The Power Of The Sugar Act And The Currency Act

In 1764 England passed the first series of taxes on the colonist, known as the Sugar Act and the Currency Act. As a result it would be the beginning of colonial opposition against the crown. These Acts were a result of England’s debt after the Seven Year war and they saw the colonies as a source of revenue. When England implemented the Sugar Act it actually cut taxes on English goods, and in so doing it thought it would reduce smuggling from the French West Indies, but it had the opposite effect. The tax also hit during an economic recession which caused colonist to reduce their buying in general. The Currency Act prevented the colonist from printing their own currency this made them unhappy because there was a shortage of currency to conduct trade. Also, Briton wanted to use to pound-sterling, which did not favor the colonist. As a result of these first two Acts colonist began to stop buying goods from England and the phrase, “No Taxation Without Representation” became popular. In 1765 the English Parliament passes two more unpopular Acts, the Quartering Act and the Stamp Act. The Quartering Act required colonist to provided housing and food for British soldiers in their private homes, without compensation. The Stamp Act required colonist to buy a stamp if they wanted to purchase an almanac, a
On March 5, 1770 Huge White, a British private in Boston, was standing guard when young boys began throwing snowballs, oysters in their shells, stones and clubs at him. Captain Preston came with others from the British 29th Regiment and formed a ½ circle around White to protect him. Someone throws a stick or club at a soldier causing his musket to fire and other soldiers started firing. Sadly, five residents of Boston we killed. This became known as the Boston Massacre. British Troops were withdrawn from Boston as trouble was