No taxation without representation.

“No taxation without representation” became a rallying cry of British American colonists in the 1760s as Parliament imposed new revenue measures—most famously the Stamp Act (1765) and later the Townshend duties—while the colonies had no elected representatives in Parliament. Colonial writers and protest leaders argued that, under English constitutional principles, taxes could be levied legitimately only with the consent of the people or their representatives. The slogan circulated widely in pamphlets, newspapers, petitions, and public demonstrations, helping to unify disparate colonial grievances and harden resistance to imperial policy. It remained a succinct expression of the constitutional dispute that helped propel the American Revolution.

The phrase condenses a constitutional argument into a moral and political principle: government may not rightfully take citizens’ property through taxation unless those taxed have a meaningful voice in the lawmaking body that authorizes it. It asserts consent as the basis of legitimate authority and frames taxation as a test of political equality. In the Revolutionary era it also exposed a clash between imperial sovereignty (Parliament’s claimed authority over the colonies) and local self-government. The slogan’s enduring power lies in its portability: it can be invoked whenever people experience fiscal burdens imposed by distant or unaccountable rulers, making it a touchstone for broader debates about democratic representation.

“Taxation without representation is tyranny.”; “No taxation without representation!”; “No taxation without representation in Parliament.”