Mercantilism In The 13 Colonies

695 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The difference between colonies and England in 1700

In 1756, what today is the United States looked very different. Along the east coast of what is now America, there were 13 colonies ruled by Britain. Specifically the British King, King George III. Different groups of people all settled in these colonies, and there was little communication between them, as they were all very separate from each other. These colonies was a very important source of income to Britain, who used mercantilism to make money off of them. During the French and Indian war, the British had spent a lot of money and went into a lot of depts. As a result, Britain needed a way to make money.(A Nation Created) Britain began taxing members of the colonies.(Encyclopedia Britannica) The Stamp Act required that colonists put a Dew still dripped from the grass and from the rising sun long shadows radiated a calming feeling through my room. I rose and began preparing for school, but before long a shrill, harsh voice broke the peace of the tranquil morning. I rushed to my window and gently pressed my ear to it. The voices became clearer. “What… do you think?...I don’t believe... I think you should...why...do you know?.” The conversation was inaudible. I resolved to find out for myself exactly what was happening. Dressing quickly and rushing to the door I peeked out and watched the unfolding scene. It was Mr.Turrner, our neighbor. He appeared to be in an argument with Mr.Humbin, who lived on the other side of town. “Sir, this license has not been stamped.” Mr.Humbin was explaining. “Mister, there ain’t nothin’ wrong with this license” “Mr.Turner these cards are illegal unless they are stamped, you could be arrested for this, but if you will stamp the cards-” “Now you just hold on there, this license is perfectly valid...” The conversation continued as I became aware of a new presence in the room and turned to find my father entering. He placed his newspaper at his seat, set breakfast on the table and we ate slowly, as we listened to the noise outside. “Dad, what's he talking about?” He glanced at me from behind the drabby gray paper “He is upset because Mr.Turner did not pay to get a stamp for his license.” This sounded funny to me. “Why would Mr.Turner need a stamp It would have been a common situation in 1765 because there was so much trouble with Britain. It might have been hard for a younger person to understand the importance of what was happening at that time. I’m sure many families disagreed on the subject. It was a very controversial thing in 1765. Eventually, in 1766 the Stamp Act was repealed because colonist refused to comply.(Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia) There were more acts from Britain after that, including the Quartering Act, Intolerable Acts, and Townsend Act. Eventually the colonies conflict with Britain would lead to an all-out war which, against all odds, the colonies would win. The colonies then created their own government and became what we now known as the United States of America(A Nation

Show More
Related

  • Dbq Essay

    591 Words  | 2 Pages

    From 1754-1763, Britain fought the French and Indian war. Although Britain had won the war, they still had a lot of war debts to pay off. Britain turned to the colonies to pay off their debts by taxing them. The taxes angered the colonists because they believed it violated their rights. Benjamin Franklin had initially proposed the Albany plan of Union to unite the colonies, however this law was rejected by all of the colonial governments. It wasn't until after all of the British laws and taxes that the colonies would unite and write the Declaration of Independence.

    Read More

  • How Did The Townshend Act Contribute To American Revolution

    987 Words  | 2 Pages

    When the British passed the Stamp Act, the colonists reacted in various ways. The Stamp Act, passed in 1765, put taxes on all printed goods in the colonies. Specifically, newspapers, legal documents, dice,

    Read More

  • How Did The Boston Tea Party Lead To The American Revolution

    706 Words  | 2 Pages

    The British were facing economic difficulties after the French and Indian war; therefore, they passed taxes on the colonies to help repay the debt. Initially, the British introduced the Sugar Act in 1764. The colonists did not approve of the British taking control over them. The colonists opposed the Sugar Act because they had to pay three cent tax on sugar. In addition, the Sugar Act increased the taxes on coffee, indigo, and wine. This act was the start of colonist frustration. Subsequently came the Stamp Act the following year in 1765. The Stamp Act was the mind changer for many colonists known as the Patriots. The Patriots started forming as a result of England enforcing acts. The patriots believed the colonies should go to war and separate

    Read More

  • American Revolution Dbq Essay

    1364 Words  | 3 Pages

    The American Revolution was caused by a series of attempts from the British to tax American colonists. After a war against France, Britain ruled an enormous overseas empire. Britain however faced war debt and was in need of money to administer the overseas empire. The crown decided that since the colonists were the primary beneficiaries of this empire, it was time to have them contribute to the empire’s revenue by paying taxes.

    Read More

  • Britain Vs the Colonies: The American Revolution

    788 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...e. On the other hand, the British had up to the Battle of Lexington had colonist’s rebellion as a simple nuisance. However, as the American colonists retaliated and killed British soldiers, the British knew they had to use a stronger hand to force the colonies into submission. Thus the point of no return had finally been reached and the American Revolution began.

    Read More

  • Sons of Liberty: Boston, 1765

    929 Words  | 2 Pages

    Taxes had been rising for the colonies for years prior 1765. It was not appreciated but the colonists tolerated it. Those tax acts included the Townshend Act. That is, until the spring of 1765 when British Parliament passed the Stamp Act. The Stamp Act required a tax to be put on all paper goods. This included all ship papers, legal documents, licenses, and newspapers. It was considered a small tax in cost but the reaction of the colonist was nothing but offended. All the things that the colonist used to develop and have their daily lives separate from British government was now being taxed. Although the act was not passed until November of 1765, the colonists already felt victimized by the Stamp Act and the discrimination from Great Britain. These emotions and reactions quickly followed as motivation to do something again the act. The same can be said for how the Sons of Liberty was started.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of By Partial People By Terry Bisson

    870 Words  | 2 Pages

    “By Permit Only,” represents that money can buy everything, even a permit to abuse others. Mr. Manning sexually abuses his employee Mrs. Robinson. Mrs. Robinson says, “I said trying to ignore Mr. Manning’s hand on my thigh. His sexual harassment permit (on file at the main office) didn’t cover actual genital contact, so I didn’t have to worry about him going much higher, Thank God” (Bisson 200). The boss bought a permit to make sexual contact with his employee. Mrs. Robinson has to take the sexual harassment to keep her job. Bisson writes, ‘“This guy’s a poet,’ mused Mr. Manning, running his hand along the crack that separates my buttocks. I tried to ignore him (jobs are scarce these days) and kept looking out the window” (Bisson 201). This gives the impression that lower class people have no power to escape this abuse. It is almost a punishment for being lower class. Even the children of high class people abuse the children of low class people. Timmy, the crippled child of Mrs. Robinson, cries, ‘“They had their papers, Pop!’ whined our bruised, battered, blubbering baby boy. ‘They whipped out and waved it in my face and then it was whack whack whack”’ (Bisson 204). Even the kids are affected in this low class. No one is left out. This story even goes to the next level of cruelty by allowing children to buy permits to beat up crippled children, like Tim in this quote. With the cruelty of beating up a crippled child to sexual harassment this satire explores how money can buy anything including physical

    Read More

  • The American Revolution: The Beginning of Independence And Equality

    1045 Words  | 3 Pages

    ... that ended the revolution with an American victory. The English finally surrendered after many years of fighting. Britain had significant military disadvantages. Since they had to cross a sea, their information and resources were delayed. Since the colonies had not been unified under one central government before the war there wasn’t a central area of any kind of significance. This ensemble of factors caused the British to fail.

    Read More

  • Was The American Revolution Radical Essay

    985 Words  | 2 Pages

    So the government decided to place taxes in. The Stamp Act was taxes, the Stamp Act it states, “Right and Power to lay Taxes and Impositions upon the inhabitants of this Colony.” It was hard for the merchant to trade because they had to pay taxes to people. In Zinn it said that merchants helped start a protest against the stamp act, “A political group in Boston called the Loyal Nine-merchants, distillers, shipowners, and master craftsmen who opposed the Stamp Act-organized a procession in August 1765 to protest it.” This shows that they didn’t like being tax. In “We are equally Free,” in said “Two years earlier, some merchants had organized boycotts against certain products imported from Great Britain (a strategy known as nonimportation) to resist British taxation measures aimed at the rebellious Americans.” As shown by this tried to protest

    Read More

  • Boston Tea Party Thesis

    507 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the 1770’s the American colonists were being taxed too much by the British and they started to want their independence. Britain was taxing the colonists to pay their debts from the French and Indian War. The colonists started to fight back by tarring and feathering some tax collectors. Britain sent troops to the colonies which caused more problems.

    Read More

  • Boston Tea Party Analysis

    826 Words  | 2 Pages

    (140) It was during this time period that “the government in London concerned itself with the colonies in unprecedented ways…to help raise funds to pay for the war and finance the empire.” (Forner 141) The British government was heavily in debt after fighting the Seven Years War on several fronts. The need to raise funds was paramount and the colonies were a ready source. The British government started imposing taxes on the colonies as a means of income. This was a change in the relationship between America and the mother country. Many Americans opposed these taxes. (Forner 142- 143) According to Forner, “Opposition to the Stamp Act was the first great Drama of the revolutionary era and the first major split between the colonist and Great Britain over the meaning of freedom.” (142) This act was eventually repealed by Parliament in 1766 after great opposition by Americans. (Forner 144) The Stamp Act was just the beginning of several events and taxes on the colonist leading up the Boston Tea

    Read More

  • Hole In My Life Analysis

    1438 Words  | 3 Pages

    Growing up Jack’s dad’s had a “keen eye for spotting criminals of all stripes was impressive” because he would always point out people that he thought were druggies, criminals, or ex-convicts. He would tell him as a kid that there is no coming back from certain things and being in jail was one of them (Gantos 7). “His eye “wasn’t perfect. He never pegged [Jack] for being one of them” (Gantos 7). Along with his dad trying to help his son not become a criminal his high school tried to help the community as well, In the town's high school there was a presentation where criminals came to share their stories and how they regret doing the things they did because doing the time and wasting their life was not worth it. Jack believed this to be useless, “What could they say that could possibly change my life? I was enjoying my life just fine. I wasn’t going to become a criminal. I was going to be a writer. And if not a writer, I wasn’t sure what I might do, but I certainly had no interests in becoming a criminal,” (Gantos 28). Little did he know that later in life he would become a prisoner

    Read More

  • The Start of US Revolution

    1902 Words  | 4 Pages

    The origin of England's dependence on the colonies began during the French and Indian war, in the 1750s-1760s. In this war, the British were quite inexperienced; their European style of fighting did not work against the guerilla-warfare fighting style of the French. The British wore bright red coats, marched in long lines, often lugging cannons around with them, while the French hid behind trees and picked them off one by one. General Braddock relied on his force of ill-disciplined American militiamen, who used behind-the-tree methods of fighting in order to fight the Indians. After many years of fighting, the British finally came out victorious. Although England emerged from this war as one of the biggest empires in the world, it also possessed the biggest debt. They had poured much money and resources into these colonies in order to keep them as their own, and it was time for the colonies to give something back to the British for protecting them from the Indians. They finally realized what a precious gift the colonies were, and how useful they would be. In this war, the British realized that the colonies were their pawns in a global game of chess. At any time, the British felt that they had the right to impose taxes on the colonies, in order to make up for money that was lost in the French and Indian War to defend them. They had the view that because they had done so much to help the colonies, that the colonies had to repay them.

    Read More

  • Stamp Act

    682 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Stamp Act was an act that was passed by the British Parliament that was to go into effect on November 1st, 1765. This act was created to help pay the costs to govern and protect the American colonies. The Stamp Act required stamps to be placed on all legal and commercial documents and various articles. Many colonists did not want the act to be implemented. For that reason, Samuel Adams put together the Sons of Liberty to help abolish this law. Then the Stamp Act Congress was composed to completely repeal the act. The Stamp Act was one of the many taxes that the British Parliament put on the colonies as a source of wealth. This act made it necessary for colonists to put stamps on almost all written documents and other various articles.

    Read More

  • The Boston Tea Party

    1265 Words  | 3 Pages

    The war had been enormously expensive, and the British government’s attempts to impose taxes on colonists to help cover these expenses resulted in chaos. English leaders, were not satisfied with the financial and military help they had received from the colonists during the war. In a desperate attempt to gain control over the colonies as well as the additional revenue to pay off the war debt, Britain began to force taxes on the colonies. Which resulted in The Stamp Act, passed by parliament and signed by the king in March 1765. The Stamp Act created an excise tax on legal documents, custom papers, newspapers, almanacs, college diplomas, playing cards, and even dice. Obviously the colonist resented the Stamp Act and the assumption that parliament could tax them whenever and however they could without their direct representation in parliament. Most colonials believed that taxation without their consent was a violation of their constitutional rights as Englishmen. Which is where the slogan “No Taxation without Representation” comes

    Read More

More about Mercantilism In The 13 Colonies

Open Document