http://www.founding.com/library/lbody.cfm?id=87&parent=17 (13 Apr. 2000). It is evident that the taxation and acts placed on the American colonists caused them to push for an Independence movement. It started with the Sugar Act, Currency Act, and Stamp Act in 1764 and 1765. These acts made colonial economic life much more difficult for the colonists living in America because their economy had not developed to a point where they could leave the British behind. This came after the Americans were upset with the Tea Act being put in place and this lead to the Boston Tea Party. Once these events took place all that could be done was for them to actually fight the British and that was the next step. This shows specifically that the acts issued from 1763 to 1773, which are related to how successful the American economy would actually be. This makes it even more evident that taxations helped to cause the Revolutionary War.
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Approximate Word count = 3940
Approximate Pages = 16 (250 words per page double spaced)
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