The Currency Act of 1764, Weakness of the British Administration - Essay Example

Introduction The several years before the outbreak of American Revolution, the Great Britain and America have reached the point when the political ties have been already destroyed. While analyzing the years from 1863 to 1775 it is vital to take into account all factors such as political, economic and social developments which all together have led to the revolution. The first important event was the introduction of the Currency Act of 1764 which was beneficial for the colonies. Further the question about securing the borders of the American colonies came into question when the British administration has sent troops to American land. The annihilation of the Stamp Act and unpopular taxes in 1765-1766 have improved the relations between American provinces and Britain but the American agents have felt that they are able to claim greater economic and political independence in creating and controlling the inner market. When William Pitt became the head of administration the tensions decreased to some extend in summer 1766, especially taking into account his Declaratory Act in which the American colonies were granted freedom in terms of inner taxation. The Currency Act of 1764 Business and politics in England during the 18th century was based on the personal relations, such bonds as amity and marriage were of high importance in developing the trading community. For example, the religious beliefs tied men in economic ventures - Quakers dealt only with co-religionists. The Currency Act of 1764 was introduced by the Board of Trade and it was less severe than intended by the commission. Unlike the Act of 1751 which established the rules for bills, the new Act of 1764 was more a compromise among the merchants, agents and commissioners of trade. Such bill of credit was beneficial for the colonies because the money was already retiring and in the years 1766-1768 the amount of cash circulating was continuously decreasing. British Troops When the French and Indian wars were at the concluding stage, the protection of American colonies was perceived as the major task - the British government has sent 10,000 troops to North America in order to defend the new territories1. It has led to the constitutional disputes. The Grenville ministry realised that the price for protection was too high - the debt increased while the participation of American troops in colony protection was minimal. As the result, the colonial assemblies had devoted all their efforts to limit the agent's freedom of action and challenged their political authority in America. The arrival of the British troops caused the constitutional and political debates about the rights and freedoms of colonies. The Mutiny Acts were regularly passed as the part of the Revolutionary Settlement of 1688 while when there was an attempt to extend these acts to America, the questions regarding the personal freedoms of individual and the questionable power of Parliament in colonies were raised. Moreover, the troops had no permanent facilities and the local population was expected to support them with food and housing, however, in many colonies the civil authorities refused to provide any services to the British troops. In addition, very little was done to reduce the three-pence duty - the tax the Americans believed was prohibitive and slowed down the development of the Northern colonies. The ministry did not accept this analysis and passed the duty into practice, as the result, many of the officials executing this law were seized and imprisoned by the local authorities. Weakness of the British Administration During the winter 1765-1766 the British colonial policies were influenced the most both by the colonial agents and British merchants2. The Stamp Act was annihilated, the taxes on imports were reduced and the trade laws became less strict. Even though these changes seem to be not important and small, they became the beginning of separation from the motherland - Britain. The American Whigs have boycotted the British goods and managed to put greater pressure on the government. The British government did not react in the same way it was done before and had to back down. The situation was greatly under-evaluated by British who believed that the program of coercion in 1774-1775 will be as effective as it was a decade ago. The summer 1766 lessened the tensions between Britain and America when William Pitt became the head of the British administration. The issues of trade, paper money and authority have remained because the Chatham administration was unable to solve them due to the political controversy over new taxes, strict administrative procedures and enforcing the authority of Parliament. The new crisis in relations between America and Britain has been caused by several factors: despite the annihilation of the Stamp Act the colonial assemblies continued to rebel against the British authority, even though the demands and taxes have been reduced, the financing of the defence establishments in America was still a question. In addition, this year has been characterised by the political instability and lack of unity in the new government. Pitt's Administration and Massachusetts Acts of 1774 Pitt's administration has been very weak a without a definite program - his opinion was often different from the major opinion of his administration3. America greatly enjoyed the new administration and has seen an opportunity in its weakness. Many colonists were confident that they will get their rights and privileges as well as governmental independence. The previous formula of Parliament authority except in the cases of internal taxation has been challenged to include less regulation on commerce, paper money and colonial legislation. Colonists were dissatisfied with the regulation of paper money when the governors were prohibited to sign any bills unless approved by the Privy Council. If the two priorities of the Chatham ministry were the enforcement and recognition of the Parliamentary authority, the Declaratory Act by Pitt seriously weakened the authority in colonies. New York and other colonies have failed to comply with the Mutiny Act while the merchants made petitions against the Navigation and Trade laws have established the opinion among British government that the creation of defence in America is too costly. However, in the few years right before the American Revolution, the colonial agents have lost the ability to shape the British policies in America due to the changes in representation. The process of appointing the agents representing the provinces has been always problematic and became even more difficult at this time. In January 1774 the famous hearing on Massachusetts petition tool place when Alexander Wedderburn delivered the philippic. Historians refer to this episode as a sign of colonial spokesmen failure in lessening the tensions between America and Britain. Now Franklin has been considered to be the revolutionary representative fighting for independence. The reaction of British government was that Franklin and Boston representatives discredited Hutchinson through inspiration to adopt the assembly that Britain has no power over American colony. The Boston Tea Party has brought an imperial crisis in 1774 and the British parliament has to make a serious decision. By the year 1774 the question that further divided Britain and America has been raised - whether the Britain had the authority to control the American colonies4. When the Parliament has retained the tea tax (imposed as the symbol of British authority), the Whig leaders continued the creation of the committees of correspondence. In 1773 Franklin has predicted that the crisis of imperial control is near - if in the beginning the Whigs claimed freedom from laws in order to raise revenues, then the freedom from taxes, now they claimed the complete independence from the British authority. The Massachusetts Bay became the centre of the anti-British movement - the merchants were much dissatisfied with the new regulations of trade while the agents realised that the new regulation was aimed to renew the control over the American colonies. The crisis of 1774 was based on two developments - 1770's tax on tea and the revenues were used to pay the salaries of the executives in provinces. The agents in London did not see any significant constitutional importance in tea tax but now it was probably that the colonists will be more willing to pay the tax now. The opposition to the tea landing has proved the patriotism of the American leaders and their act could definitely lead to the annihilation of the duty. Opposition to tea was common in many cities - Boston, New York, Charleston and the British government realized that its authority has been much questioned and hesitant. This second tea challenge can be compared to the Stamp Act crisis when the British government was forced to take some measures in securing the dependence of American colonies. By the end of the year 1774 the American Revolution became unavoidable and British government has failed to find the method in to control colonies effectively. The duties such as Stamp Act and Tea Tax have proved to be the mistakes of British administration and were not invited by American leaders. The population of America confidently increased their demands starting with inner taxation independence, right to control trade and finally reached the position when the national freedom gained the primary importance. When looking back at the actions of Britain it seems that the administration felt that the crisis was near and tried to prevent it with the help of new taxation and regulation, however, all of the actions have been not well-thought off depicting the weakness of empire. Works Cited Risjord, Norman. Jefferson's America, 1760-1815. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2002. Sosin, Jack. Agents and Merchants: British Colonial Policy and the Origins of the American Revolution, 1763-1775. University of Nebraska Press, 1965. Read More