road to independence and war taxation without representation taxes

Road to Independence and War

Taxation Without Representation

Taxes

• Before we begin, it should be noted that an “act” is another word for tax.

• A tax is a way for a country to raise money.• The French and Indian War was very costly

for England and they were looking for a way to pay off the debt incurred during the war.

• The colonies had more natural resources/wealth than England did, therefore was a natural target to be “milked”.

The Proclamation of 1763

England passed the proclamation in order to:

• Keep the peace.

• Result of the French and Indian War.

• Closed the land west of the Appalachian Mountains off from the colonists.

Colonists responded to the proclamation’s passage by:

• Feeling cheated. They fought the war and won, therefore as victors they felt that they should have been able to move into the territory.

• The Ohio Company investors/speculators were now out of money.

• The seeds of distrust have now been planted.

England responded to the colonists’ objections by:

• Ignoring the feelings of the colonists.

• Sent in more British troops to quiet the rumblings of the colonists.

• According to England, the troops were needed to protect the colonists against the Native Americans.

The Quartering Act

England passed the act in order to...

• Required colonist to give lodging (housing) to British troops.

• Local governments were to pay for the soldiers’ supplies (firewood, bedding, candles, vinegar, salt, etc.).

Colonists responded to the act’s passage by…

• Colonial assemblies refused to vote/pass taxes that would grant money in support of the British troops.

England responded to the colonists’ objections by…

• Parliament threatened to take away many of the powers held by the colonial assemblies.

Writs of assistance -

What are they?

Writs of assistance

• Legal documents that allowed homes, warehouses, storehouses, etc. to be searched for smuggled goods.

• In a word, they are early search warrants.

• Colonists saw these writs as an abuse of power, as they were only used against those who spoke out against England.

The Sugar Act of 1764

England passed the act in order to…

• Levied a tax on molasses and sugar.• Captains of trading ships were required to

carry a cargo manifest (list of goods) that was subject to taxes. Attempted to stop smuggling between the British colonies and the French West Indies.

• Established special smuggling courts heard by a British appointed judge and not by a jury. A person was guilty until proven innocent.


• The colonial merchants were upset because the tax was unfair and hurt business.

• Speaking out against the taxes and the crown.– “There can be no liberty, no happiness, no security

with Great Britain’s interference.”– “Taxation without representation is tyranny”.

• The colonists did not have any direct representation in Parliament and the colonial assemblies had very little effect on Parliamentary decisions.

• The Sugar Act took away the colonists basic right to trial by jury, a fundamental right under the British rule of common man.

England responded to the colonists’ objection by…

• Ignored the colonists protests.

• Sent in more troops.

The Stamp Act of 1765


• Attempt to raise revenue (money).

• Required all printed material to have a special stamp or seal.– Newspaper and pamphlets– Legal documents– Playing card, dice and even liquor.

• The first direct tax levied against the colonists.


• Organizing into groups like the Sons of Liberty to protest the tax.

• Outright refusal to purchase stamp.• Burned effigies of King George III• Ransacked and burned the homes of royal

officers, especially tax collectors.• Boycotted British goods/increased smuggling of

French products from the West Indies.• Created the Stamp Act Congress that drafted a

petition which was sent to the King encouraging the repeal of the act on the grounds it violated the colonists rights and liberties.

England responded to the colonists’ objection by…

• Parliament and the King repealed (cancelled) the act in 1766, before the petition reached England.

• Passed the Declaratory Act of 1766, which said that Great Britain had the right to pass any and all laws regarding the colonies NO MATTER WHAT.

The Townshend Acts of 1767


• Attempt to raise revenue.

• Taxed lead, glass, paint, paper and tea (LGPPT).

• Taxed all imported goods.


• Boycotting imported British goods.

• Made their own products– Cloth– Paper– Paint– Glass

• Women created the Daughters of Liberty.


• Repealing the Townshend Act, except for the tax on tea.

• Sent in more troops.

The Boston Massacre

What happened and how did the colonists use the events to their advantage?

The Boston Massacre

• On March 5, 1770, the colonists could take it no more.

• A soldier and a colonist had an argument. The soldier slapped the colonist.

• A crowd of angry colonists marched up to the Customs House on King Street.

• Seeing an angry “mob” marching towards him, the Customs House guard became frightened and called out for help.

The Boston Massacre

• Seven soldiers responded to the cry of the guard.

• The angry crowd seeing the eight soldiers at the ready, threw stones, snowballs, oyster shells, wood and anything they could get their hand on at the soldiers.

• The crowd egged the soldiers on with shouts of “Come on you rascals…Fire if you dare!”.

• One soldier fell, and the other redcoats got confused/scared and fired on the crowd.

The Boston Massacre

• Seven shots were fired in total.• Five colonists were dead, among them an

African American dock worker/sailor named Crispus Attucks who was rumored to be the leader of the mob.

• Samuel Adams, a very poor brewer but a brilliant political tactician, used the situation to the advantage of the Sons of Liberty – the brutish redcoats fired upon an innocent groups of colonists.

The Tea Act of 1773

England passes the act in order to…

• Raise revenue.

• Allowed the British East Indian Company to sell tea to the colonies at a low price hoping to stop the smuggling of tea and increase money from taxes.

• Surprise it taxed tea.


• In North Carolina, the Sons of Liberty locked the tea in a warehouse and burned it down.

• In Boston, MA the Sons of Liberty held a wee little tea party.– On December 16, 1773 150 Sons of Liberty

dress up as Mohawk Indians and boarded three tea ships in the Boston Harbor.

– Once on board, they dumped 342 chests of tea into the harbor.


• Putting a tighter hold on the colonists.

• Treated then like aliens (they no longer had the rights of a British subject).

• Sent over more troops.

• Passed the Intolerable Acts.

The Intolerable Acts/The Coercive Acts


• Make the colonists pay for their insolence – especially those in Boston.


• Organized the Committee of Correspondence to meet in Philadelphia from September 5th to October 26th of 1774. This would be a precursor to the Continental Congress.

• The Committee of Correspondence declared the Intolerable Act null and void (invalid).

• Sent a petition of grievance to the British government.


• Closed the port of Boston until the tea that was destroyed was paid for.

• Massachusetts’s charter was revoked.• The governor was given the power to ban

any and all town meetings as well as decided when the MA legislature could meet.

• General Thomas Gage becomes the new governor of Massachusetts.

• Sending in 2,000 additional troops.

After the Intolerable Acts, the Committees of Correspondence sent word through the colonies that they must unite to protect their liberties. They created The Continental Congress. What were the decisions of the Continental Congress?

What were the decisions of the Continental Congress?

56 men met in Philadelphia:

• Drafted a statement of grievances calling for the repeal of 13 Parliamentary acts that violated the rights of the colonists.

• Boycotted British goods and trade.

• Formed colonial militias and had them prepare for war.

… and the Revolutionary War begins in two small towns – Lexington and Concord! American independence is on the way.

road to independence and war taxation without representation taxes

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