things get worse... moving toward conflict. the sons of liberty to fight back against the stamp act...
TRANSCRIPT
The Sons Of Liberty
• To fight back against the Stamp Act & other British laws, some colonists formed secret groups called Sons of Liberty.
• These groups sometimes used threats and violence to achieve their goals.
The Sons of Liberty
Picture of a Stamp Act Riot in New York. This image of American colonialists rioting in protest against the unpopular Stamp Act shows them carrying a banner bearing the words 'The Folly of England and the Ruin of America'.
The Stamp Act Congress
• Massachusetts called for a Stamp Act Congress.
• Delegates from 9 colonies met and issued a declaration stating that the Stamp Act violated their rights.
The Stamp Act Congress
• The declaration would have really angered members of Parliament.
• It asked Parliament to repeal the Stamp Act.
Okay, fine. No More Stamp Act
• Parliament was under pressure to get rid of the Stamp Act in Britain as well.
• London merchants didn’t like the colonial boycotts.
Okay, fine. No More Stamp Act• William Pitt was a
respected member of Parliament who opposed the Stamp Act. He thought Parliament could make laws for the colonies, but not tax them.
Okay, fine. No More Stamp Act
• But it was Ben Franklin who convinced Parliament to repeal the Stamp Act.
• Franklin told Parliament it was internal taxes the colonists didn’t like, but that taxes on trade were okay.
Okay, fine. No More Stamp Act
• If members of Parliament had read the declaration from the Stamp Act Congress, they would have known better.
• Nonetheless, the Stamp Act was repealed.
The Declaratory Act
• When Parliament repealed the Stamp Act, they issued the Declaratory Act which stated Parliament could make laws for the colonies “in all cases whatsoever.”
• Great, but do laws include taxes?
The Townshend Acts
• Just a year after or so after the repeal of the Stamp Act, Parliament passed the Townshend Acts.
• These Acts were more taxes on tea, paper, paints, lead, etc. to help pay for the British military.
The Townshend Acts
• The colonists responded with more boycotts, this time even bigger than the last ones.
• Women and the Daughters of Liberty helped out tremendously.
Bad Times in Boston
John Hancock, a prominent Boston merchant, had his ship seized by British tax collectors.
Bad Times in Boston
• Hancock thought it was because he opposed the Townshend Acts.
• The Sons of Liberty apparently agreed, because they began stoning and burning the houses of British customs officials, or worse.
Bad Times in Boston
• The British Governor of Massachusetts requested British troops come and restore order in Boston.
• He also disbanded the Mass. Legislature.
Bad Times in Boston
• The troops in Boston were not very welcome.
• As time went on, tensions mounted, and there were many arguments and problems between colonists and the soldiers.
Bad Times in Boston
• On March 5, 1770, a lone British sentry, Hugh White, a soldier of the 29th Regiment, near Boston’s Custom House got into a verbal argument with a colonist, and he eventually struck him.
• Word travels fast in Boston, and crowd gathered.
Bad Times in Boston
• As the unruly and dangerous crowd of colonists, a small detail of British troops showed up.
• The British troops fired on the crowed after being pelted with ice and snowballs. 5 colonists died.
Bad Times in Boston
• Colonists, such as Sam Adams referred this event as the Boston Massacre, and used it as propaganda to show how “terrible” the British were.
• Was this really a Massacre?
The Tea Act
• Parliament was not completely deaf to the colonists complaints.
• They repealed the Townshend Acts but passed the Tea Act.
The Tea Act
• The act allowed the East India Company to sell tea directly to the colonies.
• Colonial merchants didn’t like this law either. They were afraid it would hurt business.
The Boston Tea Party
• On Dec. 16, 1773, a group of colonists disguised as Indians snuck aboard three British ships loaded with tea.
• The colonists dumped all the tea overboard while the ships sailors watched.
Payback Time
• To punish Boston and the rest of Massachusetts, Parliament passed the Coercive Acts. Colonists called these acts the Intolerable Acts.
Payback Time
• The Intolerable Acts consisted of 4 laws which:oShut down Boston HarboroCanceled the Mass. Charter and only
allowed the legislature to meet with the governor’s permission.