The+Sugar+Act

**The Sugar Act of 1764**

=**Describe the event or tax** media type="file" key="history recording =

==After the French and Indian War, Britain was in debt. They decided to tax the colonists for the money to restore Britain’s wealth. They taxed sugar and molasses and other popular trade items. Even though the price was actually lowered for sugar, it was the idea of taxes that got the colonists mad. After years of self-government, Britain was finally stepping in and interfering with colonial trade. They then decided to punish the smugglers for illegally trading with other countries and sneaking goods. Britain realized that they were losing a lot of potential money. The colonists decided to revolt and chanted, “No taxation without representation.” -Devon Gordon==

=**Why was the Sugar Act created?media type="file" key="History recording **=

==**After the French and Indian War, England found themselves drowning in debt from it. So, they needed to find a way to quickly pay it off before something could happen to try and possibly take down their power with no money. The invention of an act, the Sugar Act, would easily earn the money, England thought. The Sugar Act required the colonies and their colonists to pay taxes on mostly molasses and sugar, but also other goods that were frequently sold in the trade markets. Colonists found this act hurtful in seeing that the English only raised the taxes to earn a certain amount of money, and not in hopes for trade to increase. There were also smugglers during this time, who illegally smuggled such goods across borders without having to pay the taxes. The English government had heard of such smugglers but needed a way to find them and catch them, so this taxation law would be the perfect time to. -Emily Lashendock**==

=__How did the colonists react to the Sugar Act__?media type="file" key="History recording = == The colonists were greatly annoyed at the British Parliament and were ready to revolt. The English just finished fighting in the French and Indian War risking their lives for their country, but the way the English Parliament awarded and repaid them was by giving them the Sugar Act. The colonists were really mad about paying the new tax, but the Sugar Act also made it harder for the smugglers to smuggle. The colonists became so angry that they started to rebel against the English Parliament, and from all of the rebelling it led to the American Revolution. The Sugar Act also affected Native Americans because when the colonists started to run out of money the only way for them to get back their money was by selling crops. -Jackie Beshoory==

=**__ How did their reaction affect the British?media type="file" key="history recording __**= == The colonist’s reaction to the Sugar Act also affected the British, because when the colonists started to lose money because of paying the new tax, they could not provide for their family, and after a while they could not pay the tax. The colonists did not have much money because the Sugar Act helped prevent trade, so the merchants that went to Africa and other countries did not make any money (or they would just get a little). It also affected the British because if the merchants/traders could not go to Africa and buy rum then the merchants/traders could not trade the rum with their home countries. The British made the act so they would be able to get more money so they could regain their debt, but what the British did not know was that they would not make that much money because their people went into debt as well. -Jackie Beshoory ==

=How did their (colonists) reaction to the Act affect themselves?media type="file" key="history recording = ==When the colonists started to revolt against the Sugar Act, they did not realize what might come of their strong disagreements with England. Many colonists resented the Sugar Act and felt it was an unfair tax to put on them, because it would only end up resulting well for the English. So, they began different ways of showing their feelings by starting riots and boycotting the goods included in the Act. This did not only hurt England, but themselves. By doing these things, the colonists were hurting their own markets. Trade began to decline everywhere in the colonies, and markets such as rum, molasses, and sugar were dented. For instance, people who specialized in selling and trading such goods could have had their lives greatly changed by some of their own actions. Some markets reached such a low point where some merchants were forced to sell their crops for the little money provided. Because of the riots and boycotts of the Sugar Act and following Stamp Act leading to this major economic downfall, this was only the beginning of the fights and disagreements between the American colonists and England. -Emily Lashendock==

** What Followed? **
**After the Sugar Act passed in 1764, Parliament passed the Stamp Act in 1765. The Stamp Act made it necessary for all newly created documents to require a stamp in order to make the documents legal. This taxation after the Sugar Act infuriated and separated the colonists. The Loyalists believed that what Britain was doing was right and justifiable because of their assistance in the French and Indian War. The Patriots believed that what Britain was doing was wrong and unfair because they suddenly decided to take control over the colonies after years of allowing the colonists their independence. Many colonists boycotted buying sugar, paper and molasses. Eventually, the tension kept building and building which resulted in the American Revolution.**

**Devon**

Web link ||< Lerner, Lee, Brenda Wilmoth Lerner, and Adrienne Wilmoth Lerner. "The Sugar Act of 1764." //Government, Politics, and Protest: Essential Primary Sources//. Detroit: Cengage Learning, 2006. 246-249. //Gale Virtual Reference Library//. Web. 2 Dec. 2011. . ||<  ||<   ||<   ||>   ||  Web link ||< Schmittroth, Linda, Mary Kay Rosteck, and Barbara Bigelow. "Joins with colonial groups to protest taxation." //American Revolution reference library//. Detroit, Michigan: n.p., 2000. 314. //Gale Virtual Reference Library//. Web. 1 Dec. 2011. . ||<  ||<   ||<   ||>   ||  Web link ||< Ushistory.org. "The Sugar Act." //ushistory.org//. N.p., 2011. Web. 4 Dec. 2011. . ||<  ||<   ||<   ||>   ||
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Web link ||< Benson, Brannen, Valentine, Baker, Hermsen, Sonia, Daniel E. Jr., and Rebecca. Ed. Lawrence W. and Sarah. "Sugar Act." //Encyclopedia of U.S. History//. Gale Virtual Reference Lib, 2009. Web. 1 Dec. 2011. . ||
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Web link ||< O'Shaughnessy, Andrew. "Sugar Act." //Encyclopedia of the New American Nation//. Gale Virtual Reference Lib, 2006. Web. 2 Dec. 2011. . ||
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