British Point of View

We here in England believe you colonists in America are acting like children. You take and take and Britain can give no more. Like small children you are forcing us to punish you and we do not want to but you have forced our hands with your senseless tantrums over nothing. All we hear about is your taxation issues. Britain needs the money to pay off debts to cover the new American territories won from the French in the seven-year war 1756 to 1763. We wouldn’t have the America of today without Britain winning against the French in Canada. England has always expected America to contribute to the cost of their own defense. As long as a French threat exists colonial leaders should recognize that Americans need to provide assistance, and they should be willing to do so freely. These taxes are also used to fund salaries of colonial governors and judges to ensure their financial freedom so they may act politically independent for the colonial assemblies without worry of losing their salaries. Many people in England cannot vote because they do not own enough land to do. In England they are virtually represented by Parliament because members act in the best interest of everyone, whether they vote or not, just as they will act in the best interest of the colonies. The colonists have not been taxed as heavily as British citizens have been taxed. England needs you now, we need the money and as a British citizens it is your duty to help us through this difficult time. The King has appointed governors in the colonies and the average colonists might go through a whole year without seeing a single officer of the Empire. England has allowed great latitude to the colonists and asked very little in return, it’s about time the colonists start paying their fair share. The tax on molasses has gone down from $.03-$.01 a gallon in 1766 because the colonies said it was too high. We are listening to you and your concerns. We are doing what we can to ease your tax burden. The board of custom commissioners has the right to seize vessels and cargo of people who violate the sugar act. If you simply paid what you were supposed to pay in duties and taxes they would not have to make the seizures, unfortunately there are those among you who attempt to go around the law. Through legal means and we are forced to take action. England is attempting to keep peace yet you have burnt down one of our naval warships Gaspee. We are not punishing you, we are simply putting together a commission in 1772 to figure out what happened. The colonies are our children, and we love you, but we will accept this behavior no more.

 

American Colonies Point of View

We the colonists in America believe that England is trying to overstep its bounds and attempting to take too much of our hard earned property without the representation in the parliament to make the seizures legal. Some of us in the colonies have suggested that you are landing troops on our shores not to protect us but to eventually take us over by force. The 10,000 troops stationed in the colonies have no military role because the Native American threat is very minimal and there is no need for British troops here. The only reason England keeps their troops here is because they cannot afford to keep them at home because there is nothing for them to do there either so instead of making them unemployed you keep them in our colonies and expect us to pay for them. The two major taxes, the Sugar act of 1764, and the Quartering act of 1765, are major taxes imposed by Britain on colonial citizens with no representation on how the money will be collected or what it will be spent on.the British constitution guarantees that British subjects cannot be taxed without their consent in the form of representation in Parliament. As the colony has elected no members of Parliament it is a violation of the British constitution to do this to us. The customs agents are seizing our property for personal gain in the harbors of America. Ae have no authority to go after them legally. The English sent four battalions of troops and there is no disorder, or resistance, no mob or lawlessness so there is no use for the troops at all but England did not take them away for years. We the colonies fear that you will tax us to death. Without clear representation in England’s Parliament we survive on your whims of the day. There will come a time when we will accept this no more and you will force us to take a stand.