Stamp Act and the Boston Massacre
I chose to analyze the Stamp Act and the Boston Massacre. The Stamp Act was ratified in 1765 by the British parliament. Under this act, it was required that every American colonist should pay taxes on each piece of printed paper they used like licenses, legal documents, newspapers, ship papers, publications e and also playing papers. The reason for passing this act was to assist the British government in lining up their finances after the seven-year battle with France (OpenStax 2019). Many colonists were against the Stamp Act, arguing that it was unfair, and it resulted in violence, which aimed at threatening the stamp collectors into backing off their duties.
The Boston Massacre that happened in 1770 started as a path clash between a British soldier and American colonists, but it quickly worsened and became a bloody slaughter (Editors, 2009). The fight strengthened anti-British emotions and created a way for the American Revolution. Townshend Acts was passed in, and it entailed taxing of the consumer goods. American colonists were against the acts arguing that “no taxation without representation” (National Geographic, 2014). The deadly slaughter proved that there was hatred between the British and Bostonians. I think that the Stamp Act was the most significant because it was the first tax Act to be imposed directly by the British parliament on the American colonists.
The Declaration of Independence that was signed in 1776 gave the American citizens freedom from King George III. The Declaration of Independence is a significant element in American democracy since it contains the state goals, it has the objections of the colonists against the British king, and it also contains the claims used by colonists to argue against the British rule (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2020).
References
Editors, H. (2009, October 27). Boston Massacre. HISTORY. https://www.history.com/topics/american-revolution/boston-massacre
Encyclopedia Britannica. (2020). Declaration of Independence. Retrieved from: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Declaration-of-Independence (Links to an external site.)
National Geographic. (2014). Mar 5, 1770 CE: Boston Massacre. Retrieved from: https://www.nationalgeographic.org/thisday/mar5/boston-massacre/ (Links to an external site.)
OpenStax. (2019). U.S. history. OpenStax CNX. Retrieved from: https://cnx.org/contents/p7ovuIkl@6.18:gMXC1GEM@7/Introduction