Taxation without representation
During the 1750s-60s, when the protests from the patriots and the Sons of Liberty began to increase in number and seriousness, the British Parliament took one of their biggest actions yet. They removed all colonial representatives from the Parliament, thus cutting off any input the patriots would have in the British government. Initially, the British attempted to convince the colonists that they had “virtual representation,” and that their views and opinions would still be considered in each vote. However, the colonists refused to believe this, and the Parliament eventually gave up on lying about it.
- Once the colonists could no longer vote for or against any Acts, the Parliament began taxing the colonies excessively. This came to be known to the colonists as “taxation without representation” by the British. Seeing as they were unopposed in the government, the members of the Parliament felt very safe in their standings, but that was before the riots began. The infuriated patriots started to hold protests, and boycotted most taxed goods.