taxation without representation

American  

noun

American History.

1. a phrase, generally attributed to James Otis about 1761, that reflected the resentment of American colonists at being taxed by a British Parliament to which they elected no representatives and became an anti-British slogan before the American Revolution; in full, “Taxation without representation is tyranny.”

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Example Sentences

The act set a precedent of taxation-without-representation, which helped spark the Revolutionary era in the colonies that culminated in independence 11 years later.

From New York Times • Jul. 31, 2015