The Road to Independence

1. The Road to Independence Issues Behind the Revolution

2. Let’s Set it Up • The French and Indian war was long and costly • King George III thought he could exploit the colonies with taxes • This caused the resentment between Britain and colonies to grow – LESS British

3. Westward Expansion • Colonists began heading west after hearing reports of lands to the west of the Appalachian Mountains • This upset many Indian tribes, particularly those who had sided with the French in the war

4. Fighting broke out in many areas along the Ohio Valley • The British realized that they needed to control the situation

5. Lord Jeffrey Amherst • The British decided to send Lord Jeffrey Amherst to keep peace • Lord Amherst proved to be a poor choice as peacemaker • The French had treated the Indians as friends, whereas Amherst treated them as enemies • He raised prices on British goods sold to Indians and allowed English settlers to built forts on land promised to Indians through treaties

6. Chief Pontiac • An Ottawa Chief named Pontiacdecided to take action. • Pontiac began organizing many Indian tribes together to rebel against the British. • Pontiacs got tribes including the Delawares, Hurons, Illinois, Kickapoos, Miamis, Potawatomies, Senecas, Shawnees, Ottawas, and Chippewas to unite in the cause.

7. Pontiac and his Indian allies attacked Fort Pitt and Fort Detroit unsuccessfully, but were successful in taking just about every other fort on the frontier • Pontiac’s hope was that the French would come to their aid, but the British retook their forts before long • Pontiac’s braves began to abandon him during the winter, and by October 1763, he was informed by the British of the signing of the Treaty of Paris and most of the fighting stopped

8. Small battles continued until 1766 when Pontiac signed a peace treaty with the British • Some 2000 colonists killed or captured • On April 20, 1769, Pontiac was assassinated by a Peoria brave who stabbed him after another Peoria brave clubbed him from behind • The reason for the assassination is unclear.

9. Pontiac’s War convinced the British to close settlements west of the Appalachian Mountains. • They issued the Proclamation of 1763 which forbade colonists to settle west of the Appalachians • Required all colonists who had already settled West of the Appalachians to return to the colonies • Enforced the Proclamation of 1763 by sending 10,000 British troops to the area (which would be paid for by higher taxes in the colonies)

10. The Proclamation of 1763 was incredibly unpopular • Many settlers ignored the law and moved west anyway

11. Tensions Rise • The British government found itself in serious debt after the French & Indian War- £133,000,000!!! • Taxes in Great Britain rose tremendously! • As a result, Prime Minister George Greenville decided to institute a tax in the colonies on molasses, reasoning that the colonists had gained the most as a result of the French and Indian War and needed to pay their share of the debt

12. The SUGAR ACT of 1764 (Grenville American Revenue Act) was passed by Parliament • It replaced the Molasses Act of 1733 which forbade the import of foreign molasses (no molasses from French, Dutch, Spanish colonies)

13. The Sugar Act of 1764 • Most merchants and traders ignored the Molasses Act of 1733 and smuggled molasses from the West Indies or bribing tax collectors • But Grenville took measures to ensure that smuggling and bribes stopped, including more aggressive naval patrols • The Sugar Act reduced trade from the colonies (particularly rum). Because foreign nations would have to pay higher prices, many of them traded with other nations

14. Another British law that causes great controversy in the colonies is the Quartering Act (1765) • The Quartering Act required that colonists pay for the quartering (lodging) of British soldiers (as well as bedding, candles, and drinks) • At one point, the British were requiring the quartering of soldiers in private homes • The Quartering Act called for tax money to be used to pay for barracks and for lodging in taverns and Inns

15. Despite colonial anger about the Sugar Act, Grenville decided to get Parliament to impose another tax the following year • The Stamp Act of 1765 imposed a tax on 55 types of printed material including wills, diplomas, almanacs, newspapers, playing cards, and dice • These items required a government stamp to prove that taxes had been paid The purpose of the Stamp Act was to help pay for the large number of British troops in the colonies Actual British Government Stamp

16. Protests broke out in • New York City, • Newport, RI, • Boston, MA • Hartford, CT and Charleston, SC • Mobs burned effigies (likenesses) of tax collectors and some were tarred and feathered

17. The British were surprised and outraged by the colonists unwillingness to accept the taxes • The British paid 25 times more in taxes than the colonists. • The average colonist paid the equivalent of $1.20 in taxes per year

18. NO TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION! • The problem with that, the colonists argued, was not with the tax itself, but with the fact that they were being taxed without representation in Parliament (the right to be taxed with representation, they argued, dated back to the Magna Carta). • What they wanted was colonial approval of taxes in their own legislatures • Patrick Henry drafted the Virginia Resolves of 1765 which stated that only the Virginia Assemble could raise taxes on their citizens

19. On October 7, 1765, the first meeting of the Stamp Act Congress was held in New York City by delegates opposed to the Stamp Act • The meeting was the idea of James Otis • Delegates from 9 colonies attended • (VA, NH, NC and GA declined)

20. The delegates drew up petitions to King George III and Parliament stating that they had no right to tax the colonies • They also organized boycotts of British goods • The boycott resulted in a 14% drop in trade • British merchants and workers suffered because of the boycott

21. Taxes Continue • In 1766, the Parliament repealed the Stamp Act, but it passed the Declaratory Actwhich reserved the right of the Parliament to raise taxes on the colonies, and make any laws they wished • Although the colonists were happy about the repeal, taxation without representation would still be an issue

22. Review 4 #2 • 1. Who did the British choose to bring peace to the areas west of the Appalachian Mountains? • What did the person above do to hurt relations between the British and Indians? • What Ottawa Chief organized several Indian tribes to fight against the British? • What nation had the Indians hoped would come to their aid? • After receiving what news did the Indians effectively end the attacks? • List three things that the Proclamation of 1763 did? • What was the Sugar Act of 1764? • What types of items did the Stamp Act of 1765 tax? • What did colonists do to demonstrate their outrage over the Stamp Act of 1765? • Why were many in Great Britain outraged by the colonists response to paying higher taxes? • Why did the colonists consider the taxes imposed by the Parliament unfair? • Who is believed to be the first to say, “Taxation without representation is tyranny”? • Who drafted the (a) Virginia Resolves of 1765 and (b) Instructions to the Town of Braintree ? • What group met for the first time on October 7, 1765 in order to draft petitions to King George III demanding that he repeal colonial taxes? • What tactic, or form of protest, ultimately led to the repeal of the Stamp Act of 1765.