Issue: Proclamation of 1763 (p.143)

After the French and Indian War, the British government created a line that ran down the crest of the Appalachian Mountains. No colonists were able to settle west of this line! 10,000 soldiers were sent to the colonies to enforce this law.

Issue: Sugar Act (p.143-144) To pay the bill for soldiers, supplies

(weapons) and food from the French and Indian War, the British government passed the Sugar Act. This act placed a tax on molasses (liquid form of sugar). Molasses was imported from the West Indies and merchants had to pay a tax for bringing molasses into the colonies. Some merchants smuggled in molasses to avoid the tax. Smuggling sugar was a crime that could land merchants in jail and force them to pay a huge fine.

Issue: Stamp Act (p.144)

In 1765 Parliament (British group that made laws) passed the Stamp Act. Taxes needed to be paid for a stamp (wax) placed on wills, diplomas and marriage documents. Newspapers, Almanacs (history books), playing cards and dice were also taxed. The British felt that the money needed to pay for running the colonies and paying for the French and Indian War needed to come from the people that benefited from the war victory.

Issue: Townshend Act (p.144-145)

In 1767, the Parliament passed the Townshend Act that placed a tax on glass, lead, paint and tea. They also passed the writ of assistance which allowed government officials to inspect the cargo of all ships to see what items should be taxed.

Issue: Boston Massacre (p.148-149)

On March 5, 1770, colonist gathered at the customs house (tax place) and insulted the British soldiers. Snow, ice and insults were directed at the soldiers. A pushing match started and the soldiers fired on the crowd killing 5 colonists.

Issue: Committee of Correspondence (p.149)

Colonist formed a group that wrote letters and pamphlets to the citizens telling them about how bad the British government was treating them. These items were sent all over the colonies to gain support for the colonies to break away and be independent from England.

Issue: Tea Act (p.150-151) Boston Tea Party (p.151-152)

To protest the Tea Tax, the colonist stopped the unloading of tea shipments from the East India Tea Company. Dressed like Native Americans (Mohawks) the Sons of Liberty boarded ships and broke open the crates of tea. They destroyed the tea by dumping it into the Boston Harbor. This event/protest was known as the Boston Tea Party.

Issue: Intolerable Acts (p.151-153) In 1774, the Parliament passed the Intolerable Acts. There were 4 parts to the Intolerable Acts.

1.) The Boston Harbor was closed-No ships could enter or leave.

2.) Colonist could not hold town meetings whenever they wanted. They were only allowed 1 meeting per year.

3.) British officials and soldiers accused of crimes would have their trials in England.

4.) Citizens were forced to have soldiers sleep in their homes (Quartering Act).

Issue: Lexington and Concord (p.154-155)

The minutemen were group of soldier created by the militia of the colonists to be ready to fight at a minutes notice. General Thomas Gage a British commander had received word that the minutemen were storing weapons in Concord. He marched his troops to Concord to capture these weapons. The 700 British troops were met by 70 minutemen in Concord (Paul Reverse Midnight Ride). A mystery shot was fired (“The shot heard around the world”) and a battle began. 200 minutemen met the British on a bridge in Lexington and another battle occurred. 73 British soldiers were killed and 200 were wounded or missing

Patriots’ View:

The colonists did not like the tax! They were paying too much in taxes. They felt that the penalty for smugglers was too harsh.

Patriots’ View

The colonists felt like caged animals. The colonies that claimed land west of the Appalachian Mountains lost this land and were angry. The colonists had to pay extra taxes for the lodging and supplies associated with the extra 10,000 soldiers.

Patriots’ View

The colonists were mad that the Parliament was passing laws that impacted the colonists lives, but the colonists were not represented in the law making process. “No taxation, without representation” was the the slogan that the colonists used to express their anger. The colonist would pay taxes to pay for the war, but they wanted to pass their own laws that made the taxing fair.

Patriots’ View

The colonists felt that they were attacked by the soldiers. No colonist had weapons, and the soldiers fired on a defenseless crowd that was only their to protest the soldiers living in Boston and controlling the colonists’ lives by fear.

Patriots’ View

The colonist felt that this new tax was just a way for England to control the colonist. The writ of assistance was way for the government to invade peoples’ private lives. The government still did not have the right to tax the colonist without their consent.

Patriots’ View

The colonist liked the letters and pamphlets. The 13 colonies became united against the British government because of the stories that they heard about the British taxes, soldiers actions and the punishing of the colonist.

Patriots’ View

The soldiers (minutemen) were only defending themselves against the illegal actions of the British army. They were created to defend the freedoms of the colonist.

Patriots’ View

The colonist loved this action. The protest sent a message (economically) to the King that the colonists would fight this tax on tea. Word was spread around the colonies and similar events took place in other cities.

Patriots’ View

The colonist felt that military and political action was needed. They felt that they were being invaded by a foreign country. Their freedoms and way of life were being threatened by the rules and soldiers of the English government.

Loyalists’ View:

The British loyalists felt that the colonist were easier to protect if they were not all spread out. Collecting taxes and enforcing laws would be easier with all of the colonists together.

Loyalists’ View:

The British government supported the Intolerable Acts. Order needed to be returned and the colonist must know who is in control of the colonies. More soldiers to watch the people and stricter laws were needed to teach the colonists a lesson.

Loyalists’ View:

The British government wanted to get the colonists to pay their fair share of the cost of the French and Indian War. By taxing the colonist the British wanted to send a message that they could control the colonist all the way across the Atlantic Ocean. The British wanted the life that the colonists had to be paid for by taxing items that the colonists used.

Loyalists’ View:

This act of terrorism was the final straw. The British government was angry at the act of violence and the money lost by destroying the tea. The government planned to punish the colonist severely for this act against the King.

Loyalists’ View

The Patriots felt that the tax was fair. The smugglers needed to be stopped (the British were losing money). The taxes needed to be paid to pay for the French and Indian War.

Loyalists’ View:

The British felt that the soldiers were only defending themselves against this angry group. Soldiers feared for their lives and felt that they were under attack from this large group. The leaders felt that they were only acting in self-defense.

Loyalists’ View:

The British government felt that the colonist were spreading lies about life in the colonies. They feared that with all of these letters and pamphlets being read that the colonies would gain support for their plan for independence.

Loyalists’ View:

The soldiers were illegally holding weapons and they were to throw down their weapons and yield to the King’s army.

Loyalists’ View:

The British government supported this new tax as a way to stop the smuggling of goods into the colonies without paying the taxes. The items that were taxed were building materials that would help the colonies grow and the government felt that paying for these taxes were only fair since the colonies were only free because of the English victory in the French and Indian War.

Result:

The British government was beginning to tighten their grip on the colonist way of economic life. They felt that a change was needed to force the colonists to stop cheating the government laws. The Patriots started to grumble about “No taxation without representation”.

Result:

The Boston Massacre was made into an engraving by Paul Revere (Silversmith). These picture was sent to all the colonies to show how cruel the British soldiers were treating the colonists. Their was a court trial and the soldiers were found guilty of firing on the crowd, but the punishment was very easy and the colonist were very mad.

Result:Colonists began to boycott (refuse to buy)

British goods, thus hurting the trade money that England was receiving from the colonies. The colonists also petitioned (wrote a letter asking for permission) to the King to remove the tax. In 1766, the Parliament repealed (removed) the Stamp Act, but the passed a law that allowed them to raise taxes whenever they felt that it was needed.

Result:

THE REVOLUTIONARY

WAR BEGAN

Result:In 1774, the Parliament passed the Intolerable

Acts. There were 4 parts to the Intolerable Acts.

1.) The Boston Harbor was closed-No ships could enter or leave.

2.) Colonist could not hold town meetings whenever they wanted. They were only allowed 1 meeting per year.

3.) British officials and soldiers accused of crimes would have their trials in England.

4.) Citizens were forced to have soldiers sleep in their homes (Quartering Act).

Result:

The King told the government to repeal the tax on all the items of the Townshend Act, but to keep the tax on tea. The colonist were spreading their ideas and more people were joining groups that protested the mistreatment of the colonies.

Result:Groups like the Sons of Liberty and the

Daughters of Liberty were formed to organize protests against the invasion of the government with taxes and government inspections. People made speeches and attacked tax collectors to send a message that they were angry over the tax. Farmers, traders and business owners signed the nonimportation agreement, which they promised to stop importing good taxed by the Townshend Act.

Result:

The colonists formed the 1st Continental Congress to set up a united government for the colonies. 12 of the 13 colonies sent representative (Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin). They made a decision to boycott all British made goods. They also created a militia (army of citizens) to protect the colonists from the British soldiers.

Result:

The tension between the colonists and the British government began to build. The British felt that the colonist should pay the bill for the French and Indian War (Keep the money close). The colonist did not feel like members of the British Crown, and now they felt like a country invaded by another group.