Albany Plan of Union

1. Albany Plan of Union The Albany Congress • It should be noted here that the good intentions of colonial leaders only went so far. Though these petitions were offered, repeated attempts to organize the colonies met with jealous resistance. In June of 1754, representatives from seven colonies met with 150 Iroquois Chiefs in Albany, New York. The purposes of the Albany Congress were twofold; to try to secure the support and cooperation of the Iroquois in fighting the French, and to form a colonial alliance based on a design by Benjamin Franklin. The plan of union was passed unanimously. But when the delegates returned to their colonies with the plan, not a single provincial legislature would ratify it. Franklin's plan resembled the Articles of Confederation, and would have provided for coordinated taxation and militia forces to defend the frontiers.

2. Proclamation of 1763 The end of the French and Indian War in 1763 was a cause for great celebration in the colonies, for it removed several ominous barriers and opened up a host of new opportunities for the colonists. The French had effectively hemmed in the British settlers and had, from the perspective of the settlers, played the "Indians" against them. The first thing on the minds of colonists was the great western frontier that had opened to them when the French ceded that contested territory to the British. The royal proclamation of 1763 did much to dampen that celebration. The proclamation, in effect, closed off the frontier to colonial expansion. The King and his council presented the proclamation as a measure to calm the fears of the Indians, who felt that the colonists would drive them from their lands as they expanded westward. Many in the colonies felt that the object was to pen them in along the Atlantic seaboard where they would be easier to regulate. No doubt there was a large measure of truth in both of these positions. However the colonists could not help but feel a strong resentment when what they perceived to be their prize was snatched away from them. The proclamation provided that all lands west of the heads of all rivers which flowed into the Atlantic Ocean from the west or northwest were off-limits to the colonists. This excluded the rich Ohio Valley and all territory from the Ohio to the Mississippi rivers from settlement.

3. Sugar Act • The Revenue Act of 1764, also known as the Sugar Act, was the first tax on the American colonies imposed by the British Parliament. Its purpose was to raise revenue through the colonial customs service and to give customs agents more power and latitude with respect to executing seizures and enforcing customs law. That the Act came from an external body rather than a colonial legislature alarmed a handful of colonial leaders in Boston who held that the Act violated their “British privileges”. • Their principle complaint was against taxation without representation. Just as important, however, were the Act’s profound implications for the colonial judicial system, for the Revenue Act of 1764 allowed British officers to try colonists who violated the new duties at a new Vice-Admiralty court in Halifax, Nova Scotia, thus depriving the colonists of their right to trial by a jury of their peers. The seriousness of this was not lost on the Massachusetts Legislature: “The extension of the powers of the courts of vice-admiralty has, so far as the jurisdiction of the said courts hath been extended, deprived the colonies of one of the most valuable of English liberties, trials by juries” (Petition from the Massachusetts Legislature to the House of Commons, 3 November 1764). The Act also established new trial procedures which essentially freed customs officers from all responsibility and from effective civil suits for damages in colonial courts. • While a handful of colonial leaders recognized the grave implications of the Revenue Act, it was not until news of the Stamp Act reached the colonies that the seeds of rebellion were planted in the hearts and minds of the broader public.

4. Stamp Act • The Stamp Act of 1765 (short title Duties in American Colonies Act 1765; 5 George III, c. 12) was the fourth Stamp Act to be passed by the Parliament of Great Britain but the first attempt to impose such a direct tax on the colonies. The act required all legal documents, permits, commercial contracts, newspapers, wills, pamphlets, and playing cards in the American colonies to carry a tax stamp. It was part of an economic program directly effecting colonial policy that was necessitated by Britain’s greatly increased national debt incurred during the British victory in the Seven Years War (the North American theater of the war was referred to as the French and Indian War). • Britain found it necessary to maintain a significant military presence in North America due to the added defense requirements resulting from the vast new territories acquired during the war and the threat from Native Americans in the western frontier exemplified by the outbreak of Pontiac's Rebellion in 1763. The British felt that the colonies were the primary beneficiaries of these military preparations and should pay for at least a portion of the current and future expenses directly incurred in North America. The less controversial (from a colonial standpoint) Sugar Act of 1764 and the Stamp Act were the initial attempts to raise these funds from the colonists. Parliament announced in April of 1764 when the Sugar Act was passed that they would also consider a stamp tax in the colonies. A stamp tax had been an effective and easy to administer source of revenue within Great Britain for years. Although opposition to this possible tax from the colonies was soon forthcoming, there was little expectation in Britain, either by members of Parliament or American agents in Great Britain such as Benjamin Franklin, of the intensity of the protest that the tax would generate. The Stamp Act was passed by a large majority on March 22, 1765, and went into effect later that year on November 1. • Once in effect, the tax met with great resistance in the colonies. For over a century the colonists had insisted on their rights as Englishmen to be taxed only with their consent – consent that was granted only to their colonial legislatures. All colonial assemblies sent petitions of protests and the Stamp Act Congress, reflecting the first significant joint colonial response to any British measure, also petitioned Parliament and the King. Local protest groups, led by colonial merchants and landowners, established connections through correspondence that created a loose coalition that extended from New England to Georgia. Protests and demonstrations initiated by these groups often turned violent and destructive as the masses became involved. Very soon all stamp tax distributors were intimidated into resigning their commissions, and the tax was never effectively collected. • Opposition to the Stamp Act was not limited to the colonies. British merchants and manufacturers, whose exports to the colonies were threatened by colonial economic problems exacerbated by the tax, also pressured Parliament. The Act was repealed on March 18, 1766 as a matter of expedience, but Parliament affirmed its power to tax the colonies “in all cases whatsoever” by also passing the Declaratory Act. This incident increased the colonists' concerns about the intent of the British Parliament and added fuel to the growing movement that became the American Revolution.

5. Quartering Act British officers who had fought in the French and Indian War found it hard to persuade colonial assemblies to pay for quartering and provisioning of their troops. Lieutenant General Thomas Gage, Commander in Chief of British North American Forces, asked Parliament to do something about it. Many colonies had supplied the troops with provisions during wartime, but this issue was now being debated during peacetime. The Province of New York assembly passed an act to provide for the quartering of British regulars, which expired on January 1, 1764. The Quartering Act of 1765 went way beyond what Thomas Gage had requested. Of course, the colonists disputed the legality of this Act because it seemed to violate the Bill of Rights of 1689, which forbid taxation without representation and the raising or keeping a standing army without the consent of Parliament. The colonists wondered why the British troops remained in North America after the French had been defeated. The Quartering Act stated that Great Britain would house its soldiers in American barracks and public houses. And if the soldiers outnumbered colonial housing, they would be quartered in inns, alehouses, barns, other buildings, etc. 1,500 British troops arrived in New York City in 1766 and the New York Provincial Assembly refused to comply with the Quartering Act and refused to supply billeting for the troops; the British troops were forced to remain on their ships. For failure to comply with the Quartering Act, Parliament suspended the Province of New York’s Governor and legislature in 1767 and 1769. In 1771, the New York Assembly allocated funds for the quartering of the British troops. All other colonies, with the exception of Pennsylvania, refused to comply with the Quartering Act; this act expired on March 24, 1767.

6. Declaratory Act, 1766 Declaration by the British Parliament that accompanied the repeal of the Stamp Act. It stated that the British Parliament’s taxing authority was the same in America as in Great Britain. Parliament had directly taxed the colonies for revenue in the Sugar Act (1764) and the Stamp Act (1765). Parliament mollified the recalcitrant colonists by repealing the distasteful Stamp Act, but it actually hardened its principle in the Declaratory Act by asserting its complete authority to make binding laws on the American colonies “in all cases whatsoever.” This crisis focused attention on the unresolved question of Parliament’s relationship to a growing empire. The act particularly illustrated British insensitivity to the political maturity that had developed in the American provinces during the 18th century. Parliamentary suspension of the New York Assembly (1767) increased colonial alarm, and each new regulatory act added to the colonists’ fear of the parliamentary threat to well-established colonial institutions of self-government.

7. Sons of Liberty The Sons of Liberty, a well-organized Patriot paramilitary political organization shrouded in secrecy, was established to undermine British rule in colonial America and was influential in organizing and carrying out the Boston Tea Party. The origins and founding of the Sons of Liberty is unclear, but history records the earliest known references to the organization to 1765 in the thriving colonial port cities of Boston and New York. More than likely, the Boston and New York chapters of the Sons of Liberty were deliberately established at the same time and worked as an underground network in conjunction with each other. It is believed the Sons of Liberty was formed out of earlier smaller scale like-minded Patriot organizations such as the “Boston Caucus Club” and “Loyal Nine.” Membership was made up of males from all walks of colonial society but was notorious in recruiting tavern mongers, wharf rats, and other seedy characters looking to cause trouble. Under the cover of darkness, the Boston chapter of the organization held their meetings under the “Liberty Tree,” and the New York chapter under the “Liberty Pole.” The “Liberty Tree” was located in Hanover Square, “the most public part” of Boston and was a 120-year-old “stately elm” with branches that “seem’d to touch the skies” according to the Boston Gazette. Taverns, with owners sympathetic to the Patriot cause, were also the favorite meeting places of the Sons of Liberty. The Green Dragon Tavern in Boston was the tavern of choice for meetings of the Sons of Liberty. Despite very little documentary evidence as to the origins of the organization, Boston Patriot Samuel Adams is often credited as being the founder and leader of the Sons of Liberty. The Sons of Liberty was most likely organized in the summer of 1765 as a means to protest the passing of the Stamp Act of 1765. Their motto was, “No taxation without representation.”

8. Non-Importation Association / Boycott • The merchants and traders in the town of Boston having taken into consideration the deplorable situation of the trade, and the many difficulties it at present labours under on account of the scarcity of money, which is daily increasing for want of the other remittances to discharge our debts in Great Britain, and the large sums collected by the officers of the customs for duties on goods imported; the heavy taxes levied to discharge the debts contracted by the government in the late war; the embarrassments and restrictions laid on trade by several late acts of parliament; together with the bad success of our cod fishery, by which our principal sources of remittance are like to be greatly diminished, and we thereby rendered unable to pay the debts we owe the merchants in Great Britain, and to continue the importation of goods from thence; We, the subscribers, in order to relieve the trade under those discouragements, to promote industry, frugality, and economy, and to discourage luxury, and every kind of extravagance, do promise and engage to and with each other as follows: • First, That we will not send for or import from Great Britain, either upon our own account, or upon commission, this fall, any other goods than what are already ordered for the fall supply. • Secondly, That we will not send for or import any kind of goods or merchandize from Great Britain, either on our own account, or on commissions, or any otherwise, from the 1st of January 1769, to the 1st of January 1770, except salt, coals, fish hooks and lines, hemp, and duck bar lead and shot, woolcards and card wire. • Thirdly, That we will not purchase of any factor, or others, any kind of goods imported from Great Britain, from January 1769, to January 1770. • Fourthly, That we will not import, on our own account, or on commissions or purchase of any who shall import from any other colony in America, from January 1769, to January 17 70, any tea, glass, paper, or other goods commonly imported from Great Britain. • Fifthly, That we will not, from and after the 1st of January 1769, import into this province any tea, paper, glass, or painters colours, until the act imposing duties on those articles shall be repealed. • In witness whereof, we have hereunto set our hands, this first day of August, 1768.

9. Boston Massacre • The Boston Massacre was a street fight that occurred on March 5, 1770, between a "patriot" mob, throwing snowballs, stones, and sticks, and a squad of British soldiers. Several colonists were killed and this led to a campaign by speech-writers to rouse the ire of the citizenry. • The presence of British troops in the city of Boston was increasingly unwelcome. The riot began when about 50 citizens attacked a British sentinel. A British officer, Captain Thomas Preston, called in additional soldiers, and these too were attacked, so the soldiers fired into the mob, killing 3 on the spot (a black sailor named Crispus Attucks, ropemaker Samuel Gray, and a mariner named James Caldwell), and wounding 8 others, two of whom died later (Samuel Maverick and Patrick Carr). • A town meeting was called demanding the removal of the British and the trial of Captain Preston and his men for murder. At the trial, John Adams and Josiah Quincy II defended the British, leading to their acquittal and release. Samuel Quincy and Robert Treat Paine were the attorneys for the prosecution. Later, two of the British soldiers were found guilty of manslaughter. • The Boston Massacre was a signal event leading to the Revolutionary War. It led directly to the Royal Governor evacuating the occupying army from the town of Boston. It would soon bring the revolution to armed rebellion throughout the colonies. • Note that the occupation of Boston by British troops in 1768 was not met by open resistance.

10. Boston Tea Party • Governor Thomas Hutchinson allowed three ships carrying tea to enter Boston Harbor. Before the tax could be collected, Bostonians took action. On a cold December night, radical townspeople stormed the ships and tossed 342 chests of tea into the water. Disguised as Native Americans, the offenders could not be identified. “I dressed myself in the costume of an Indian, equipped with a small hatchet, which I and my associates denominated the tomahawk, with which, and a club, after having painted my face and hands with coal dust in the shopof a blacksmith, I repaired to Griffin's wharf, where the ships lay that contained the tea... We then were ordered by our commander to open the hatches and take out all the chests of tea and throw them overboard, and we immediately proceeded to execute his orders, first cutting and splitting the chests with our tomahawks, so as thoroughly to expose them to the effects of the water. In about three hours from the time we went on board, we had thus broken and thrown overboard every tea chest to be found in the ship, while those in the other ships were disposing of the tea in the same way, at the same time. We were surrounded by British armed ships, but no attempt was made to resist us.” – Anonymous, "Account of the Boston Tea Party by a Participant," (1773) • The damage in modern American dollars exceeded three quarters of a million dollars. Not a single British East India Company chest of tea bound for the 13 colonies reached its destination. Not a single American colonist had a cup of that tea. • Only the fish in Boston Harbor had that pleasure.

11. Intolerable Acts, 1774 The British parliament responded to the Boston Tea Party by passing four laws. The colonies called these laws the "Intolerable Acts." The British closed the Boston Harbor pending the people of Boston paying for the lost tea, and paying the required tax. They also eliminated the Massachusetts elected government council. They replaced it with council members appointed by the King. They gave the governor new powers, such as the ability to control public meetings. They also changed the Justice Act so that people charged with violent crimes would be tried in England. They expanded the Quartering Act requiring British troops to be housed in private homes. Lastly, to prevent the colonies from growing bigger and stronger, they passed the Quebec Act which extended the Canadian border southward to the Ohio River eliminating the colonies claim to the land.

12. Battle of Lexington and Concord, 1775 The first shots starting the revolution were fired at Lexington, Massachusetts. On April 18, 1775, British General Thomas Gage sent 700 soldiers to destroy guns and ammunition the colonists had stored in the town of Concord, just outside of Boston. They also planned to arrest Samuel Adams and John Hancock, two of the key leaders of the patriot movement.

13. Battle of Lexington and Concord Dr. Joseph Warren learned of the British plans and sent Paul Revere to alert John Hancock and Samuel Adams. Paul Revere promised to warn them when the British soldiers started to march. Since he wasn't sure that he would be able to get out of Boston with the message, he made plans to alert people by putting lanterns in the Old North Church steeple. He would light one lantern if the British were coming by land, and two lanterns if the British were coming by sea. On the evening of April 18th, the British troops were ferried across the Boston Harbor to start their march on Lexington. Paul Revere hung two lanterns in the church steeple. Then Paul Revere, William Dawes and Dr. Samuel Prescott rode to warn the colonists that the British were coming. Paul Revere rode to Lexington and alerted Samuel Adams and John Hancock. By the time the British soldiers reached Lexington, Samuel Adams and John Hancock had escaped.

14. The colonists had been expecting a fight with the British. They had organized a group of militia, called the Minutemen. They were called Minutemen because they needed to be prepared to fight on a minutes notice. When the British soldiers reached Lexington, Captain Jonas Parker and 75 armed Minutemen were there to meet them. The Minutemen were greatly outnumbered. The British soldiers fired, killing 8 Minutemen and injuring 10 others. Although Paul Revere was captured by British scouts before reaching Concord, other messengers managed to get through and warn the people. While the British soldiers continued on their way to Concord, the men and women of Concord were busy moving the arms and ammunition to new hiding places in surrounding towns. When the soldiers arrived they were only able to destroy part of the supplies.

15. Declaration of Independence The Declaration of Independence was written by Thomas Jefferson, with the assistance of John Adams and Benjamin Franklin. The document defined the rights of the people of the independent states. On July 2, 1776, the members of the Second Continental Congress voted in favor of independence. The delegates then held a second vote and approved the Declaration of Independence. John Hancock, President of the Congress and Charles Thomson, the secretary, signed the document. July 4, 1776 is officially recognized as the birth of America. The Declaration of Independence introduced a fundamental change in the view of government. Thomas Jefferson declared that governments were created to serve the people, and could only act with consent of the people. It created the democratic government. The declaration consisted of two parts. The preamble describes the peoples rights and it states that " all Men are created equal" and have the God-given right to "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness." The second part declares independence from Britain, and lists the colonies' issues against the British government.

16. Townshend Act In 1767, the British passed new taxes on glass, paper, teas, paints and other goods shipped to the colonies from Britain. Prime Minister Charles Townsend wanted to raise money to cover the cost for defending the colonies, and pay the salaries of governors and judges in the colonies. These were known as the Townsend Acts. The colonists reacted by refusing to buy British goods. The colonists argued that they shouldn't be taxed since they had no representation in the British government. The colonists rallied behind the phrase, "No Taxation without Representation." Again Britain was forced to remove the taxes, all except for the tax on tea.