American History
By the 1760s, American colonists and English Parliament had very different views about the extent of authority for governing the colonies. British officials assumed Parliamentary Sovereignty in which Parliament alone could tax and govern within England and its possessions. American colonists believed they had a certain amount of sovereignty to govern themselves through elected assemblies as a check on the power of appointed governors. In the eyes of the colonists, only these elected assemblies had the power to tax. Colonial charters were vague about Parliament’s authority to govern and tax in America. A clash of ideals ensued when it tried to assert control after the French and Indian War. For years the colonists resisted against Parliament’s attempts to assert power but it wasn’t until the Boston Tea Party that Parliament took a hard line to force submission. Why did the English government wait so long to put its foot down? What could the colonists expect after the Intolerable Acts? What options were left for Boston and the other colonists? What could England do if the colonists rejected English actions? The Intolerable acts did not make war inevitable but they were certain to cause trouble.
For years the American colonists resisted and rebelled against increasing attempts at control by the British government, and the government responded with mild or conciliatory gestures until the Boston Tea Party in 1773. Parliament taxed the colonies and interfered with their internal affairs for the first time with the Revenue and Currency Acts of 1764. A year later they increased taxes with the Stamp Act. The colonists’ response varied from peaceful, such as Massachusetts’ call for a Stamp Act Congress, to violent with the effigy hanging and burning of stamp distributors and destruction of their homes and offices by mobs. In March 1766, Parliament’s reluctant response was to repeal the Stamp Act and pass the Declaratory Act which clearly stated Parliament’s right to legislate the colonies in “all cases whatsoever.” At the time, England’s attempt to impose a strong workable policy in America was hampered by problems at home and because of the King’s rapid succession of ministers.
Eventually the Townshend Acts of 1767 were passed in an attempt to regain control. Boston residents attacked customs officials and formed a powerful boycott that spread to other colonies. ...