America’s Founding, Ep. 3: Taxes & Abuse Of Power

The colonists got sick and tired of the increase in taxes and encroachment on their freedoms. It may have been the last straw
One major grievance colonists had against England is the one most people remember learning about in school: taxes. But the concern that radicalized the colonists was less about taxes per se, and more about power. In the decade before the revolution, Parliament passed a series of new, unprecedented taxes on colonists to try to pay down their debt from the French & Indian War. In doing so, they were claiming powers to directly tax and control the colonies in a way they had never done before. Prof. Sarah Burns explains how this was perceived as a pattern of steady encroachment on freedom, as colonists became afraid that these increased powers would become permanent.