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Alessandra Bassani

Mr. Jones

AP US History

22 October 2017

The Impact that No Taxation Without Representation had on Motivating the Revolution

The discontent with British rule grew as events evolved between the colonies and the

mother country, however this became magnified when Britain started to pass acts that put

restrictions on the colonists’ daily lives. The emerging Patriot minority regarded these

restrictions as violations of their rights, and it fueled their desire for independence. This was a

result of the abandonment of Salutary Neglect that came out of the French and Indian War. The

demand for “no taxation without representation” was both the primary force motivating the

American Revolution and a symbol for democracy, because it allowed the colonists to come

together and protest their mercantile relationship with Britain. However, as time progressed to

the American Revolution, the spread of Enlightened ideas and the ongoing colonial grievances

led to bloodshed that resulted in their independence.

The restrictions that Britain put on commerce led the colonist to feel betrayed and

discontented. For example, Britain passed the Sugar Act in 1764, and although it decreased the

previous tax on sugar, it still increased the taxes on non-British goods shipped to the colonies. In

response to this, the Virginia House of Burgesses, which was the first representative assembly in

the colonies, passed a resolution in 1764 that was meant to appeal to the colonists, and inform

the British of the colonists’ discontent. It described how “the enjoyment of all their natural and

civil rights” will “be violated, if laws respecting the internal government, and taxation of

themselves, are imposed upon them by any other power than that derived from their own
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consent” (Doc. 1). This demonstrates how the Virginia House of Burgesses wanted to resolve

Britain’s taxation policies, because mercantilism was causing the colonists to pay tariffs that

were benefitting solely Britain. However, Parliament continued to tax them, and passed the

Stamp Act in 1765, which was the first direct tax imposed on the colonies. This led to the Stamp

Act Congress, where the colonists came together and created resolutions that advised Britain of

their boundaries in the colonies. The colonists believed they could not be “represented in the

House of Commons in Great Britain” so “no taxes ever have been, or can be constitutionally

imposed on them, but by their respective legislatures” (Doc. 2). Since the colonists came

together in this congress, they were able to democratically agree on how Britain had expanded its

control too far. They were also able to declare that they were still British citizens, and should be

granted the same rights as those living in Britain. Additionally in 1765, Daniel Dulany, a

Maryland lawyer, describes the extent of Britain’s jurisdiction in the colonies. He stated that “a

right to impose an internal tax on the colonies, without [the colonists’] consent for the single

purpose of revenue is denied” (Doc. 3). The colonists liberties were violated, because Parliament

did not receive the approval of such taxes from the colonists. Overall, “no taxation without

representation” was the primary force of the revolution, because it brought the colonists together

over their perceived unjust mercantile relationship, and it was a precedent for a developing

democracy.

In contrast however, as the revolution progressed, the colonists were upset with not only

the unfair taxation that Britain imposed on them, but all of the other acts Parliament passed

within the colonies. This discontent was further spread due to Enlightened beliefs. For example,

Joseph Warren, a Boston Patriot, described to his fellow colonists how they were being treated

by the British in 1772. He acknowledged how “a standing army was established among [them] in
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time of peace” (Doc. 4). This was a result of the Quartering Act, which was passed in 1765, and

it required the colonists to provide for British soldiers in their colonies. However, some colonists

believed this to be a violation of their natural rights, and John Locke, an Enlightened thinker,

believed the government should be overthrown when it no longer secured their liberties. In

addition, The Second Continental Congress created a declaration on July 6, 1775, which was

meant to inform the colonists on starting a revolt. It mentioned how Parliament had “undertaken

to give and grant [their] money without consent” but also that they were deprived “of the

accustomed and inestimable privilege of trial by jury” (Doc. 5). Britain even went so far to

“suspend the legislation of one of the colonies...interdict all commerce to the capital of another”

and alter “fundamentally the form of government established by the charter” (Doc. 5). The

Second Continental Congress also mentioned how Parliament “exempt[ed] the ‘murders’ of

colonists from legal trial” in regards to the Boston Massacre (Doc. 5). This declaration gave the

reasons for the colonists to go to war with Britain, since their natural rights were being violated.

Jean- Jacques Rousseau, an Enlightened thinker, believed the power to make laws should remain

with the people, and Britain was violating this. However, Britain did not see its wrongdoings

because it believed Parliament was representing all British subjects through ‘virtual

representation’. Lastly, Thomas Paine described in his pamphlet Common Sense in 1776, that it

is “very absurd in supposing a continent to be perpetually governed by an island” since “in no

instance hath nature made the satellite larger than its primary planet” (Doc. 6). Paine’s ideas

were impacted by the Enlightenment, since he was more aware about science and change, and

believed the British government was not reflecting the colonists’ interests. As time progressed

leading up to the revolution, taxation was no longer the main cause for their independence, but

rather all the colonial grievances towards Britain and the spread of Enlightened ideas.
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The colonists were angry with the way Britain was treating them, and the taxes

Parliament was imposing on commerce. “No taxation without representation” was the primary

cause of the American Revolution, and it became a symbol of democracy when the colonists

came together to achieve their rights. However, as time progressed closer to the revolution, all

the restrictions that Britain placed on the colonies, and the spread of Enlightened ideas, made the

revolution inevitable.