- 23 Jul 2007 17:02
#1275512
Here's a question I've been meaning to ask.
The 13 American Colonies revolted in 1775-1781. One cause was the high tax rates, which the colonies unified in rejecting. However, the colonists should have paid the taxes, the whole reason Britain needed the money in the first place was because of the French and Indian War. The men in London had spent a lot of money on the colonists' defense, and it is only fair that the colonists themselves should help pay. The taxpayers in Britain proper were still paying even higher taxes, even with the Stamp Act.
The next reason is the Boston Massacre. In Boston on March 5, 1770, a large mob gathered around a group of British soldiers. The mob grew more and more threatening, throwing snowballs, sticks and stones at the soldiers. In the midst of the commotion, all but one of the soldiers fired into the crowd. Eleven men were hit and five of them died. The event quickly came to be called the Boston Massacre. Exaggerated and widespread descriptions of the massacre began to turn colonial sentiment against the British. The event also began a downward spiral in the relationship between Britain and the colonies, especially Boston.
What soldier in their right mind would not get angry when hit over the head with a rock? That's humiliating. The soldiers fired because the colonists provoked them. They were even acquitted, with none other than John Adams himself serving as their defense attorney.
The Stamp Act was repealed due to the colonists being stubborn and not paying, but the British government still needed money. In 1773, the British government passed the Townshend Acts, which placed a tax on a number of essential goods including paper, glass and tea. Thoroughly angered, the colonists organized a boycott of British goods. On December 16, 1773, a group of men led by Samuel Adams, disguised as Mohawk Indians, boarded the ships of British tea merchants and dumped the tea on board into the harbor. An estimated £10,000 worth of tea was dumped into the waters of the Boston Harbor. This event became known as the Boston Tea Party and remains a part of popular American patriotic lore.
My opinion is that the colonists should should have just paid their taxes like good British citizens, it was their own defense they were paying for, those ingrates.
The 13 American Colonies revolted in 1775-1781. One cause was the high tax rates, which the colonies unified in rejecting. However, the colonists should have paid the taxes, the whole reason Britain needed the money in the first place was because of the French and Indian War. The men in London had spent a lot of money on the colonists' defense, and it is only fair that the colonists themselves should help pay. The taxpayers in Britain proper were still paying even higher taxes, even with the Stamp Act.
The next reason is the Boston Massacre. In Boston on March 5, 1770, a large mob gathered around a group of British soldiers. The mob grew more and more threatening, throwing snowballs, sticks and stones at the soldiers. In the midst of the commotion, all but one of the soldiers fired into the crowd. Eleven men were hit and five of them died. The event quickly came to be called the Boston Massacre. Exaggerated and widespread descriptions of the massacre began to turn colonial sentiment against the British. The event also began a downward spiral in the relationship between Britain and the colonies, especially Boston.
What soldier in their right mind would not get angry when hit over the head with a rock? That's humiliating. The soldiers fired because the colonists provoked them. They were even acquitted, with none other than John Adams himself serving as their defense attorney.
The Stamp Act was repealed due to the colonists being stubborn and not paying, but the British government still needed money. In 1773, the British government passed the Townshend Acts, which placed a tax on a number of essential goods including paper, glass and tea. Thoroughly angered, the colonists organized a boycott of British goods. On December 16, 1773, a group of men led by Samuel Adams, disguised as Mohawk Indians, boarded the ships of British tea merchants and dumped the tea on board into the harbor. An estimated £10,000 worth of tea was dumped into the waters of the Boston Harbor. This event became known as the Boston Tea Party and remains a part of popular American patriotic lore.
My opinion is that the colonists should should have just paid their taxes like good British citizens, it was their own defense they were paying for, those ingrates.
"Australia is like my penis. Everyone knows its down there and nobody cares." -PBVBROOK
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- By noemon
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