Construction of America essays

Construction of America essays 1. When the British won the French and Indian War and gained all North American land East of the Mississippi River, they became engulfed in a financial crisis. Because of this, they brought about new laws and taxes on the colonists. Also, after the war, the British government stationed 10,000 troops in the territories to control the Native Americans. Maintaining the troops was very expensive and it doubled Englands debt. The new British Prime Minister, George Grenville, established the sugar act in fear the colonists were smuggling in goods. By the end of 1764, they were disagreeing on how colonies should be taxed and governed. These feelings would eventually swell into an outright rebellion 2. The Stamp Act required colonists to purchase stamped paper for every legal document, license, newspaper, pamphlet, and almanac. They imposed special stamp duties on packages of playing cards and dice. The Sugar Act did three things, it cut in half the work on foreign made molasses (in hopes the colonists would pay the lower tax instead of risking getting caught for smuggling). It placed duties on certain imports. And it strengthened the enforcement of the law by allowing the cases to be tried in a harsher vice-admiralty court as apposed to a more lenient colonial court. Colonists apposed it because it was taxation without representation. 3. One policy established in 1767 was the Proclamation of 1767. It banned all settlements east of the Appalachian Mountains. The ban established the proclamation line that colonists were not to cross. However, the British could not sufficiently enforce the law, and colonists continued to move into Native American lands. The Townshend Act, set up by the Parliament was a direct tax levied on imported materials such as glass, lead, paint, and paper as they came into the colonies. These acts also imposed a three-penny tax on tea, the most popular drink among the colonies. Two ...