The Taxation Issue – Arguments For and Against (Handout)
Arguments presented by Britain to
Support Colonial Taxation
1. Britain fought the Seven Years War
to protect the 13 Colonies.
2. The 13 Colonies are part of the
British Empire and have benefited
from British victories over the
French in North America.
3. The British Parliament has the right
to tax the colonists because it
indirectly represents all the colonies
in the British Empire and their
interests.
4. Britain was responsible for
establishing the 13 Colonies and
has paid to protect and administer
them (350,000 sterling pound a
year).
5. British taxpayers pay too high a
price to protect the colonies.
6. British troops and warships still
have to be stationed in the colonies
to preserve order and protect the
colonies from the natives and
foreign countries. The colonists
should help to pay for these
expenses.
7. The 13 Colonies are part of the
strongest Empire in the world and
have many benefits. They should
help to pay for trade and defense
benefits which result from being
part of the British Empire.
Arguments presented by the Colonies
Against Colonial Taxation
1. It is unfair for the British
government to suddenly start
collecting taxes that it had not
bothered to collect before.
2. No government has the right to tax
without the consent of the people
being taxed.
3. The British parliament has no right
to tax the colonists because they
are not represented in British
Parliament.
4. The Seven Years War was merely
one war fought by Britain to defeat
France. It should be responsible for
the payment of fighting the war.
5. The colonies have to pay their own
war debts of 2.5 million sterling
pounds.
6. The British government has
supported and protected the 13
Colonies because it has benefited
from this arrangement.
“News from America, or the Patriots in
the Dumps” – this political cartoon shows
King George III relaying the news of the
rebels in America to his surprised but loyal
subjects.
The Road to Revolution – Political Control of the Colonies Concept Map
The British government exercised political control over America by attempting to
control the economy of the colonies and the actions of the colonists. The concept map
below illustrates the political control attempted by the British in the areas of trade,
industry and the development of settlements.
PURPOSE: TO REGULATE
TRADE
PURPOSE: TO CONTROL
BEHAVIOUR
1) NAVIGATION ACT OF 1651
1) PROCLAMATION OF 1763
2) ENUMERATED
COMMODITIES
2) COERCIVE ACTS
3) BROKEN VOYAGE MEASURE
FORMS OF
BRITISH
POLITICAL
CONTROL
PURPOSE: TO RAISE MONEY
PURPOSE: TO CONTROL
INDUSTRY
1) STAMP ACT
1) MOLASSES ACT
2) SUGAR ACT
2) WOOLEN ACT
3) TOWNSHEND ACTS
3) HAT ACT
4) IRON ACT