New Taxes and Tensions

Section 4Chapter 5

Focus QuestionsHow did the colonists respond to the

Townshend Acts?Why were the Boston Massacre and the Boston

Tea Party significant events?What was the purpose of the intolerable Acts?

The Townshend ActsParliament passed the Townshend Acts in

June of 1767 which placed duties on glass, lead, paint, paper, and tea

To enforce the acts the British officials used writs of assistance– allowed tax collectors to search for smuggled goods (violated colonists’ constitutional rights)

Colonists boycotted these products and women formed the Daughters of Liberty to support these actions

The Townshend Acts Several colonial

legislatures joined in the protest against the Townshend Acts

The Sons of Liberty began to attack the houses of custom (after John Hancock’s ship was seized)

Governor Francis Bernard broke up the Massachusetts legislature and British soldiers arrived in October of 1768 to occupy Boston

The Boston MassacreMany people of Boston felt the troops were

there to silence critics (especially Sam Adams)On March 5, 1770, a mob grew and threw

snowballs at British soldiers, shots were fired and several colonists were killed (Crispus Attucks)

The Boston MassacreSam Adams used

the event for propaganda– information giving only one side of the argument

The shooting was called the Boston Massacre by the colonists

The Boston Massacre John Adams defended

Thomas Preston and the soldiers

Jury found the soldiers not guilty first degree murder

Two soldiers were found guilty of accidental murder and were branded on the thumb

A Tea TaxParliament repealed most of the Townshend

Acts but it kept one tax on teaThe British East India Company was offered an

opportunity to sell tea directly to colonists at a lower rate

This Tea Act was passed in 1773Colonial merchants and smugglers felt they

would be put out of business

A Tea TaxSome felt the East

India Tea Company would gain a monopoly in colonies

Colonists united under the protest of the Tea Act

A Tea TaxOn the night of

December 16, 1773 colonists disguised themselves as American Indians snuck onto the ships and dumped 342 tea chests into Boston Harbor

This would be known as the Boston Tea Party

The Intolerable Acts In the Spring of 1774, Parliament passed the

Intolerable Acts to punish Boston Boston Harbor was closed until tea was paid for The Legislature was not to meet again Royal officials charged with a crime were sent to

Britain to stand trial Colonists were forced to quarter (house and

supply) British soldiers General Thomas Gage became the new governor

of Massachusetts

The Intolerable Acts Instead of making an

example of Massachusetts it made more colonists angry

Mercy Otis Warren wrote plays that criticized the British soldiers and administration

Colonial leaders in Boston proposed a boycott of all British goods in the colonies and tried to bring together leaders to decide the best way to respond

Focus QuestionsHow did the colonists respond to the

Townshend Acts?Why were the Boston Massacre and the Boston

Tea Party significant events?What was the purpose of the intolerable Acts?