Economic Policy from 1754-1776 (Complexity Point Scoring Activity)

Assume an essay prompt that reads as follows: "Evaluate the extent to which economic policy fostered change in the relationship between Great Britain and its North American colonies in the period from 1754 to 1776

Next, read the corresponding essay that appears below:

Contexualization Before the French and Indian War, Parliament followed a policy of salutary neglect. Although Parliament had passed the Navigation Acts to control colonial trade with mercantilism, Parliament did not enforce the Navigation Acts before the French and Indian War. This allowed the colonists to trade with whoever they wanted to trade with. After the French and Indian War, Parliament decided that the colonies should be taxed to help pay for the war.

Thesis Economic policy played a major role in increasing tensions between Great Britain and its North American colonies in the period from 1754 to 1776 because of taxation without representation and Parliament’s attempts to control trade in the colonies.

Body Taxation without representation caused the colonists to protest because their rights had been violated. When Parliament passed the Stamp Act, it put a tax on legal documents and paper products in the colonies. The colonists believed that the Stamp Act was illegal because Parliament had no right to tax them. In response to the Stamp Act, colonists boycotted (refused to buy) British goods, which led to Parliament repealing the Stamp Act.

Parliament’s control over colonial trade also upset the colonists because it hurt their economy. When Parliament passed the Sugar Act, they placed a tax on imported sugar from other colonies. The colonists could no longer buy the cheapest sugar. The Townshend Acts taxed importe paper, paint, and tea. The colonists objected so strongly that Parliamen got rid of the Townshend Acts, but they kept the tax on tea to prove the point. By 1776, the colonists had become so resentful that they declared independence from Britain

Given the essay you just read and regardless of the points it may or may not have earned, attempt to earn the complexity point by utilizing the tack-it-on approach (five sentences or more tacked onto the end of the essay with these sentences seeking to qualify or modify the argument made in the essay and best beginning with the words . . .

"While it is true that economic policy fostered change in the relationship between Great Britain and its North American colonies in the period from 1754 to 1776, it also needs to be noted that . . .