The Sugar Act 1764
Definition: lowered tax on imported molasses and allowed British officers to seize goods from accused smugglers without going to court
Colonial reaction:
- Felt their rights had been violated
- Felt they had the right to a trial by jury, innocent until proved guilty, just like English citizens in England
- Felt they had the right to be secure in their own homes without the threat of British officers searching their homes for smuggled goods
- Felt their basic right of “no taxation without representation” was violated
The Stamp Act 1765
Definition: taxed almost all printed materials, newspapers, wills, and playing cards needed a stamp to show that the tax had been paid
Colonial reaction:
- Colonists felt that only their own assemblies could tax them
- Nine colonial assemblies met at the Stamp Act Congress and passes a resolution declaring that only colonial assemblies had the exclusive power to lay taxes
- Sons of Liberty was founded by Samuel Adams, which openly protested the Stamp Act
- Merchants boycotted British goods, which caused the British merchants to lose money
Result:
Britain repealed the Stamp Act in 1766 but passed the Declaratory Act stating that it had the right to tax and make decisions for the colonies in all cases
The Townshend Act 1767
Definition: a tax on imports such as glass, tea, and paper. The tax was paid when the goods arrived at colonial ports but before the goods were brought inside the colony. In other words, if the merchant didn't pay the tax, they didn't get the goods.
Colonial reaction:
- Protests began immediately
- Daughters of Liberty was formed by Mercy Otis Warren, began boycotts of British goods
British officials in the colonies sent word to Parliament that the colonies were going to rebel. Parliament sent British troops to occupy/take control of colonial cities.
British soldiers were rude to the colonists and because they were poorly paid, took jobs away from the colonists to earn more income.
The Acts and the occupation by British troops continued to fuel the resentment the colonists had towards England, which eventually would lead to the Boston Tea Party and the American Revolution
Appleby, Joyce, et al. United States History to 1877. McGraw-Hill Education, 2016.