Soame Jenyns Taxes Debate

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Taxation and Representation – A Debate Taxes. We hate to love them and love to hate them. The mere mention of the word can stir heated debates and has done so for centuries. None was more prevalent than during colony times. During this time, on one side was the British Parliament while on the other side were the colonists, both arguing, either verbally or in written text, about which side did or did not have the right to tax the colonies. Soame Jenyns was one of these men who sided with the mother country in the tax debate. Soame Jenyns, a member of the British Parliament from 1741 to 1780, wrote a pamphlet called “The Objections to the taxation consider’d” in 1765 in which he defended the Parliament’s right to tax the American colonies. Jenyns …show more content…

Enter the Declaratory Act. Enacted by the British Parliament on March 18, 1766, this act was “for the better securing the dependency of his majesty’s dominions in America…” Parliament and the crown of Great Britain wanted authority to be the same not only in the mother country, but also in America. This meant that any laws that were imposed in Great Britain would also become binding laws in America, including ability to tax the people. The act was clearly political in nature and was passed to keep the colonists from making their own laws. The Quartering Act of 1774 was passed “for the better providing suitable quarters for officers and soldiers in his Majesty’s service in North America.” This act ensured that housing was provided to the stationed British soldiers in the colonies. It also allowed governors to house the soldiers in other buildings, such as, “uninhabited houses, out-houses, barns, or other buildings,” if suitable quarters were not provided. This also meant that the British soldiers were allowed to stay in private homes, even if they were occupied. Luckily, for the colonists, this act also had an expiration date of March 24,

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