For almost a century after the U.S. Constitution went into effect, few Americans seem to have questioned the legitimacy of the Revolution. Since the Progressive generation of historians began the work of serious criticism and revision, however, students of American life have largely learned to live with a more complicated understanding of the revolutionary legacy. In <i>The American Revolution and the Declaration of Independence</i>, George H. Smith's treatment of the era charts space for libertarians to both criticize and revere the American heritage.
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George H. Smith. The American Revolution and the Declaration of Independence
The American. Revolution and. the Declaration of. Independence. THE ESSAYS OF. GEORGE H. SMITH
CONTENTS
Independence Day: What Is There to Celebrate?
1 Americans with Attitudes: Smuggling in Colonial America
2 “Liberty and Property!” The Sons of Liberty and Resistance to the Stamp Act
3 A Misunderstanding, the Townshend Act, and More Trouble in the American Colonies
4 The Boston Massacre
5 The Coercive Acts and Their Theoretical Significance
6 Fingering the King on the Road to Independence
7 “That Audacious Document”: Notes on the Declaration of Independence
8 Was Thomas Jefferson a Plagiarist?
9 The Philosophy of the Declaration of Independence
Notes
Libertarianism.org
Cato Institute
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CATO INSTITUTE
WASHINGTON, D.C.
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Grenville was just getting started. Customs duties had been designed to regulate the flow of trade, not to raise revenue. Indeed, the trade laws cost four times more to enforce than they brought in, so Grenville set to work on a long list of proposals to raise revenue and curtail smuggling. In 1764, Parliament enacted these proposals, commonly called the Sugar Act, into law.
Six sections of the Sugar Act dealt with new taxes, and over 40 additional sections were devoted to far-reaching changes in commercial regulations, including rigorous methods of enforcement. These regulations were a bureaucratic nightmare that greatly increased the cost of doing business and, in some cases, made compliance for merchants engaged in intercolonial trade nearly impossible. Any small vessel engaged in inland trade would probably be guilty of some violation or other, even when there was no criminal intent. This left the door open for racketeering by customs officers who lined their pockets by seizing vessels for technical violations.
