New Taxes and Tensions
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Transcript of New Taxes and Tensions
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A Tea TaxParliament repealed most of the Townshend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?