5. Acts of Taxation

Question 1

Historian Interpretations

Answer 1

• Brogan - “…a catalyst, touching off fundamental change.”
• Hartz - “…a most dangerous innovation.”
• Zinn - “This accumulated sense of grievance against the rich in Boston may account for the explosiveness of the mob action after the Stamp Act of 1765.”
• Countryman - “…grew out of the British conviction that Parliament had the power to tax the colonists directly.”

Question 2

Sugar Act 1764

Answer 2

Sugar Act: a revenue-raising Act passed by the British Parliament in 1764, which alarmed the colonists about the intent of the British and helped fuel the growing discontent
* Granted customs officers new powers to control rum smuggling from non-British controlled sources, including French West Indies.
* Lowered duty on molasses from 6 pence to 3 pence per gallon to counter smuggled sugar appeal.
* Introduced taxes on wines, coffee, spices, and cloth.
Enabled British Navy and customs officers to search American property suspected of containing smuggled goods
* The economic monopoly and forced property searches led to resentment among the people
As it bypassed colonial assemblies’ taxation rights it was seen to violate colonists’ rights

Question 3

Stamp Act 1765

Answer 3

• Tax on all papers
• The Stamp Act became the first direct tax to target all social classes in every American colony
• Designed to cover the costs of defending the colonies (the £130 million French and Indian War debt) and enforcing existing mercantilist acts
• The backlash to the Stamp Act in the colonies was a protracted campaign of propaganda and violence that became so universal that Britain eventually backed down and repealed the Act in 1766.

Question 4

Stamp Act Response

Answer 4

• establishing in each colony a Sons of Liberty-type secret organisation
• using Sons of Liberty tactics (such as tarring and feathering, and harassing British representatives)
• using newspapers to spread radical ideas to a large audience
• employing the power of the colonial assembly to direct opposition in each colony
• promoting the boycott of British goods

Question 5

Sons of Liberty/DoL

Answer 5

• Became a generic term for many different groups in the Thirteen Colonies that engaged in violent antiBritish activities.
• Originated from the Loyal Nine, a group of nine men in May or June 1765.
• Organised opposition to the Stamp Act, and instigated intimidation of Andrew Oliver in August 1765.
• Engaged in vigilante behaviour, including harassing tax officials and vandalism.
• Were incredibly successful and helped to cause the repeal of the Stamp Act. They were also instrumental in the Boston Massacre of 1770 through the harassment of British troops, and carried out the Boston Tea Party in 1773.

Question 6

Stamp Act Congress

Answer 6

• James Otis invited all colonies to a congress in New York in October 1765.
• Nine colonies attended, including Virginia, New Hampshire, North Carolina, and Georgia.
• The Congress produced the Declaration of Rights of the Stamp Act Congress, petitioning the King and Parliament for the repeal of the tax.
• The Declaration pledged loyalty to King George III and claimed Britain had usurped colonial rights.
• The petition argued that colonists could only vote for members in their colonial assemblies, not in British elections.
• The petition was signed by members of only six colonies

Question 7

Non-importation

Answer 7

• The refusal of the American colonial government to import British goods between 1768 and 1774.
• In reaction to the Stamp Act (1765) and the Townshend Acts (1767), colonial nonimportation associations were organised by Sons of Liberty and Whig merchants to boycott English goods