British Policies Between 1763 And 1776

The British policies having to do with the American colonies that passed between 1763 and 1776 were an attempt by Britain to have the colonists pay for the French and Indian War and an attempt to keep the colonies subservient to British rule. However these policies backfired and cause the colonist’s to resist British authority and strengthened their commitment to republican values in government. The policies implemented new taxes in order to raise funds and tried to keep the colonists powerless against British rule, as well as causing the colonists to turn to republican ways of self-governing. The colonists felt as if they were not being properly represented in the British parliament, which led to them turning towards of republican government.

The British had a large war debt after the French and Indian War, and in order to keep from taxing the British public to pay for the war, Parliament turned to taxing the colonies to raise the necessary money. In 1764 the Sugar Act was passed which increased the tariff on sugar while lowering the tariff on molasses, it also set up new courts to put accused smugglers on trial away from the local sympathetic juries.

This angered a few northern merchants because it meant that they couldn’t rely on the cheaper goods from smugglers, and that they had to raise their prices, and therefore lost business and popularity in the colonies. The Currency Act of 1764 made it illegal for the colonies to print and distribute paper money. This effected the southern farmers because they used paper money to take out loans, that were now worthless and so they fell into debt. These first acts helped the colonists realize they needed to set aside their griefs with the other colonies to go against the bigger threat of the London policy makers. The workers in the towns suffered from reduced opportunities for work because of the new restrictions on manufacturing and currency. The Stamp Act of 1765 affected everyone in the colonies by placing a tax on any printed document. This act generated more revenue from the colonies than any of the previous acts. This act was seen as a way for Parliament to levy money form the colonies while circumventing the local governments, which causes some colonial revolutionaries to call for action from the colonists. The colonists boycotted many British

goods which caused the British merchants to pressure Parliament to repeal the acts, and in 1766 the Stamp Act was repealed. However, while the colonists were celebrating the repealing of the Stamp Act, Parliament passed The Declaratory Act which, gave them unrestrained power over the colonies. When Lord Chatham, formerly William Pitt, took office as Prime Minister, he was often incapacitated by mental illness, so the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Charles Townshend led most of the administration. Townshend imposed new taxes on goods that the colonies imported from Britain, which caused the northern merchants to boycott imported goods. In 1776 Townshend died and was replaced by Lord North who repealed all of the import taxes except for that on tea. The Tea Act of 1773 allowed the East India Company to export tea to the colonies without paying the usual tariffs. This resulted in lower prices on tea which North thought would please the colonists, but instead it caused them to see it as Britain trying to monopolize the tea industry in the colonies.
Many of the colonists saw the policies that Britain passed as a way for the local governments to be kept weak. When the Declaratory acts were passed the colonists took little notice because they were celebrating the repeal of the Stamp Act, but afterwards the colonists recognized that the act was a way for Britain to maintain control in the colonies without being challenged. When Townshend disbanded the New York Assembly, he tried to single out New York, but caused all of the colonies to see it as a threat to all local governments.