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The Currency Act of
1764
“The impact of the Currency Act
upon the Revolutionary movement should not be overlooked. Its psychological effects were especially important.
It served as a constant reminder that the economic well-being of
the colonies was subordinate to the desires of the imperial government
att the very time when colonial legislatures were beginning to demand
equality for the colonies within the empire.”
—Jack Greene and Richard Jellison, William
and Mary Quarterly, October 1961
The
Currency Act of 1764 prohibited all American colonies from issuing paper
currency, thereby creating severe monetary problems. The Act was intended
to appease British merchants who had been suspicious of colonial
currencies for decades. The
Currency Act provoked widespread resentment and opposition, particularly
in those colonies where the issuance of paper currency had been carefully
controlled. The Act served “to add to the growing irritation of
many Americans toward the mother country and to convince some
that they would always be sacrificed to the interests of selfish
British merchants” (Jensen, The Founding of a Nation).
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