Taxation Without Representation and the Road to the American Revolution

After the French and Indian War, Britain faced significant debt, leading to demands for greater financial support from American colonies.
Salutary neglect ended: Britain, previously allowing colonial autonomy due to distance, began tightening control and enforcement.
Trade policy: Navigation Acts restricting colonial trade were largely ignored by colonists; lax enforcement fostered a sense of self-rule.
Turning point: Britain sought cash, ending the era of salutary neglect and increasing enforcement of economic and political control.

George Grenville (British prime minister) implemented a three-pronged plan:
1. Stricter enforcement of existing laws, especially Navigation Acts (targeting smuggling).
2. Extension of wartime provisions into peacetime, notably the Quartering Act of 1765 (requiring colonists to house British soldiers).
3. New taxes: Sugar Act (duties on molasses, expanded enforcement), Stamp Act of 1765 (tax on all paper items), and Currency Act (prohibiting colonial paper currency).
These measures shifted colonial grievances from taxes to issues of representation and self-governance.

Rallying cry: "No taxation without representation" — colonists argued Parliament could not tax them without direct colonial representation.
British counterargument: "Virtual representation" — Parliament represented all British subjects, regardless of direct election.
Enlightenment influence: Colonists drew on ideas of a social contract and natural rights from thinkers like John Locke, Rousseau, Voltaire, and Kant, emphasizing government legitimacy through consent.

Early resistance groups: Sons of Liberty, Daughters of Liberty, VaX Populi formed in response to the Stamp Act.
Stamp Act Congress (1765): Delegates from 9 colonies petitioned Parliament to repeal the Stamp Act, affirming loyalty but protesting taxation without representation.
Parliamentary responses:
- Stamp Act and Sugar Act repealed in 1766 due to colonial pressure and boycotts.
- Declaratory Act (1766) asserted Parliament’s right to pass laws "in all cases whatsoever" over the colonies, maintaining British authority.

Townshend Acts (1767): Levied taxes on imported goods including paper, tea, and glass.
Colonial response: Widespread organized protests and consumer boycotts of British goods, unifying colonists.
Women’s role: Key in the boycott by producing domestic goods (e.g., spinning cloth, herbal substitutes for tea) to avoid imported items.

Boston Massacre (1770):
- Tensions between colonists and British soldiers escalated; soldiers fired on colonists, resulting in 11 shot, 4 dead.
- Legal aftermath: John Adams defended the soldiers; 6/8 = 0.75 were acquitted.
- Public reaction: Increased anger and perception of British tyranny.
Boston Tea Party (1773):
- Tea Act: Granted the British East India Company a monopoly on tea sales in colonies, undermining colonial merchants.
- December 1773: Sons of Liberty, disguised as Native Americans, dumped 45 ext{ tons} of tea (valued at roughly ext{ extdollar}2{,}000{,}000 today) into Boston Harbor.
Parliamentary backlash: Coercive Acts (1774), called Intolerable Acts by colonists, punitive measures against Boston/Massachusetts:
- Closed Boston Harbor until tea was paid for.
- Expanded the Quartering Act and other punitive measures.
- These acts consolidated colonial resistance and unity.

The conflict propelled the colonies toward questioning independence vs. allegiance to Britain.
Educational takeaway: Illustrates how fiscal policy, governance, and philosophical ideas (rights, representation, consent) shape political movements.

George Grenville: British prime minister behind the three-pronged plan.
Parliament: Legislative body asserting sovereignty over the empire.
John Adams: Defended Boston Massacre soldiers; future U.S. president.
Sons of Liberty, Daughters of Liberty, VaX Populi: Organized colonial resistance groups.
Enlightenment thinkers: John Locke, Rousseau, Voltaire, Kant (influenced ideas on natural rights, consent, social contract).
Key Acts: Navigation, Sugar, Stamp, Currency, Quartering, Townshend, Tea, Coercive/Intolerable, Declaratory.
Concepts: Salutary neglect, no taxation without representation, virtual representation.

Shift from salutary neglect to direct constitutional governance fueled revolutionary movements.
Economic policy (taxes, trade restrictions) was a primary driver of political change and colonial unity.
Public opinion and organized groups (petitions, boycotts) significantly influenced policy and colonial demands.

Boston Massacre casualties: 11 colonists shot, 4 dead.
Trial outcomes of soldiers: frac{6}{8} = 0.75 acquitted.
Boston Tea Party import value: 45 ext{ tons}
ightarrow ext{approximately } ext{ extdollar}2{,}000{,}000 (in today's currency).
Stamp Act Congress: 27 delegates from 9 colonies.
Townshend Acts: taxes on ext{paper}, ext{tea}, ext{glass} (imported goods).
Year references: 1764, 1765, 1766, 1767, 1770, 1773, 1774 (key acts and events).