“Our Colonies must be the biggest Beggars in the World, if such small Duties appear to be intolerable Burdens in their Eyes.”

Question

Question
Use the excerpt to answer the question.
This excerpt is from a citizen in England in response to the colonial outrage toward the Stamp Act. What might a colonist who was opposed to the Stamp Act say to refute this argument?(1 point)
Responses

Although the tax is small, the colonists should not have to repay the British government for a war they did not support.
Although the tax is small, the colonists should not have to repay the British government for a war they did not support.

It is not the amount of tax that is the problem, but rather the fact that the colonists were not involved in passing the tax
It is not the amount of tax that is the problem, but rather the fact that the colonists were not involved in passing the tax

Trade is heavily restricted due to the taxes, which makes it difficult for the colonists to make enough money to live let alone pay the taxes
Trade is heavily restricted due to the taxes, which makes it difficult for the colonists to make enough money to live let alone pay the taxes

The tax may seem small to those in England, but for the American colonists it is a very large amount of money

Answer 1

A colonist who opposed the Stamp Act might argue:

"It is not the amount of tax that is the problem, but rather the fact that the colonists were not involved in passing the tax."

This response addresses the fundamental issue of representation and governance that was central to the colonists' outrage, emphasizing that taxation without representation was viewed as unjust, regardless of the tax's monetary value.