“No taxation without representation” meaning is the refusal of the British living in America to pay the taxes to England, since they do not have a direct representation in parliament, and such taxes are a violation of the Declaration of Rights.
Explanation:
England’s public debt doubled due to the Seven Years War, and the government was looking for new sources of income. For this reason, Great Britain decided to tax its American colonies directly, which caused discontent among their inhabitants.
“No taxation without representation” became a peculiar slogan of the colonialist struggle against any taxes from England, and the 1765 Stamp Act was the primary source of its appearance. This act required that all newspapers and documents were printed on a special stamp paper in the colony, for which colonists must pay taxes.
“Taxation without representation” also had other examples, such as tea and sugar payments. In response to taxation, the colonialists said that Britain violated their British rights, since they themselves had to decide what taxes were needed. They did not have representatives in parliament; therefore, England cannot impose taxes on the colonies.
“Taxation without representation” did not have support in the constitution, since such a document did not yet exist; however, the colonists explained their power by using the Declaration of Rights. Besides, in fact, this slogan and events became the reason for the beginning of the US War of Independence.
The colonists were outraged by the attempts of England to introduce unfair taxation, so they boycotted these acts and then tried to harm the English trade. As a result, “Taxation without representation” escalated into massive protests and the War of Independence.