Boycott – when people refuse to buy certain goods

Repeal – to end, usually refers to a law

Propaganda – information giving only one side in an argument

Writs of assistance – special forms which allowed tax collectors to search for smuggled goods

Journal #15

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Trouble in the Colonies

5.3 and 5.4

What was the name of the war fought between the Wampanoag and the English settlers?

How did the French and Indian War start off? Who eventually won?

What was the name of the treaty that ended the French and Indian War?

This law prohibited settlers from living west of the Appalachian Mountains

Bonus Questions

Great Britain’s War Debts Britain was in debt because

of the French and Indian War (Seven Year’s War)

Britain was also paying money to keep an army in North America to protect colonists

Prime Minister George Grenville asked Parliament to tax the colonists

The Sugar Act was passed by Parliament in 1764

This law put taxes on molasses and sugar imported by colonists

This was the first act passed specifically to raise money, not to regulate trade

The Sugar Act

Colonies cannot print their own money

Ships are searched for smuggled goods Ships had to give officials a list of their goods

The British give courts the power to punish smugglers harshly Courts had no juries Suspected smugglers are guilty until proven

innocent

Other British Policies

Colonists begin to argue that Parliament cannot take property without personal consent or representation in government

James Otis and Samuel Adams are leaders they argued that:

The colonists were never asked about being taxed The colonists had no representatives in Parliament Colonial Assemblies did not influence Parliament

These two men spread the slogan – “no taxation without representation”

Colonists Speak Out

Born in Boston, Massachusetts 1 of 12 children (only 3 lived past age 3) Came from a Puritan family Graduated from Harvard, and was an

unsuccessful tax collector and businessman before he became a politician

Spoke out against many British policies in the colonies

Started committees of correspondence which shared information about British laws and how to change them

Wrote a letter which further divided the British Parliament and Massachusetts and contributed to the Boston Massacre

Founding Father of the United States Cousin of John Adams (2nd President) Did he simply guide people toward

independence or use propaganda to start mob violence?

Samuel Adams (1722-1803)

Grenville proposed the Stamp Act in 1765 as an alternative to the Sugar Act

This act required colonists to pay for an official stamp every time they bought paper

Legal documents, licenses, newspapers, pamphlets, and playing cards

Those who refused to pay were fined or jailed

People paid similar taxes in Britain, but the colonists protested the Stamp Act immediately

A popular method of protesting British laws was the boycott

The Stamp Act

In some places, colonists formed secret societies

Samuel Adams helped start the Sons of Liberty

These groups sometimes threatened tax collectors

Secret Societies

Patrick Henry

In May 1765 he presents a series of resolutions to the House of Burgesses in Virginia

Says that the Stamp Act violates colonists’ rights

Taxation without representation, no jury trial

The Colonial Assembly of Virginia supports some of Henry’s ideas

Patrick Henry

1st and 6th post-colonial governor of Virginia

Known as one of the most influential, radical advocates of the American Revolution

Founding Father of the United States

“Give me Liberty, or Give me Death!”

Word of Virginia’s action spreads and in October 1765 delegates from 9 colonies meet

They declare that the Stamp Act violates their rights and ask Parliament to repeal the act

Repealing the Stamp Act

Pressure to repeal the act grows London merchants said their trade was suffering

from colonial boycotts Benjamin Franklin tells Parliament that colonists

will buy goods when the act is repealed

The Stamp Act is repealed in 1766 The colonists celebrate with fireworks They thank King George and promise to be loyal

Parliament is upset that the colonists have challenged their authority

Repealing the Stamp Act

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New Taxes and Tensions

5.4

In 1767 Parliament passed the Townshend Acts Placed duties (tax) on imported glass, lead,

paint, paper, and tea The money paid for military costs and the

salaries of colonial governors The British had guaranteed there wouldn’t

be a peacetime army without the colonists’ consent

The British used writs of assistance which allowed tax collectors to search for smuggled goods

The Townshend Acts

Colonists hated these laws and began boycotting British goods

The Daughters of Liberty support the boycott

Colonial legislatures also protest the acts

Response to the Townshend Acts

Response to the Townshend Acts In 1768 tax collectors seize

a ship on suspicion of smuggling

The owner of the ship, John Hancock, was unhappy

The Sons of Liberty support Hancock and begin attacking the houses of customs officials

Governor Francis Bernard breaks up the Massachusetts legislature and calls British troops in to Boston

The Boston Massacre Colonists and British soldiers

disliked each other – name calling and fights were common

On March 5, 1770 a British soldier got into a fight with a colonist

A crowd gathered and began throwing snowballs and shouting insults

As more people and troops arrive, the soldiers fire into the crowd, killing several colonists

Significance: one of the events that contributed to the American Revolution

Samuel Adams and others used the event as propaganda against the British

The soldiers and their officer are charged with murder, 6 are found not guilty, 2 are found guilty and given minor punishments

The soldiers’ lawyer was John Adams (Samuel’s cousin and future president)

The Boston Massacre

To reduce tension, Parliament repealed almost all of the Townshend Acts except the tax on tea

The colonies were smuggling most of their tea to avoid the tax

The British pass the Tea Act in 1773 which would allow Britain to sell its tea to the colonies at very low prices

Colonial smugglers and merchants feared that cheap British tea would put them out of business

A Tax on Tea

A ship carrying British tea arrived in Boston in 1773, two others arrived later

The Sons of Liberty demanded that the ships leave – the Massachusetts governor won’t let them leave

On the night of December 16, colonists disguised as Indians snuck onto the 3 ships and dumped 90,000 pounds into Boston Harbor

The Boston Tea Party

Reaction to the Boston Tea Party

The British were united against the colonists

It rallied support for revolutionary colonists like Samuel Adams

Other colonists, like Benjamin Franklin, thought it was wrong and wanted to repay England (Lord North)

Lord North and the British Parliament decide to punish Massachusetts for the Tea Party

In 1774, they pass the Coercive Acts, which colonists called the Intolerable Acts1. Boston Harbor was closed until Boston paid for the

lost tea2. The Massachusetts charter is cancelled3. Royal officials’ trials are moved to Britain4. Colonists are forced to house and supply British

soldiers (the Quartering Act)5. General Thomas Gage becomes the new governor of

Massachusetts

The Intolerable Acts

The British hoped that these steps would bring back order and make Massachusetts an example

This backfired and made citizens even more angry at Britain

Colonial leaders in Boston propose a boycott of all British goods in the colonies

Reaction to the Intolerable Acts