Examine and explain the meaning of the phrase "no taxation without representation." What meaning did the concept of taxation and of representation hold for the British Parliament? For the colonists?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

By the mid-eighteenth century the British constitutional system rested on taxation by consent--theoretically British subjects' consent to be taxed resided in the elected Parliament (where they were ostensibly represented). Colonists rejected Parliament's taxation because they did not elect members to Parliament, and thus did not give their consent to be taxed. To colonists, only their own locally elected assemblies had the legitimate authority to tax them.