No Taxation Without Representation Dbq Analysis

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When we hear about the Revolutionary War, one of the most popular phrases to be tied to it is “no taxation without representation,” and was coined from the fact that the colonies were being directly taxed without democratic representation. The fact that the American people did not have representation in Parliament while being taxed was virtually universally disapproved and was an extremely big factor in driving the American people to protect their democratic ideals through war in the years prior to the revolution. Taxation was imposed across the colonies, and loyalists and patriots alike could not support said tax. The Virginia House of Burgesses clearly considered themselves British in their resolution passed in 1764 to inform the King …show more content…

Joseph Warren, a Boston Patriot, addressed the American people in 1772 about the injustices done unto them by the British. He brought attention to the fact that the British had a standing army in a time of peace in the colonies to enforce the unconstitutional laws imposed upon them (Document 4). The Boston Tea Party in 1773 is also a direct result of the Tea Act, showing that the American people were ready to act against what they considered an unlawful taxation. War would break out in 1775, and Congress soon after declared the causation of war, citing that Parliament “have undertaken to given and grant our money without our consent” (Document 5), clearly showing that taxation without representation was important enough to be mentioned in the causes for war. Even after the war, free blacks in Massachusetts petitioned to their legislature for their own representation, citing how the war was fought over taxation without representation (Document 7). Considering all of the evidence, it is very clear that the lack of representation in Parliament coupled with taxation was a major cause of the Revolutionary War, as it did not fit the Americans’ democratic

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