Taxation+without+Representation

=__Taxation without Representation__= toc = =

 It was hard running a colony. There were mouths to feed, crops to plant, and medicine for patients. However, the most important among these were houses, streets, and ships. The purpose of the colonies was to make Britain rich. But, instead of making Britain rich the colonies were tugging at it. Britain taxed itself very highly while it taxed the colonies very low. So Parliament started adding more taxes. However, the colonists didn't get to vote for who would be on Parliament nor could they have representatives. Thus, this was called Taxation without Representation. =  =

__  Where it all Began__
It all began with an idea from Prime Minister named George Grenville. Grenville's idea was to add more taxes to the colonies. Parliament liked the idea so they added new taxes made by Grenville himself.

Here is a picture of George himself.

__The Taxes__
The first act he put down was the Sugar Act. The colonists didn't want to pay the taxes. There were many complaints and essays that spoke out against it but, they paid the taxes anyway. Now, Grenville had set down many acts but, some were repealed. He set down his final one, the Tea Act. The Tea Act was a monopoly which meant it was taxed twice. The colonists were infuriated with this. Out of all the acts the Tea Act really took the piece of cake. So the "Sons of Liberty" retaliated by attacking a British cargo ship known as the Dartmouth. The "Sons of Liberty" dressed up as Mohawk Native Americans and ended up throwing all the tea (45 tons) into the ocean.

__The Begging of the End__
The taxes pushed the colonists to their edge because they didn't have representation in Parliament ,but to Parliament the colonies were getting protection. In the eyes of the colonists, turning away from there mother country was fine because of the terrible acts they had to endure. However, the British were seeing it as treason because they had protected the colonies from danger. Little did anyone know that these acts would be the spark for one of the biggest wars in history.

__References__
Garraty, John A.__The Story of America__. Austin, TX: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1994 [|Google.com] Joseph's history binder, information derived from Mr. Larson's power points