What is the effect of the Currency Act?

The Currency Act of 1764 extended the restrictions of the Currency Act of 1751 to all 13 of the American British colonies. While it eased the earlier Act’s prohibition against of the printing of new paper bills, it did forbid the colonies from using any future bills for payment of all public and private debts.

Why did the Currency Act lead to the American Revolution?

The Currency Act was an attempt by Parliament to assume control of the colonial currency system. It added to the growing list of grievances in the colonies, which eventually led to the Revolutionary War. Colonial America suffered from a lack of hard money due to the mercantile system.

Who started the Currency Act?

Virginia, for example, issued £20,000 worth of currency in 1755. In 1759 the British ministry began to urge the Virginians to address the problem on their own. When the Virginia Assembly ignored calls to mend its ways, Parliament passed the Currency Act, signed into law by George III on April 19, 1764.

Why did the colonists hate the Currency Act?

The colonies suffered a constant shortage of currency with which to conduct trade. There were no gold or silver mines and currency could only be obtained through trade as regulated by Great Britain. Many of the colonies felt no alternative to printing their own paper money in the form of Bills of Credit.

What was the purpose of the Currency Acts?

The Acts were an attempt by Parliament to limit the colonies’ ability to create their own currency. It was both an attempt to solve possible inflation and control the colonies. In early British Colonial America, the Americans really didn’t have any gold or silver mines, this the bulk of their revenue came through trade with other countries.

When was the Currency Act of 1764 passed?

Passed by Parliament on September 1, 1764, the act extended the restrictions of the Currency Act of 1751 to all 13 of the American British colonies.

Why did the first Currency Act ban paper money?

The first Currency Act banned only the New England colonies from printing paper money and from opening new public banks. These colonies had issued paper money mainly to repay their debts to for British and French military protection during the French and Indian Wars.

Why was the Currency Act a cause of the American Revolution?

The policy created tension between the colonies and Great Britain and was cited as a grievance by colonists early in the American Revolution. However, the consensus view among modern economic historians and economists is that the debts by colonists to British merchants were not a major cause of the Revolution.