Ch. 5, Sec. 2—Building Colonial Unity

1. Ch. 5, Sec. 2—Building Colonial Unity Objectives Know why colonists and British soldiers clashed, resulting in the Boston Massacre. Be familiar with how the British government tried to maintain its control over the colonies.

2. Trouble in Boston • 1768—Custom officers sent word back to Britain that colonists were on brink of __________. • Parliament responded by sending 2 regiments of troops to Boston. • New “redcoats” (Bloodybacks & lobsters) set up camp in middle of city. • Many soldiers were rude and violent toward colonists. • Fighting often took place between soldiers and ________. • Colonists’ hatred for soldiers grew stronger every day.

3. Boston Massacre • March 5, 1770—tension reached its peak. • Fight broke out earlier in day between townspeople and soldiers. • Some soldiers tried to calm the crowd. • Angry townspeople picked up _________ and marched through streets toward customhouse. • Crowd approached, sentry on duty panicked and called for help. • Crowd responded by throwing stones, snowballs, oyster shells, and pieces of wood at soldiers. • One soldier knocked down & nervous redcoats fired into crowd, killing _____ colonists.

4. Dead Colonists Among those killed in the Boston Massacre was Crispus Attucks. Generally believed to be a runaway slave, he is featured prominently in several of the engravings of the Massacre, and is considered in legend to be the first casualty in the American Revolution. He was a dockworker who was part African, part Native American. Also killed was Samuel Gray, Samuel Maverick, James Caldwell, and Patrick Carr. Crispus Attucks

5. The Word Spreads • Colonial leaders, like Samuel Adams, used killings as __________. • (Information designed to influence opinion) • Adams put up posters describing “Massacre” as slaughter of innocent Americans by “bloodthirsty Redcoats.” • __________ engraving showed British officer giving order to open fire. • “Massacre” led colonists to call for stronger boycotts of British goods. (Propaganda) • Some colonial leaders called for resistance to British rule. • 1772—Sam Adams revived the committee of _______________ in Boston to circulate colonists’ complaints against Britain. • Parliament repealed Townshend Acts, except tax on tea.

6. The colonist version The British version The engraving on the left, created by Paul Revere, demonstrates the colonial view of the massacre, with the British appearing to be the aggressors. The painting on the right, done by a British artist, shows the colonists armed and the British soldiers more in a defensive posture.

7. Crisis over Tea • Parliament passed the ________ of 1773 to save the British East India Company from going under. • Gave the Company right to ship tea to colonies w/o paying most of taxes placed on tea. • Also allowed company to sell tea directly to shopkeepers at extremely low prices. • Colonists again boycotted British goods, denouncing a British monopoly. • Felt this was another way to crush colonists’ liberty. • Colonists vowed to stop Company’s ships from unloading. • Parliament ignored warnings. • Ships sent to New York and Philadelphia were __________. • Ships sent to Charles Town were seized & stored in a warehouse.

8. Boston Tea Party • 3 ships arrived in Boston Harbor in December 1773, refusing to turn back. • Royal governor ordered ships to be unloaded 50 members of the Sons of Liberty, led by Samuel Adams, dressed up like Mohawk Indians and boarded the ships, removing 342 chests of tea and throwing it overboard into the Harbor. More than 10,000 pounds sterling worth ($800,000) of tea was destroyed.

9. Intolerable Acts • Passed in response to the Boston Tea Party by Parliament in 1774. • Officially called the “_____________”, but they were nicknamed the “Intolerable Acts” in the colonies. • Coercive Acts closed Boston Harbor. • They were designed to punish the colony of ____________ until the tea destroyed in the Boston Tea Party was paid for.