Lesson 6.2 : Colonial Resistance Grows

1. Lesson 6.2: Colonial Resistance Grows Today we will describe several events that increased tension between Colonists and the British government.

2. Copy the following on Portfolio p15a

3. Vocabulary • writ – a legal document issued by the government or the courts • propaganda – words or images designed to persuade an audience to act, feel, think, or believe in a specific way • summarize – give a brief description • prompted – caused to happen • correspondence – communication by exchanging letters

4. What We Already Know Ever since the Proclamation of 1763, relations between the British government and the American colonists had been growing increasingly hostile.

5. What We Already Know Parliament’s attempts to raise revenue by taxing the colonies were met with protests, petitions, and boycotts.

6. What We Already Know The Enlightenment was an intellectual movement that emphasized reason and science, and its scholars believed that all government should be based on natural laws and natural rights.

7. Toraise revenue and todemonstrate its authority, Parliament passedtheTownshend Acts in 1767, leading to a new wave of protests in the colonies.

8. The Townshend Acts Are Passed • Parliament had canceled the Stamp Act. But it still needed to raise money to pay its expenses in America. • Charles Townshend, the king’s finance minister, suggested a series of laws that would raise revenue in the colonies. • One of the Townshend Acts stopped New York’s legislative assembly from meeting until the colonists agreed to quarter British troops.

9. The Townshend Acts • Another act placed taxes on certain goods brought into the colonies. The money raised would help to pay the salaries of British officials in the colonies. • To enforce these laws, British officers used Writs of Assistance. These were search warrants used to enter homes or businesses to find smuggled goods.

10. The Reasons for Protest • Anger over the new taxes and the closure of the New York assembly • “Parliament has no right to tax us directly!” • The Writs of Assistance also angered manycolonists. • These acts threatened their natural rights and freedoms.

11. John Locke and Natural Rights • Natural rights had been described by English philosopherJohn Locke during the Enlightenment. • Locke wrote that the law of nature teaches that “no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty, or possessions.”

12. Tools of Protest Colonists in Boston decided to protest the Townshend Acts by calling for another boycott of British goods, which spread throughout the colonies.

13. Tools of Protest Samuel Adams, a leader of the Boston Sons of Liberty, led the protest.

14. Tools of Protest • The Sons of Liberty asked shopkeepers not to sell goods made in Britain. • The Daughters of Liberty urged colonists to weave their own cloth and to use only American goods. • Trade with Britain dropped. • Some colonial leaders called for peaceful protests. John Dickinson

15. Repealof the Townshend Acts • Parliament repealed all the Townshend Acts except the tax on tea, in order to continue demonstration of its power to govern the colonies. • Most colonists were content and believed the crisis was over.

16. Repeal of the Townshend Acts • Parliamentrepealed all the Townshend Acts except the tax on tea, in order to continue demonstration of its power to govern the colonies. • Most Colonists were content and believed the crisis was over.

17. Repealof the Townshend Acts • Samuel Adams, however, wanted to make sure that the Colonists did not forget the cause of liberty. • He helped to form Committees of Correspondencein various towns in Massachusetts.

18. Committees of Correspondence • These groups wrote letters to one another about colonial matters. • Soon these Committees were exchanging letters throughout Massachusetts, as well as with Committees formed in other Colonies. • The Committees kept opposition to the British alive by exchanging letters on colonial affairs.

19. 4. What were the committees of correspondence? • Colonists who helped Samuel Adams to become governor of Massachusetts • Colonists who encouraged independent action in each colony to support the British • Colonists who kept opposition to the British alive by exchanging letters on colonial affairs • Colonists who spied on the Sons of Liberty for the British government

20. 4. What were the committees of correspondence? • Colonists who helped Samuel Adams to become governor of Massachusetts • Colonists who encouraged independent action in each colony to support the British • Colonists who kept opposition to the British alive by exchanging letters on colonial affairs • Colonists who spied on the Sons of Liberty for the British government

21. The “Liberty” Incident • Customs officials in Boston tried to search the merchant ship Liberty, which was carrying smuggled goods. • Colonists rose up in protest and a riot broke out. • British officials reacted by calling for more British troops to be sent to Boston.

22. The Boston Massacre • In the fall of 1768, about 1,000 British soldiers arrived in Boston to keep order. • Poorly paid British soldiers often hired themselves out as workers when off-duty, leading to competition with colonists for jobs.

23. The Boston Massacre Tension filled the streets, as soldiers and Colonistsopenly taunted each other.

24. Frightened British recoats feared for their lives. Ned, they’re comin’ right for us! OnMarch 5, 1770, a scuffle broke out between colonists and a group of redcoats guarding the Customs House.

25. The Boston Massacre The soldiers fired on the protesting Colonists, and five were killed, including a sailor and former slave named Crispus Attucks.

26. The Boston Massacre Colonial leaders called the shooting the Boston Massacre. They said that the five colonists gave their lives for freedom.

27. The Boston Massacre • Thousands of colonists were outraged by news of the killings. The Sons of Liberty turned the tragedy into anti-British propaganda. Paul Revere’s illustration of the event was circulated throughout the colonies.

28. The Boston Massacre • The British soldiers involved in theshooting were arrested for murder. • John Adams, a cousin of Samuel Adams, successfully defended the soldiers in court. • Hewanted to prove that the Colonies followed the Rule of Law.

29. To many Colonists, however the Boston Massacre would stand as a symbol of British tyranny.

30. The Tea Act • The British East India Tea Company was a major part of the British economy, but in 1773 it was facing bankruptcy. • Many members of Parliament were investors in the company, and didn’t want to see it fail. • In 1773, Parliament gave the company a monopoly on the Colonial tea trade. • The tea would come to the Colonies in the company’s ships and would be sold in the Colonies only by the company’s merchants.

31. Whydid the Tea Act upsetthecolonists? • It raised the price of tea too high for average people to afford. • Colonists would now be forced to pay a tax on their tea. • It forced colonists to buy tea every month whether they wanted to or not. • They could no longer buy tea from the East India Tea Company, as they usually did.

32. Whydid the Tea Act upsetthecolonists? • It raised the price of tea too high for average people to afford. • Colonists would now be forced to pay a tax on their tea. • It forced colonists to buy tea every month whether they wanted to or not. • They could no longer buy tea from the East India Tea Company, as they usually did.

33. TheBoston Tea Party • Colonists would have to pay the tax on the tea, which was a very popular drink in all the American colonies. • Many colonists began protests against the Tea Act, because they feared what Parliament might do next.

34. The Boston Tea Party Tea was not unloaded, and tea ships were blocked from landing.

35. The Boston Tea Party East India Tea Company agents were harassed and assaulted by the Sons of Liberty.

36. The Boston Tea Party • On December 16, 1773, a group of Colonists in Boston boarded three tea ships. • Dressed as Native Americans, they dumped 342 chests of tea into Boston Harbor. This event became known as the Boston Tea Party.

37. TheBoston Tea Party • Many colonists believed that the tea party would show Britain how much they opposed being taxed without representation. • Others questioned whether destroying property was the best way to respond to British taxes. • Some colonial leaders offered to pay for the tea if Parliament would agree to end the Tea Act.

38. The Boston Tea Party • An angry Parliament turned down the offer. • It wanted the colonists to pay for the tea. • It also wanted the people responsible to be brought to trial. • It wanted Massachusetts to be punished.

39. 5. The Boston Tea Party was prompted by the Tea Act of 1773, which…. • gave one British company a monopoly over the tea trade in America. • made it illegal to drink tea imported from any country other than Britain. • raised the tax on tea so high that only the wealthy could afford it. • required all colonists to buy at least ten pounds of tea per year from British merchants.

40. 5. The Boston Tea Party was prompted by the Tea Act of 1773, which…. • gave one British company a monopoly over the tea trade in America. • made it illegal to drink tea imported from any country other than Britain. • raised the tax on tea so high that only the wealthy could afford it. • required all colonists to buy at least ten pounds of tea per year from British merchants.

41. Why did a bunch of Colonists, dressed up as Indians, dump tea into Boston Harbor? • They were trying to force the East India Company to lower its prices. • The tea was inferior in quality to what they usually bought. • It was one of several colonial protests against the Townshend Acts. • They were protesting the Tea Act of 1773. • The price of crumpets was outrageous.

42. Why did a bunch of Colonists, dressed up as Indians, dump tea into Boston Harbor? • They were trying to force the East India Company to lower its prices. • The tea was inferior in quality to what they usually bought. • It was one of several colonial protests against the Townshend Acts. • They were protesting the Tea Act of 1773. • The price of crumpets was outrageous.

43. British Act What it Did Colonists’ Reaction banned settlement west of Appalachians colonists ignored it and moved west anyway tax on sugar and other imported goods smuggling by colonists increased, hated it colonists must house and feed redcoats colonial anger and resentment grow tax on official documents boycotts and protests; Sons of Liberty; petitions to Parliament forced boycotts; anti-tax resolutions by colonial assemblies tax on tea and other imports Boston Tea Party monopoly on colonial tea trade