Response to the Sugar Act. Flashcards
What was the main reason colonists opposed the Sugar Act?
Britain was imposing duties to raise revenue through taxing Americans who were unrepresented in Parliament.
TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION.
Political reasons for opposing the Sugar Act.
Colonists= Whigs.
Whiggism in America was not the same as the Whiggism in Britain.
American Whig concerns.
Resisting arbitrary power, upholding rights, and defending the integrity of representative institutions.
What were American concerns over British control?
Concerns over a large peacetime British army stationed in North America.
Colonists not asked for army, may suspicious.
Who was John Wilkes and what did he do?
Radical British MP. Co-editor of the journal North Briton.
Demanded the freedom of the press and a more democratic Parliament.
1763- criticised the King, arrested and imprisoned.
Wilkes became an American as well as a British.
British government seemed to be trampling on British and American liberties.
What was the situation in 1765?
. By 1765, 9 colonial assemblies had sent messages to London.
. Argued that Parliament had abused its power by introducing TSA.
What did the colonial assemblies concede in 1765?
They conceded Parliaments right to regulate trade, but they did not accept its right to tax in order to raise revenue in America.
Details of other Americans who objected to the Sugar Act.
. James Otis- Massachusetts, prominent family and figure.
. Published pamphlet in 1764.
What was the name of James’ Otis’ pamphlet and what did it argue?
“The Rights of the British Colonies Asserted and Proved”.
. Criticised Parliaments aggression towards the colonies.
. Argued there should be no taxation in America w/o consent.
How controversial was the Sugar Act?
Despite objections, most complied with the sugar act. few directly affected by it, and their compliance gave Grenville the confidence to proceed with it.
