100 likes | 239 Views
Creating a Nation. Building Colonial Unity p.136. Trouble in Boston. 1768 – Customs officials sent word back that the colonies were on the brink of a rebellion Britain sent 2 regiments of troops to Boston to control any rebellion. Most soldiers were rude to colonists and stole.
E N D
Creating a Nation Building Colonial Unity p.136
Trouble in Boston • 1768 – Customs officials sent word back that the colonies were on the brink of a rebellion • Britain sent 2 regiments of troops to Boston to control any rebellion. • Most soldiers were rude to colonists and stole. • Colonists not happy with them there taunted the “Redcoats.” • Hatred between them grew.
The Boston Massacre • Angry town’s people gathered weapons and taunted the redcoats to fire. • One redcoat fired, which led to several more firing. • 5 colonists died.
The Word Spreads • Colonists used the event as propaganda– information designed to influence opinion. • Sam Adams put up posters describing the Boston Massacre. • Paul Revere made an engraving depicting the event. • This propaganda helped fuel anti-British feeling. • Parliament repealed all taxes except on tea.
A Crisis Over Tea • Britain passed Tea Act (1773) to save Britain East India Company. • Gave Company the right to ship tea to the colonists without paying most taxes usually placed on tea. • Allowed the company to bypass colonial merchants and sell directly to shopkeepers at a lower price. • Made tea cheaper than any other company
Colonial Demands • Colonists angry about monopoly given to the British East India Company. • Colonists argued it was another attempt to crush colonial liberty. • Boston and Philadelphia vowed to stop the B.E.I.C. ships from unloading.
Boston Tea Party • The royal governor refused to let the ships turn back and ordered them to unload. • Samuel Adams and the Sons of Liberty dressed up as Indians and boarded the ships at midnight. • They threw 342 chests of tea overboard into the ocean.
Intolerable Acts • Coercive Acts (1774) – harsh laws intended to punish the people of Massachusetts. • Closed Boston harbor until the tea was repaid. • Banned town meetings • Forced Boston to shelter soldiers in their homes • Other colonists sent Boston food and clothing in support. • Colonists renamed the acts the “Intolerable Acts.”
Intolerable Acts • Colonists felt these acts violated their rights as English citizens. • These included the rights to no quartering of troops in private homes and no standing army in peacetime without their consent.