Declaratory Act In 1766 Purpose In Fairfax
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This act was passed to assert the authority of the British government to tax its subjects in North America after it repealed the much-hated Stamp Act.
What was the purpose of the Declaratory Act? to show the american colonists that the british parliament had a right to tax them, and that they are stronger than them. It was to assert to the colonists that they have authority to make laws, and it was a reaction to the failure of the stamp act.
The Declaratory Act, passed by Parliament on the same day the Stamp Act was repealed, stated that Parliament could make laws binding the American colonies "in all cases whatsoever."
This act was passed to assert the authority of the British government to tax its subjects in North America after it repealed the much-hated Stamp Act.
The purpose of a declaratory relief action is to obtain clarity on a legal issue before any harm or damage has occurred. In a declaratory relief action, the plaintiff typically asks the court to make a declaration regarding the legal rights and obligations of the parties involved in a dispute.
On the night of August 26, a mob of artisans, laborers, and sailors dismantled the home of Lieutenant Governor Thomas Hutchinson, plundering valuables while shouting “Liberty and property!” to protest the Stamp Act and taxation without consent.
The Declaratory Act of 1766 declared that the British Parliament had the absolute right to tax colonies in North America. At first, the Act did not greatly upset the colonists; however, when the Townshend Acts of 1787 began limiting colonial assembly, colonists felt that the British government was acting tyrannical.
The opinionated writers of colonial newspapers expressed their fear that the powers Parliament assumed in the Declaratory Act were detrimental to the ancient Constitution. One of the strongest fears about the Act was that it declared Parliament supreme, while the realm of its supremacy had no foreseeable end.
The colonists ignored the Declaratory Act for the same reasons they ignored the Stamp Act, which the Declaratory Act helped repeal. They claimed their colonial assemblies were the only government bodies with the right to impose taxation and make laws.
Reaction. Although many in Parliament felt that taxes were implied in this clause, other members of Parliament and many of the colonists—who were busy celebrating what they saw as their political victory—did not. Other colonists, however, were outraged because the Declaratory Act hinted that more acts would be coming.
