Stamp Act example essay topic

From the time between the end of the French and Indian War to the beginning of the American Revolution, extreme changes occurred. For years, the British crown completely ignored what the colonies were doing. The only act that made was the Navigation Acts that were not followed closely by both Britain and America. It wasn't until Britain found themselves to be in major debt that they enforce strict acts which the colonies disagreed with. The colonists' loyalty to the crown started to fade away and they started to revel formally with proclamations sent to England and informally with rebellions like the Boston Massacre. The two main causes for the colonists to change were Britain's taxation without representation and Britain denying the colonists right of an Englishman.

The first argument that the colonies had against Britain is that the crown was taxing the colonies without letting the colonies represent themselves in Parliament. The first act that represented this was the Sugar Act. It was to raise revenue and for Britain and tighten the Navigation Acts. This made the colonists start losing money. The next Act was the Stamp Act. The Stamp Act was a tax on all printed materials.

This hurt all colonists and merchants in the colonies with heavy losses. The Stamp Act caused major boycotting and rebellious behavior. The last act that greatly affects the colonies was the Intolerable Acts. These acts were punishment for the colonist because the Boston Harbor and took away all of the colonists' town meetings privileges. This mainly injured Boston's economy because they were not able to import or export any goods. The other argument the colonies had was that they were denied the rights of a British man.

The act that shows this was the Quartering Act, which forced the colonists to house British redcoats during a time of peace. The invasion of privacy angered the colonists. The other item denied by the British was the no trial by jury. The colonists had to be tried in the admiralty courts, which had no jury. The colonist argued that they were being found guilty until proven innocent instead of the other way around. After the Battle of Lexington and Concord, the Americans started gathering troops and supplies, forming anti-Britain committees and persuaded unsure loyalists to join the American side.

The First Continental Congress contributed greatly by forming the Association and writing the Declaration of Rights. The Second Continental Congress provided funding for the creation of an army and navy. They also appointed George Washington as the commander of the army. Other important articles at work was Thomas Paine's pamphlet Common Sense which argued what Britain was doing to the colonies and it persuaded people to join the American side. The other major document was Thomas Jefferson's Declaration of Independence, which declared the colonies as being separated from England. These committees and documents prove that the Americans wanted change, and after the Revolution, they got it.