Taxes and Boycotts

The Treaty of ParisTreaty of Paris that ended the French and Indian WarFrench and Indian War doubled the size of Great Britain’s North American empire. The huge territory brought problems as well as money to the British. The territory was too expensive to support and defend. When Great Britain asked the colonist to pay for the services they received…they grew angry…and eventually protested against British rule

17501750 17631763

King George IIIChanges that were taking place in Great Britain soon clouded the colonist’s bright future. A new King, George IIIGeorge III, was crowned in 1760. He was not a bright man…in fact, some say he was really, really stupid. Worse yet, he surrounded himself with people like himself…stupid! He was take-charge kind of king and he soon set his sights on the English Colonies in the Americas. His actions soon angered many colonists!

Trouble in the Frontier

• During the war, most Native Americans supported the French. The English had driven the French out of the Ohio Valley after the war but the Indians remained. One, named PontiacPontiac, sent word to other clans to attack the British. This rebellion against the British at a fort named Fort Fort DetroitDetroit, a military outpost in the Great lakes Region took the British by surprise. The Native Americans captured several forts and frontier settlements. When Pontiac learned the French had signed an agreement not to help the Natives…his forces stopped fighting.

Pontiac’s Rebellion

The Proclamation of 1763

• Pontiac’s RebellionPontiac’s Rebellion led the British and King GeorgeKing George to close the western lands to settlement. King George III issued an order, known as the Proclamation of 1763, that forbade colonists from settling west of the Appalachian Mountains.

• The American colonists hated the proclamation. They suggested the king’s order smelled of tyranny, or unjust use of government power. They argued the lands in the east were already settled. They wanted a chance to get rich off of the rich land and fur trade in the Ohio Valley. Some colonists simply ignored George III order and moved west anyway. To enforce the proclamation, the British government stationed troops in frontier forts. This further angered the colonists, who disliked any idea of a military force from England here.

Could you imagine if your parents bought you this, and they refused to let you drive it? Especially if you helped them pay for it!

Ferrari

Pinto

The Stamp Act• The British government had other problems besides keeping the colonists

and Native Americans from killing each other. One was how to pay off a large debt left by the French and Indian War. The solution was clear to the English Prime Minister George Greenville…head of Parliament, have the colonists pay taxes! People in Britain were already paying taxes on everything from windows to salt. Americans were the least taxed people in the English Empire. It was time, said Greenville, for the colonists to pay their fair share of the costs of protecting themcolonists to pay their fair share of the costs of protecting them!

• In 1765, Greenville proposed a new act, or law, called the

Stamp ActStamp Act. This law required all colonists to buy a stamp for every piece of paper they used. Newspapers had to be printed on stamped paper. Wills, licenses, and even playing cards had to have the stamps. Once again, the colonists screamed

TYRANNY!

Stamp Act 1765

Stamp Act and George Greenville

• It wasn’t just the idea of higher taxes that upset the colonists. They were willing to pay taxes passed by their own assemblies, where their own

representatives from the colonies could represent them. But the colonists had NO Representative in Parliament. For this reason, Parliament had no right to tax them…do you hear John Locke’s words? They saw the Stamp Act as a violation of their rights as English citizens.

NO TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION!

They cried.

Stamp Act 1765

Some colonists protested the Stamp Act by sending messages to Parliament. Loyalists (Supporters of the king.) simply refused to buy stamps. Patriots (Americans who opposed the king and English rule.) took more violent act. Mobs

calling themselves the “Sons of Liberty” attacked some tax collectors. After months of protest, Parliament repealed, or cancelled, the Stamp Act!

Stamp Act Controversy

Protest Tyranny!

The Quartering Act

• As anger over the Stamp Act began to fade, Americans noticed another law passed by Parliament in 1765. Called the Quartering Act, this law ordered colonists to provide British troops with quarters, or housing. They were also told to provide the soldiers with “candles, bedding, cooking utensils, salt, vinegar, and…beer!” Once again, the colonists smelled

Tyranny and began to protest…Still no colonists was allowed to be a member of Parliament even though they were English!

Tyranny: The unjust use of government power. A ruler who uses power in this way is said to be a Tyrant!

Quartering Act 1765

Townshend Acts

• The next British leader to face the challenges of taxing the colonies was Charles Townshend…New Prime Minister. He was known as “Champaign Charlie” because he liked to drink. He was bound and determined to get control of the colonists! To him, the colonists needed a firm hand and he was about to show how tough he was. Townshend

talked Parliament into passing the Townshend Acts 1767. This put a duty, or tax, on certain goods the colonists imported from Britain. These goods included such needed items as: glass, paper, paint, and tea. Townshend kept his promise to tax the colonists and later caught the flu and died. His new duties made the colonists even more upset…still no member in Parliament from the colonies…Tyranny!

No Taxation Without Representation!

Townshend Act 1767

Protest to Townshend Duties 1767

British Actions against Colonies1. Navigational Acts 1750…No use of colonial

ships…only sell to British…only buy from British…(Mercantilism)

2. Proclamation of 1763…No colonists allowed to cross Appalachian Mountains.

3. Stamp Act 1765…All colonists must pay tax for a stamp on all paper products.

4. Quartering Act 1765…Forced colonists to house standing British army in colonies!

5. Townshend Acts 1767…Colonists forced to pay Duty, or tax on paint, tea, paper, and glass.

Peaceful Protests• A popular method of protest was to

boycott, in which people refused to buy British goods. The first colonial boycott started in New York in 1765. It soon spread to other colonies…remember how the Great Awakening bonded everyone together in the 1740s…now was the time to act. Colonists hoped that their efforts would hurt the British economy and might convince Parliament to end the new taxes.

• Do you think Parliament had the right to tax the colonies without their consent?

Mob Violence Breaks Out• On March 5, 1770, a noisy mob began

throwing rocks and snowballs at troops guarding the Boston Commons House. They dared the British soldiers to shoot! Some Patriot leaders tried to get the colonists to go home. So did Captain Thomas Preston, the commander of the soldiers. But their pleas had no effect. As the mob pressed forward, someone knocked a soldier to the ground. The troops opened fire. Two bullets struck Crispus AttucksCrispus Attucks, a large black man at the front of the crowd. He was the first to die, but not the last. The enraged crowd went home only after receiving a promise that the soldiers would be tried for murder!

Massacre or Self-Defense?

Paul Revere's Engraving, Sam and John Adams roles.

The Boston Tea Party

• Despite the hopes of Patriots like Sam Adams, the Boston Massacre did not spark new protests against British rule. Instead, Britain repealed the Towshend Duties and colonists like John Adams represented the soldiers during the Boston Massacre. A jury decided, they were within their rights to protect themselves and Adams cleared these men…even though he did not like the British rule. He thought everyone deserved a fair trial. The colonies went through a period of calm. There was still a small duty on tea. Things did not stay peaceful for long. In 1773, a new law

called the TEA ACT prompted more protests. One of them was an incident called

the Boston Tea Party.

Boston Tea Party 1773

The Tea Act 1773• The Tea ActTea Act was Lord North’s (The new Prime

Minister replacing Charles Townshend) attempt to recue the British East India Company. This large trading company controlled all the trade between Asia and America. For years, it had been the money maker for Great Britain. By 1773, it was in danger of being broke. It needed to sell off 17 million pounds of tea that was sitting in a British warehouse. The Tea ActTea Act lowered the cost of the tea but forced the colonists to buy only East India Tea. This gave the East India Company a monopoly on tea sold in the colonies. It was supposed to help everyone. Instead it angered colonists even more. The colonists thought it was an attempt to tax them without any say so again. Tyranny! What might Great Britain try to impose on us next?

The Tea Ships Arrive

• When the British East India Company’s tea ships sailed into American ports, angry protesters kept them from unloading their cargo. More than one ship was turned back to England, still filled with tea. The British governor of Massachusetts ordered the port of Boston to accept these ships! On December 16, 1773, the Sons of Liberty decided to unload the tea, but not in the way the governor thought. That night, about 50 men dressed as Mohawk Indians boarded three ships and dumped about 90,000 pounds of tea into the harbor. Nothing else on the ship was touched. News of the Boston Tea PartyBoston Tea Party deeply angered Lord North. He thought he was doing the colonists a favor…giving them cheap tea and this is what they do! The colonists have called out the full anger of the British crown! Britain’s anger led to Parliament passing a new series of laws in 1774. These laws were so harsh that they were unbearable! For this reason, they are called the Intolerable ActsIntolerable Acts!

The Intolerable Acts 1774• Britain’s anger over the Boston Tea Party led Parliament to pass a

series of laws in 1774. These laws were so harsh, they were called Intolerable. The Intolerable Acts were designed to punish Boston and Massachusetts for the protests. Here are the Intolerable Acts:

1. Closed down the port of Boston until the tea was paid for.

2. Placed the government of Massachusetts totally in the control of the British. Massachusetts colonists could not even have town meetings without British say so. No more colonial assemblies. No more representatives from Massachusetts making decisions for Massachusetts.

3. British soldiers who were accused of crimes could not be tried in the colonies. They would be tried in England.

4. Finally, more troops were sent in from Britain and the colonists had to pay even more money to keep them up…Quartering Act.

A few British leaders were worried these laws would push the colonists into rebellion, but George III was going to push the colonists into submission!

Colonies Begin to Unite• In fact, the Intolerable Acts did not force

the colonists to give in. Boston said they would not pay one penny for the tea and the other colonies united by the Great Awakening supported Massachusetts. Many colonies sent food and money to Boston so that its colonists would not starve. An attack on Massachusetts would be an attack on all the colonies! There were Loyalists around that disagreed and thought Bostonians should be forced to pay for the tea. If forced to choose, they would support the king. They would side against Sam Adams and the Son’s of Liberty. The Son’s of Liberty were pushing towards war. Sam Adams would push even harder for this fight!

First Continental Congress

• Benjamin Franklin called the Boston Tea Party “an act of violent injustice,” and some Boston merchants were willing to start a collection to pay for damage. To the British government, the Boston Massacre was an act of lawlessness that deserved severe punishment.

The First Continental Congress:The First Continental Congress:

In September 1774, some 50 leaders from 12 colonies met in Philadelphia. The meeting brought together delegates from most of the British colonies on the North American Continent. For this reason, it is called the First Continental Congress. Most delegates saw themselves as English and were strong Loyalists. Others, like George Washington were somewhere in the middle between strong Tory and Loyalist. In spite of their differences, the delegates agreed to send a message to King George. The message urged the king to consider their complaints and recognize their rights as English Citizens. The delegates also called for a new boycott of British made goods until the British repealed the Intolerable Acts. They agreed to meet again the following May if the boycott didn’t work.

First Continental Congress Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1774

The Colonies Form Militias

• In towns and cities throughout the colonies, Patriots appointed committees to enforce the boycott. They also began to organize local militias. In New England, the volunteers called themselves MinutemenMinutemen because they were ready to fights at a moments notice. Across the colonies, militias marched and drilled. Instead of forcing the colonists to give in, the Intolerable Acts had brought the two sides closer to war!

Both sides are looking towards war. America has the cause and fights for freedom…England has the power of the crown. It will result in bloodshed. It will be NO Glorious Revolution!

Colonial Militias

On the Brink of War!

• King George had made a mistake in his decisions about the colonies. The Continental Congress listed these mistakes in a message to the king. Now he made another one. Rather than consider the colonial requests, King George refused to answer their pleas for help. “The New England governments are in a state of rebellion”, he said. “Blows must decide whether they are to be subject to this country, or independent.” In Boston, General Gage, the king’s commander of British troops in America, got ready to deliver those blows.

General Gage

Lexington and Concord• In April 1775, a spy told General Gage that the colonists were hiding a large

supply of gunpowder and weapons in the nearby village of Concord, Gage decided to strike at once. The general ordered 700 of his best troops to march on Concord and seize the weapons. The attack had to be a surprise.

• The colonists had their own spies. When Gage’s troops slipped out of Boston, Patriots were watching their every move. Soon Paul Revere and William Dawes were on the move galloping through the countryside warning people that the British were coming!…The Committees of Correspondence were warning people. (One of by land, two if by sea…lanterns in the North Church)

• At Lexington, a village on the road to Concord, a small band of Minutemen gathered in the chilly night air. “Stand Your Ground”, ordered Captain John Parker. “Don’t fire unless fired upon! But if they mean to have a war, let it begin here!!!” Suddenly, British troops appeared in the early morning mist. A shot rang out-from where, no one was sure. Without orders, the soldiers rushed forward, shooting wildly. When the firing stopped, eight colonists lay dead or dying. The British gave three cheers for victory and marched on to Concord.

Paul Revere and William Dawes

Listen my children and you shall hearOf the midnight ride of Paul Revere,

On the eighteenth of April, in Seventy-five;Hardly a man is now alive

Who remembers that famous day and year.He said to his friend, "If the British march

By land or sea from the town to-night,Hang a lantern aloft in the belfry archOf the North Church tower as a signal

light,--One if by land, and two if by sea;

And I on the opposite shore will be,Ready to ride and spread the alarm

Through every Middlesex village and farm,For the country folk to be up and to arm."

Lexington and Concord

Old North Bridge…Shot Heard Around the World!

The Second Blow at Concord• By breakfast time, the British were in Concord, looking for gunpowder and

Sam Adams. The colonists had moved the gunpowder and hidden their weapons. In frustration the soldiers piled up a few wooden tools, tents, and gun carriages and set them on fire. On a ridge outside the city, militiamen from the surrounding countryside watched the smoke rise. The volunteers ran down the hill. As they approached, the British troops opened fire. The British expected the militia to run but the Minutemen stood their ground. A few minutes later, it was the redcoats running for their lives. The retreat back to Boston was a nightmare. Minutemen lined the route shooting them at will. By the end of the day, 74 British soldiers were dead, and another 200 missing or wounded.

• The British had been mistaken about the Americans again and again. Their biggest mistake was thinking ordinary people-farmers, merchants, lawyers, and housewives-would not fight for their rights. Instead, Americans proved they were willing to die for these rights they held so dear.

Concord, Massachusetts

Retreat from Concord!