Chapter 6 The Road to Revolution

1. Chapter 6 The Road to Revolution England tightens control over the colonies

2. Tensions Arise With England • After the French and Indian War, Britain wanted to govern all its landholdings in North America equally • Parliament began to impose new laws and restrictions on colonists • After the period of Salutary Neglect, many colonists felt their freedoms were being limited

3. Proclamation of 1763 • Forbade colonists from settling west of the Appalachian Mountains • England wanted to prevent further conflict with the Natives, especially after Pontiac’s Rebellion • Colonists wanted to move into the fertile valley of the Ohio River and many felt they had earned the right by helping to win the war

4. England exerts its authority • England knew it would have to enforce the Proclamation and needed troops in the colonies to do that. • Quartering Act (1765) –Required colonists to house British soldiers and provide them with supplies • Most of the troops were stationed in New York with General Thomas Gage

5. England exerts its authority • England had a huge debt from the war, and the quartering act required even more money. • Colonial assemblies had been responsible for creating taxes to support the colonial military • Sugar Act (1765) – tax on sugar, molasses and other products shipped to colonies; included a harsh punishment for smuggling

6. “Taxation without representation is tyranny!” • Many colonial merchants had been trading smuggled goods and reacted angrily to the new enforcement • Colonial leaders decried the direct taxation by Parliament • James Otis argued that Parliament had no right to tax the colonies because they had no direct representation in Parliament • England argued that since colonists benefited from English laws they were subject to be taxed.

7. Stamp Act (1765) • Required that all legal and commercial documents have an official stamp showing a tax had been paid for them • New type of tax – not on imported goods, but applied to items within the colonies. • It was a tax directly on colonists • Colonial leaders continued to question the legality of being taxed without representation

8. Stamp Act Congress • Met in New York City; first time colonies met to act together in protest • Created petition to King protesting the act • Declared right to tax the colonies rested with colonial legislatures • Colonial merchants boycotted British goods

9. Sons of Liberty • Colonists formed secret societies to oppose British policies • Most were people whose businesses were most affected by the tax • Many groups staged protests against the taxes; some were violent with fires set and tax collectors tarred and feathered

10. Stamp Act Repealed • The protests had an effect on British Merchants. They were scared their trade with the colonies would be hurt • William Pitt agreed with colonists about taxation and representation and criticized the Stamp Act • Parliament repealed the Stamp Act in 1766 • Declaratory Act (1766) – Parliament declared it had supreme power over the colonies