The James Journal Jun. 2014 | Page 12

 11   foreign   sugar   and   other   provisions   from   the   West   Indies   being   imported   into   the   colonies.   After   protest   from   the   colonies,   the   duties   were   decreased,   but   the   Quartering   Act   was   passed  in  1765,  which  kept  resentment  toward   the   crown.   This   made   some   colonies   provide   shelter   and   food   for   British   soldiers.   Grenville   This  piece  of  kitchenware  shows  the  mood   of  the  colonists  at  this  time.   then   established   the   most   infamous   act   of   all:   the  Stamp  Act.  It  was  intended  to  raise  money   for   the   British   army,   and   the   stamp   was   required   on   about   fifty   items   and   some   legal   documents,   including   marriage   licenses   and   playing  cards.  Although  British  citizens  in  the   motherland   already   paid   stamp   taxes   much   higher  than   the  ones  in   America,   the  colonists   were   angered.   They   thought   Britain   was   not   only   taking   their   money,   but   also   taking   away   their   local  liberties.   Americans  also  wondered   why   the   British   needed   a   military   presence   in   the  colonies   now  that  France  wasn’t  a  threat.   Defying   the  Sugar  Act  or  the   Stamp  act  could   land   that   person   in   the   hated   admiralty   courts,   where   there   were   no   juries   and   defendants  were  guilty  until  proven  innocent.       Although   facing   punishment,   colonists   rebelled   against   the   taxes,   but   the   Stamp   Act   drew  the  most  attention.  “No  taxation  without   representation”   was   the   cry   of   thousands   of   people.  The  colonists  did  state  that  Parliament   had  the   right  to  govern  matters  concerning   the   whole  empire,  like  trading,  but  they  also  stated   they   did   not   have   the   right   to   tax   the   Americans.   Colonists   said   that   only   their   own   colonial   legislation   had   that   right.   Prime   Minister   Grenville   said   every   member   of   Parliament   represented   everyone   in   the   empire,   even   those   in   America.   It   was   a   political  theory  called  virtual  representation.   It   was   actually   better   this   way   for   Americans.   If   they  would   of  had  real   representation,   Britain