The colonists' objection was that they were denied the
rights of Englishmen; specifically the right to be taxed only by their duly elected
representatives.
The Seven Years War (the French and Indian
War in America) had been costly to the British Empire, and since the war had been fought
to protect the colonists, it seemed reasonable to George Grenville, the Chancellor of
the Exchequer, that the colonists should assume some small part of the debt. He also was
determined to put a stop to the smuggling that had been rampant in the colonies. Among
the measures Grenville pushed through
Parliament:
- The Sugar Act of 1764 which cut the
tax on molasses but levied new taxes on sugar, wine, coffee, indigo, and foreign
textiles. It was significant because it was the first attempt by Parliament to raise
revenue from the colonies. Previous taxes and regulations pursuant to the Navigation
Acts had been solely for the purpose of regulation to protect Britain's Policy of
Mercantilism. - The Stamp Act of February, 1765 which was
scheduled to take effect on November 1 of that year was a documentary stamp tax (in
common use in this country today) placed a tax on legal documents, dice, playing cards
and newspapers.
Englishmen had always been
taxed only by representatives duly elected by them. This was among the precious "rights
of Englishmen" under Magna Carta and the English Bill of Rights of 1688. The colonists
regularly paid taxes levied by colonial legislatures with no objection; now, however
they were being taxed by Parliament where they had no representation; hence the protest
of "taxation without representation." The colonists were not interested in
representation in Parliament, which was not feasible; they wanted any tax to be imposed
by those whom they had elected. They were proud of their status as Englishmen and
believed that they deserved the same rights as their brethren in
Britain.
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