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The Sugar Act halved the molasses tax and expanded it to goods like sugar, wine, and indigo. Parliament strictly enforced collection with customs officers and harsher penalties, letting officials try the accused without jury. Britain saw it as fair since colonists benefitted from the war. Colonists saw it as taxation without representation; merchants and smugglers lost profits, and many viewed it as an attack on economic freedom. -
The Stamp Act was the first direct tax levied on the colonies by Parliament. It required colonists to buy special stamped paper for almost everything on sold paper. It was designed to raise revenue to support British troops in America. Again, Parliament saw it as fair and justified; colonists used military protection, so they should help pay for it. In the colonies, however, there was widespread outrage, and again, "taxation without representation" was cried. Boycotts were formed, hurting trade. -
The Quartering Act of 1765 required colonists to house soldiers in inns, livery stables, ale houses, victualing houses, and stores selling wine and beer if soldiers outnumbered the barracks and public housing available. The British Goovernment saw it as reasonable and necessary; colonists benefitted from soldiers' protection, so they should pay for them. The colonists, however, viewed it as a violation of their rights and resented a standing army in peacetime. -
The Revenue Act was part of the Townshend Acts, designed to raise funds for governors and judges' independence from the colonies. Unlike the Stamp Act, it enacted indirect taxes on imported goods like glass, tea, and paint. Colonists protested with "no taxation without representation," feeling their rights were violated. Although less violent than the Stamp Act protests, the British government responded by enforcing duties more strictly and repealing some due to the high costs of the unrest. -
The New York Restraining Act, part of the Townshend Acts, suspended the New York Assembly's legislative power until it complied with the Quartering Act of 1765. Colonists viewed it as a severe infringement on their self-rule and a sign of British overreach, sparking greater solidarity and resistance among them. Parliament aimed to assert authority, but the act ultimately united the colonies against British control.