- 07 Aug 2023 07:10
#15282382
In my long life I have learned many facts. It came to me a few nights ago that historians have missed something about the causes of the American Revolution.
I was taught that a or the major cause of it was new taxes that were imposed on the American Colonies to pay for the recent Seven Years War. This is incomplete. Historians don't know economics. They don't know that every time the US has run a surplus for a few years, this has caused a recession. That is, in all 7 cases in US history a surplus has led to a Bank Panic , recession, or depression. The last case was in 2000 with the dot com recession after Clinton's surpluses. This one ended when Bush II slashed taxes to end the surplus. An early case was when the US paid off its national debt in about 1830 or so, this led to the Bank Panic of about 1835 or so. This one lasted until the US started a war with Mexico. The Panic of 1858 ended with the Civil War. Etc.
So, England wanted to have a surplus so it increased taxes on the Colonies in the form of the Stamp Act and import duties. At least the Stamp Act taxes had to be paid with gold. The Colonists complained that the gold supply was being drained.
Because the goal was to pay down the debt, the English Gov. had to run a surplus. However, nobody then knew that the act of running a surplus long enough will always cause a recession.
There is a 2nd element of my theory. Straus and Howe have a theory about History. It has "Generations" and it has "Turnings". When there is a 4th Turning there are massive changes. In American History the main 4th Turnings are the American Revolution, the Civil War, and the Great Depression and WWII.
So, the combination of the Stamp Act Recession and the soon to be 4th Turning together caused the American Revolution.
.
I was taught that a or the major cause of it was new taxes that were imposed on the American Colonies to pay for the recent Seven Years War. This is incomplete. Historians don't know economics. They don't know that every time the US has run a surplus for a few years, this has caused a recession. That is, in all 7 cases in US history a surplus has led to a Bank Panic , recession, or depression. The last case was in 2000 with the dot com recession after Clinton's surpluses. This one ended when Bush II slashed taxes to end the surplus. An early case was when the US paid off its national debt in about 1830 or so, this led to the Bank Panic of about 1835 or so. This one lasted until the US started a war with Mexico. The Panic of 1858 ended with the Civil War. Etc.
So, England wanted to have a surplus so it increased taxes on the Colonies in the form of the Stamp Act and import duties. At least the Stamp Act taxes had to be paid with gold. The Colonists complained that the gold supply was being drained.
Because the goal was to pay down the debt, the English Gov. had to run a surplus. However, nobody then knew that the act of running a surplus long enough will always cause a recession.
There is a 2nd element of my theory. Straus and Howe have a theory about History. It has "Generations" and it has "Turnings". When there is a 4th Turning there are massive changes. In American History the main 4th Turnings are the American Revolution, the Civil War, and the Great Depression and WWII.
So, the combination of the Stamp Act Recession and the soon to be 4th Turning together caused the American Revolution.
.