Road to revolution

Proclamation Act 1763

• Colonists must pay for protection from British army, for war just concluded, taxed without any say. Forbidden to travel beyond line down Appalachians.

Writs of Assistance

• British tired of colonist’s smuggling (business men like John Hancock earned his wealth by smuggling)

• Laws are passed to allow British gov’t the right to search for illegal goods on colonist’s property

• Colonists take it to court

– James Otis presented Colonist POV

– Otis loses, but his arguments are well-received by colonists.

– Main point was everyone has a right to privacy

Grenville Program (Revenue Act of 1764 or Sugar Act)

• Lowered Tax on sugar to increase revenue

• Undercut colonists’ smugglers profits

Stamp Act of 1765

• Excise tax

– All printed materials, including newspapers were taxed

– News industry did not like it, so they protested in print, wrote bad things about England.

Virginia Resolution

• Written by Patrick Henry in response to Stamp Act

• Asked for resistance to stamp act

• Took well in Boston

– People broke into Gov. Hutchinson’s home and trashed it

– Broke into Stamp distributor’s house – he quit

– Others followed and did the same to local stamp distributors

– Groups becomes basis for Sons of Liberty

• (Paul Revere the most famous)

• Parliament does, and Act is repealed

Declaratory Act

• Said English would pass any law they want to control the colonies

• Colonists ignored these laws just as they had the Stamp Act

Townshend Acts

• He replaces Grenville, and places taxes on goods to raise money (five items taxed)

– Glass, paper, paint, lead, tea

• Money raised goes to pay the governors (who were appointed by the King)

S of L complain

• By England paying the govs, they lose leverage (they had paid them originally)

• British send in troops to Boston to enforce authority of governor.

Samuel Adams, above, and Paul Revere became two of the leaders of the Sons of Liberty movement

Boston Massacre (March 5, 1770)

• Change of shifts of Boston Troops outside of a Boston Tavern.

• Colonists verbally and physically harass the troops

• Shots fired by troops, five men killed (Crispus Attucks, a black man was the first to die)

• Sam Adams calls it the “Boston Massacre”

• Paul Revere engraving romanticizes it

• John Adams represents the British Soldiers—All acquitted except for two light sentences

• 1770-73, things go pretty quietly

Boston Tea Party

• 1773, British reorganize the failing British, East India Company.

– Makes monopoly for tea in America

– Lowers prices to undercut smugglers

– Seen by colonists as a way to make them pay tea tax.

• Colonists boycott English tea

Ship, Dartmouth lands in Boston Harbour

• Sons of Liberty won’t let it be unloaded

• Hutchinson won’t let it go unloaded

• Announced that the ship had to be unloaded by Dec. 16, 1773

Meeting held on Dec 15, at Faneuil Hall.

• Huge gathering of S of L members

• People marched out, some dressed as Indians, and boarded the ship, and dumped the tea into the harbour

• Similar incidents happened up and down the coast.

Coercive Acts / Intolerable Acts

• Series of laws passed after the Boston Tea Party

– Closed the port of Boston (until the tea was paid for)

– Massachusetts Government Act (took away the MA charter, assemblies outlawed, run by the military)

– Quartering Act

• Number of soldiers in Boston increased

• People forced to allow soldiers in their homes

– Justice Act

• Any soldier accused of breaking a law would be tried in Britain

– Quebec Act

• Civilians given rule

• Extended religious freedom to Catholics (scares puritan based colonies)

• Extends border to Ohio River

• Angers VA in particular

First Continental Congress, Philadelphia (fall of 1774)

• Reps sent from all colonies

• Resolution sent to the king, complaining about their rights

• Refuse to import British goods if nothing is done.

1774-75

• By spring of 75, they stop exporting to Britain

• This is an open defiance of British Authority

Committees of Correspondence

• Authored by Mercy Warren (sister of James Otis)

• Underground network of spreading ideas during revolution

• Also leads to colonists outward display of “American Way”

– Branches such as the committee of safety

1774-75

• Royal governments dissolve

• British put more military pressure on New England colonies

• Colonists begin developing armories, and collecting stashes of arms for possible military conflict

• British know of these armories

April 19, 1775

• General Gates sends troops to confiscate arms stored in Concord, MA

• Alerts are made to mobilize militias (minute men) by the likes of Paul Revere and William Dawes.

Old North Church: lookout for approaching British Troops

Lexington Green

• 8 men killed, colonists turn and run

• (Revere captured, Dawes makes run to Concord)

• in Concord, all guns are hidden, British set the armory on fire

• As they retreated over the Concord Bridge, colonists engaged the British.

• They continued to shoot at them on their retreat from behind trees and rocks.

• “The Shots heard around the World” The beginning of the American Revolution.