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Parlimentary taxation

 

            Parliamentary taxation, restriction of civil liberties, and British military measures were important factors in prompting Americans to rebel in 1776, as seen in the Stamp Act of 1765, the admiralty courts, and in the Quartering Act of 1765.
             Parliamentary taxation through the Stamp Act was an important factor that prompted the colonists to rebel in 1776. In 1765, Parliament passed the Stamp Act which forced the colonists to purchase special watermarked paper for newspapers, licenses, college diplomas, numerous legal forms necessary for recovering debt, buying land, and making wills, along with any legal or commercial documents. (p.136) To many colonists, the Stamp Act demonstrated Parliament's indifference to their interests. The colonists denied Parliament's power to tax the colonies, and many colonists felt that "virtual representation" in Parliament wasn't effective for the colonies; furthermore the colonists felt that they could not depend on Parliament to protect their well-being. The Stamp Act created a resistance that affected all the colonists. It provoked so much tension between the colonies and Britain that it forced them to create resistance groups such as, the Loyal Nine. (p.138) Accordingly, because of Parliamentary taxation through the Stamp Act in the colonies, Americans were prompted to rebel in 1776. .
             The restriction of civil liberties demonstrated by the admiralty courts was an important factor that led the colonists to rebel in 1776. The admiralty courts disregarded many traditional English protections for a fair trial. Customs officials transferred smuggling cases from the colonial courts, in which juries decided the outcome, to admiralty courts, where the judge alone gave the verdict. (p.136) The judges were awarded five percent of any confiscated cargo; for that reason they had financial incentive to find defendants guilty. (136) The law also did not allow defendants to be tried where there offence was taken place; they required all cases to be heard at Halifax, Nova Scotia.


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