The Pros And Cons Of The Stamp Act, And The Tea Act

There were a few things that allowed them to do this, one of them being their numbers. The British had over forty two thousand men, four hundred ships, and lots of training. This army was the largest to ever be sent over seas. These numbers allowed them to control the situation in almost every battle by flanking and surrounding the continental army with men to spare. The British also had thirty two thousand hired German mercenaries, the Hessians, on their side. The Hessians were a highly skilled group of German mercenaries that could fight better than any other army on the planet. Another strength of the British was that they were well supplied. They had constant streams of guns, gunpowder, food, clothing, supplies, and other items coming in from Great Britain. The final strength that the British had was experience and training. The British army had fought on almost every continent and essentially ruled most of the world. They had the most experienced men and the biggest armies. In comparison, the continental army was just a group of ragtag volunteers. Over a long course of the war, the British always held the upper

Huge debts were owed to Great Britain for supplying the colonists with military support and supplies. To pay the dues, there was the establishment of the Stamp Act, the taxation on domestic goods and services. A tax on domestic merchandise brought even more anger to the colonists. The Sugar Act, the Townshed Duties and the Tea Act were also all introduced with the same fundamentals: applying tax on goods whether it be directly or indirectly, domestic or international. “British commercial regulations imposed a paltry economic burden on Americans, who enjoyed a rapid economic growth and a standard of living higher than their European counterparts” (McGaughy). Each act resulted in irritated colonists. Some even retaliated by tarring and feathering certain English tax enforcers living in the colonies.

After about 4 years the Townshend acts were passed. The Townshend acts were originated by Charles Townshend. They were meant to add even more taxes on all imported goods, which makes everything almost double the original price. Great Britain needed to pass this act because they still had so much of the debt to pay ofF. This was a huge financial burden for the colonists. There were many violent protests.This act eventually led to the Boston tea

The Revolutionary War is enshrined in American memory as the beginning of a new nation born in freedom. (The Saratoga Chamber of Commerce, 1999) On 17 October 1777, the surrender of the British during the Battle of Saratoga proved to the world that the American Army was an effective fighting force. The American victory at Saratoga was a major turning point in the America’s fight for Independence. This victory also resulted in needed military support from European powers, particularly France, against the British Empire. (Worcester Polytechnic Institute, 2006) The major factors that led to the British downfall during the Battle of Saratoga were their lack of

The act angered colonial merchants because it only allowed tea to be bought from the East India Company. The issue of “taxation without representation” occurred and was felt even more than before. The colonist and merchants felt that the tax was unconstitutional and boycotted the tea. “...the tea boycott mobilized large segments of the population.” [ The Unfinished Nation, Alan Brinkley pg.102]. This highlights how the colonies were coming together against the British and the mistreatment they have

The Tea Act of 1773 was put in place to save the East India Company from going out of business because the British needed them for there economy to work. The American’s that were mostly affected by this act would be the American’s that had business’s because they could not feed their family and their business wasn’t running right at all no one was buying anything from them. The American’s decided that they had had enough and got on ships of the East India Company and thru over 300 chests of tea into the Boston harbor that night. The main point of the Tea act was to help the British and only the British not the colonies at

Between 1765-1783 the American Revolution had many different battles that affected its ending results. One of these battles were the Battle of Saratoga which had a major effect on the American Revolution. This battle displayed the Americans power to the French, convincing them to join the war with the Americans. France supplied the American with their advanced weaponry, financial help, and anything for them to win the war. The Battle of Saratoga became to be known as a major turning point that changed the course of the American Revolution as it showed that the American army led by Horatio Gates had resilience to keep up with the British army and then defeat them, even though the British were thought to have the higher advantage in weaponry, discipline, and economy. This battle was a key reason for the Americans win in the American Revolution.

The purpose of the Intolerable Acts was to punish Massachusetts for the Boston Tea Party. Therefore, the British closed the port of Boston till all the tea had been paid for. Additionally,

The American Colonies did not have the luxury of raising taxes to support its army. They had a shortage of ammunition and food, and their government was weak and divided. They did have some advantages over the British though. It’s leader General George Washington had fought in the French and Indian War against the British Army. He was already familiar with the tactics of the British Army. The war was on their land and they knew the land. They did not have to wait weeks to receive orders. Motivation was also an advantage. The troops had a common goal, freedom from

America was born thanks to a tyrant. In fact, many of the laws that the King of England made were highly frowned upon by the colonists, and were resisted, as well as boycotted by many in the 1760s and 70s. After the French and Indian War, the British Parliament had passed a series of laws and taxes to the colonists. These very laws and taxes would bring conflict both sides. Two laws that resulted in the colonists to take action and request independence from England would be the Townshend Acts and the Intolerable Acts.

Thus, Merchants in the colonial brought forth a storm of protest, “Newspapers and pamphlets” written “no taxation without representation,” Patrick Henry introduced “In the spring of 1765, the Virginia House of Burgesses adopted a series of resolves denouncing the parliamentary taxation and asserting the colonists’ right to be taxed only by their elected representatives.” (p. 42). Due to this act the Stamp Act “unconstitutional” and in 1766, “Parliament repealed the Stamp Act.” Britain reaction after the Stamp Act and the Boston Tea Party was not the smarts moves, for example, closed Boston Harbor; put Massachusetts under direct British control; passing the Quartering Act, which required the colonies to provide barracks and supplies to British

The Bostonians dressed as Indians boarded a British tea vessel and dumped their tea into the Boston Harbor in protest of the Tea tax. This is the reason for the Intolerable Acts.

After a change in leadership in the British government, the policy of imposing direct taxes on the American colonies was revised in 1767. Parliament approved a series of measures, that were known as the Townshend Acts, which among other things, levied modest customs duties on tea, paper, lead, paint, and glass (Encarta: Boston Massacre, 1999). Colonial resistance to the Townshend Acts included, boycotts of British goods, intercolonial expressions of disapproval, and in Massachusetts, open defiance of the British government by the town of Boston and the General Court (Encyclopedia.com: Boston Massacre, 1994). In 1768 Great Britain transferred two regiments of troops to Boston in response to the seditious sentiments prevalent in Massachusetts. However, this action merely served to intensify the anti-British feelings there (Encarta: Boston Massacre, 1999). Finally, on March 5, 1770, a group of British soldiers who were protecting the King's tax collectors from being tarred and feathered, fired on a hostile crowd, producing the first bloodshed of the struggle (Encyclopedia.com: Boston Massacre, 1994).

The Americans did believe they had a strong chance of success. They had a lot at steak. Unlike the British, they were fighting on their homeland. They knew where every hill a dip was. They also know how to move around without being noticed. Also, they were fighting a popular war-a majority of the colonists were patriots who strongly supported the fight for independence. Finally, though most Americans had no previous military experience, their militia units were usually close knit bands of men, who served together in defense of their own homes. They elected their own officers- usually men who did have some military training buy who also knew the territory well. This native morale was generally higher than morale in the Royal Army. The Americans knew where everything was and could hide in spots the British would never look, and this war, was the war Americans took

The Revolutionary war was a hard time for both the Americans and the British troops. There were many factors that helped strengthen the armies but there were also issues that reduced the victory of each side. The Americans had quite a few weaknesses. One of these were the shortage of men. General Washington never had more than 20,000 men at one time. Whenever the men would begin to learn how to fight they would leave to protect their families. Also from these men only a few Americans were trained to actually fight in a real war. There were many other shortages as well. Guns and gunpowder were very scarce among the troops. Food was also scarce. They had poor uniforms. According to, “History Alive!”