Currency Act
Quick Summary
The Currency Act of 1764 was a British law that prohibited the American colonies from issuing their own paper money as legal tender. This act was part of a broader shift in British colonial policy following the Seven Years' War, as Great Britain sought to raise revenue to pay for the increased military presence in North America.1
Before this act, the colonies had relied on printing paper money to address a shortage of hard currency, partly due to an unfavorable trade balance with Britain. The Currency Act aimed to stabilize the colonial economy and protect creditors by preventing the depreciation of colonial currencies. This measure, along with others like the Sugar Act, marked a departure from the previous policy of "salutary neglect" and contributed to growing tensions between the colonies and Great Britain.12
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United StatesThe tax controversyā¦economic prospects by passing a Currency Act (1764) to withdraw paper currencies, many of them surviving from the war period, from circulation. This was not done to restrict economic growth so much as to take out currency that was thought to be unsound, but it did severely reduce the circulatingā¦
Read Moreā¦economic prospects by passing a Currency Act (1764) to withdraw paper currencies, many of them surviving from the war period, from circulation. This was not done to restrict economic growth so much as to take out currency that was thought to be unsound, but it did severely reduce the circulatingā¦
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salutary neglectThe Currency Act of 1764 extended these limitations to all the colonies. Also in 1764, Prime Minister George Grenville issued the Sugar Act to raise revenue and attempt to end the smuggling of sugar and molasses from the French and Dutch West Indies. A year laterā¦
Read MoreThe Currency Act of 1764 extended these limitations to all the colonies. Also in 1764, Prime Minister George Grenville issued the Sugar Act to raise revenue and attempt to end the smuggling of sugar and molasses from the French and Dutch West Indies. A year laterā¦
Read More