Unit 3 Discussion: Taxation and Representation – A Debate

In the years between the end of the French and Indian War and the skirmishes at Lexington and Concord, 1763-1775, the colonies and the mother country debated the right of Parliament to legislate for the colonies. The British claimed that Parliament held this right without question while the colonies insisted that only a body which they actually elected could tax them. While the British espoused the commonly-held notion that Parliament represented all British possessions virtually, the colonists drew on their experiences with their colonial legislatures, maintaining that the only true representation was actual representation. In this discussion, you will read the accounts below, which are written from either a British or a colonial point of view and in a statement of 3-4 paragraphs select a position in the debate over taxation and representation. (Meets Course Learning Objectives: 3 and 9)