FREE ESSAY ON AMERICAN DISCONTENT FOCUSED ON FINANCIAL GRIEVANCES, BUT THE CHIEF REASON FOR AMERICAN OPPOSITION WAS THE MATTER OF AUTHORITY. HOW FAR DO YOU AGREE WITH THIS VIEW?

AMERICAN DISCONTENT FOCUSED ON FINANCIAL GRIEVANCES, BUT THE CHIEF REASON FOR AMERICAN OPPOSITION WAS THE MATTER OF AUTHORITY. HOW FAR DO YOU AGREE WITH THIS VIEW?

American discontent focused on financial grievances, but the chief reason for American
opposition was the matter of authority. How far do you agree with this view? 
There were a number of causes that lead to conflict between Britain and the colonists in
America during the second half of the eighteenth century. The question is whether an
American rebellion was mostly due to a difference of opinion over how much independence
the colonies were entitled to, or whether other reasons such as the difficulties imposed
on America by taxation and control of trade were equally to blame. 
Certainly, the argument that Britain did not have the authority to deny the basic right
of liberty to all of the colonists was a major reason for opposition. American society
was favourable to democracy, as there was little class distinction and few wealthy
people. Many Americans believed that British legislation concerning the colonies was
ignoring the rights and privileges that every man was entitled to. They thought that the
taxes and duties imposed by the government of Britain were invading their social and
political liberties. Through laws such as the Molasses Act of 1733, which taxes molasses
imports from outside the Empire, many businessmen in America suffered. The Northern
colonies were particularly badly affected. For example, Rhode Island imported 14 000
barrels and only 2 500 came from the British islands in the middle of the eighteenth
century. Laws such as this meant that a man could not 'enjoy the fruits of his own work',
and made a capitalist marketing idea, which was considered as important by many
colonists, very hard to carry through. The fact that although most of America did not
hold the religion of the Church of England and yet had to pay taxes to support the
church, was considered an invasion of religious liberty. Through hard times caused by
imperial legislation, the idea that it would be better for America to seek independence
spread encouraging more opposition to Britain. The colonists, believing they had the
right of basic liberty therefore opposed the authority the British had used to introduce
legislation, which denied their privilege. 
However, the financial difficulties created by the taxes and duties caused many
grievances, which must have been the initial first step to cause people to object.
Although arguments about how Britain should not have the authority to take away American
liberties were convenient, financial grievances were what effected the people and the
businesses in America more. Prices were high, as British goods were not as cheap as some
goods from the continent, and tariffs made the initial price of non-British goods too
high to buy. Most of America was badly affected as over 2/3 of people were farmers and
merchants. For instance, duties of tea, paper, glass and painters colours led to
non-consumption agreements from the merchants of New England, which lasted from 1968 to
1970. This opposition resulted in the dropping of all duties except those on tea. The
financial problems caused for many businesses clearly led to massive opposition to
British legislation and shows that financial grievances were what opposition was focused
around. Without any financial difficulties, it is not clear whether there would be such
opposition, therefore the matter of authority can be seen as an argument used to attempt
to deal with the more important problem of finance.
On the other hand, such legislation encouraged the growth of the common opinion that
there should be "no taxation without representation". The Stamp tax imposed on newspapers
and legal documents in 1764 is a classic example. It was resisted all over the colonies
with a clear argument that if they were not represented in Westminster they should not be
taxed. The opposition led to dropping of the Act, but also to the passing of the
Declaratory Act, stating Westminster Parliament had the right to tax the colonies when
and, as it felt fit. This only encouraged opposition such as the 'Sons of Liberty' and
various other opposition clubs. Support for such groups rose because all sections of
society were against the taxes. The sections that were particularly concerned over the
matter of authority were the educated men, who believed they had the right to decide
their own destinies. Also the working class labourers and merchants, who did not leave
their own countries for a new land only to be taxed even higher by the nation they left.
Neither group felt Britain should have the right to introduce such unwanted legislation.
It is clear that there was widespread opposition to the right of the British Parliament
to introduce laws without consulting the Americans, and therefore the matter of British
authority was a major contribution to American resistance.
The question of why such great opposition to British authority did not arise earlier in
the eighteenth century is an important one. The Navigation Acts from the period of
Cromwell in 1661, which controlled colonial trade with rules such as American goods
having to go to Britain before they departed for Europe, ensuring they posed no threat to
British goods, were a major show of British authority. Yet, there was not as much
opposition as when the export tax on any foreign good entering the colonies from outside
the empire was increased from 2 % to 5% in 1764. The effects of the Seven Years War may
be responsible causing great damages in America, as the people had greatly suffered
through fighting against the French and Spanish, but more importantly it was a very
expensive war. The legislation introduced after the war was meant to raise taxes for the
British expenses during the war, however the colonies were in a worse position now than
before the war. There was much more new legislation including the Sugar Duties Act, which
put a 3d duty on one gallon immediately after the war. The effects caused major financial
problems for the Americans, with the rise in large debts to English merchant firms. Due
to financial legislation being more effective after the war, with tightening up of all
the past legislation and a new fight against smuggling, the financial difficulties were
much higher. This lead to conflict against the British rule and makes the statement that
British authority was the chief reason for opposition less accurate.
In contrast, it can be argued that the growth of the theory of independence was why
opposition increased after the war. The American war leaders, such as George Washington,
were able to gain training and experience in the Seven Years War, which may have given
the colonists more ideas of breaking away from the power of the British. The war had also
caused the colonies to work together under the threat of the French. The Albany
conference called in 1754 talked about appointing a president-General as leader of all 13
colonies. They also proposed a council of colonies in which all representatives would
decide on common things such as defence, taxes and relations with indigenous people. The
war allowed the colonies to work together without too much British influence. When it was
over and Parliament attempted to regain tight control through new legislation, the
colonists naturally questioned whether Britain should have the authority to do so and for
most, the answer was no. In turn, American discontent grew and focused on lessening
British authority.
Focus on British authority was also due to the bad handling of the land problem in
America. There was chaos on the western front of the colonies. Land speculators who had
lived on the frontiers and made a living from fur trading had tried to organise a land
company. Those who had fought French had been promised land as a reward. In 1763
Grenville upset both groups because he had stopped further expansion. The Proclamation
line was drawn running along the crest of the Appalacian Mountains. The Quebec Act of
1774 was also an attempt to curb American development. Creating a colony without an
assembly was an indication of what Britain was planning to do in other colonies. These
disliked actions turned most colonists bitter towards British authority, and in effect
encouraged further opposition such as the idea of independence.
Although years of opposition concerning authority was clearly important. The first major
event, which showed how strong American discontent was, concerned taxes. The Boston Tea
Party as a result of the Regulating Act of 1773, was the first sign of resistance moving
to revolution. ?11 000 worth of chests of newly taxed tea was emptied into Boston harbour
by a group of Americans led by Sam Adams. They rebelled against British actions, but the
most important reason for the rebellion was not British authority. It was the fact that
many merchants faced ruins, as did the smugglers of course the price of tea was below the
smuggled price. This event acted as a catalyst to other rebellions by merchants and
farmers, who had to rebel or loose their livelihoods. Discontent obviously focused on
financial grievances and this was the initial reason leading to rebellion, which is why
the issue of authority can not possibly undoubtedly be found to be the chief reason for
American opposition.
To sum up, American opposition focused on many issues involving financial difficulties
caused towards farmers and merchants. Their livelihoods were threatened and this pushed
the people into reacting, as shown by the Boston Tea Party. However, people equally
objected to British use of authority, which led to a target for the colonists to break
away from British rule and in effect encouraged the colonies to unite. 
In my opinion, opposition against British rule stemmed from financial difficulties as
they affected the fundamental issues in people's lives. Without these problems, it is
probable that the support for the fight against the British would not have been enough,
as merchants, farmers and labourers would not have enough reason to put everything they
had into opposing the British. However, it must not be forgotten that British authority
created the financial problems, amongst also endangering liberty. Without the threat of
loosing essential liberties, there may not have been the same numbers of opposition.
Ultimately, it is clear that British authority and the financial problems facing the
colonies are strongly linked and are proportional to each other. It is therefore wrong to
state that authority is the chief reason for American discontent. A more accurate
conclusion would be to assume that financial difficulties are equally responsible for
American opposition, and that these two inter-related issues inevitably led to the War of
American Independence and the fall of British foreign rule.