Arguably, attempts by the British to tax American colonialists raised a lot of arguments, expulsion of British rule, war, as well as formation of new nations. Most of these arguments began after the seven years war. British came up with numerous reasons on to why they were justified in taxing American colonists.
The British argued that the need for defense in the British colonies was a major reason why American colonies were taxed. During war, British belief that they used a lot of money in the war, hence they needed to recover the money through taxation (Krista, 72). Perhaps, the entire colonies conquered needed defense against their enemies. This was to be carried out by trained troops; hence keeping this army required money.
British national debt had increased tremendously within the seven years war. Additionally, cider tax was very unpopular among the British, and with additional pressure to reduce spending would actually lead to failure in taxing the homeland. Therefore, the money could be raised from other sources, and one of it was by taxing American colonialists.
Another argument is that the American colonies seemed to be under taxed. British government believed that most of the resources and money had flooded in the American colonies; hence the only way to recover is through taxation.
British under King George III wanted to transform colonies economically and politically into prosperous, revenue producing, safe, and stable nations. This transformation process required a lot of money, and because American colonies would benefit, British justified its taxation policy on the colonies (Krista, 71). Furthermore, the issue of sovereignty was another justification for taxation. British believed that sovereignty would cause order in society and politics, and to maintain it required a lot of resource.
What arguments did the colonists use to counter the British and which arguments seem to be most valid?
On the other hand, colonists believed that British were taxing them unlawfully. The acts in the laws that govern taxation was unreasonable, this included tea act and stamp act. As a matter of fact the colonists did not have a representative in the British government; this meant that no colonists would air their grievances and problems to the government. Based on this argument they created their slogan that, they would not pay tax if no one of their own will represent them (Dickinson, 447).
The Colonists did not see any reason paying taxes for the French Indians war. Furthermore the colonists were among the first people to go to war. This implied that they had lost as much as the British had lost, if not more.
Colonists were not ready to pay tax, the British redcoats killed innocent colonists, and this was not the right way to treat the person you are protecting. To make the matters worst the redcoats did not pay taxes. The issue of land was also another argument against payment of taxes. The land gained during war was given to colonists, but they were conditioned not to travel west (Krista, 72). Finally, the colonists were paying 50% more, and this was unjust. Actually, in both scenarios the American colonists were justified in resisting the payment of tax. It was the responsibility of British to provide security for its colonists.
Work cited
Dickinson, H. A Companion to Eighteenth-Century Britain. Oxford: Blackwell. 2003.447
Krista, D. Kaplan AP U.S History 2009. New York. Kaplan Press. 2009 71
