American History

1. American History Chapter 5, Section 1 Taxation Without Representation

2. Vocabulary and Timeline Vocabulary: Revenue, writs of assistance, resolution, effigy, boycott, non-importation, repeal Timeline 1763 A.D. 1764 A.D. 1765 A.D. 1767 A.D. Proclamation Parliament Parliament Townshend Acts of 1763 passes the passes the tax colonial Sugar Act Stamp Act shipping |-----------------------------------------------------------------------|

3. Relations with Britain • Aftermath of the French and Indian War: After winning the French and Indian War, Great Britain controlled a vast area in North America. • Great Britain limited the settlement of this new territory by enacting the Proclamation of 1763. • Parts of the land acquired through the Treaty of Paris were already organized—the provinces of Quebec, East Florida, West Florida and Grenada.

4. Relations with Britain • Reasons for Stopping Western Settlement: Stopping western settlement provided several advantages for the British. • First, it allowed the British government, not the colonists, to control westward movement. This would allow an orderly expansion and would avoid conflict with the Native Americans. • Second, slower western settlement would also slow colonists moving away from the colonies on the coast where Britain’s important markets and investments were. • Finally, closing western settlement protected the interests of British officials who wanted to control the lucrative fur trade. The British planned to keep 10,000 troops in America to protect these interests.

5. Relations with Britain • Therefore, a feeling of distrust between the colonists and Britain grew for the following reasons: • First, British soldiers were stationed in the colonies and on the frontier. • Second, the Proclamation of 1763 prevented the colonists from using the land they purchased west of the Appalachian Mountains. • Finally, the enactment of trade laws and the Sugar Act angered the colonists.

6. Relations with Britain • The colonists feared that British soldiers might interfere with their liberties. • They saw the Proclamation of 1763 as limiting their freedom. • Finally, they believed that the British did not have a right to tax them without representation in Parliament or to take away their liberties.

7. Relations with Britain • The financial problems of Great Britain complicated the situation. • The French and Indian War left the British with a large debt. • They were desperate for new revenue, or incoming money, to help pay for the war. • The king and Parliament believed that the colonists should help pay for the expense and they began to make plans to tax the colonists.

8. George Grenville • In 1764, George Grenville, the British finance minister, came up with a way for the colonists to contribute towards the British expenses for the war. • He first began to watch colonial trade more closely in order to catch colonists who were involved in smuggling. • The smuggling meant that the British did not obtain any revenue from the goods the colonists traded.

9. George Grenville • In 1764, in order to catch the individuals smuggling, the British allowed customs officials to obtain writs of assistance to search homes and warehouses for smuggled goods. • Colonists were outraged by this intrusion without warning. • They believed it violated every English person’s right to privacy in the home.

10. The Sugar Act • Grenville’snext step was to increase tax revenue. Parliament passed the Sugar Act in 1764 to stop the molasses smuggling between the colonies and the French West Indies. • The Sugar Act did the following: • First, it lowered the tax on imported molasses. The British hoped that by lowering the tax on imported molasses that the colonists would be encouraged to pay the tax on foreign molasses. When Britain collected these taxes, its revenues would increase. • Second, the Sugar Act allowed customs agents to send smugglers to a new vice admiralty court in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Unlike colonial courts, these courts had no juries. The colonists were outraged again because this took away their basic right of trial by jury which was guaranteed in the English Bill of Rights. Also, the burden of proof in these admiralty courts was on the defendants to prove their innocence. This also was against English law which states that the accused is “innocent until proved guilty.” This measure also angered the colonists. • James Otis, a lawyer from Boston, argued that “no parts of [England’s colonies] can be taxed without their consent . . . every part has a right to be represented.”

11. The Stamp Act • In 1765, Parliament passed another law in an effort to raise money. The Stamp Act taxed almost all printed material in the colonies such as newspapers, pamphlets, wills, and even playing cards. • British officials placed a stamp on all printed materials. Because so many items were taxed, it affected everyone in the colonial cities. • The Stamp Act convinced many colonists of the need for action. • Opposition to the Stamp Act centered on two main points: Colonists were opposed to this act because the British Parliament taxed the colonists directly. It also had passed the act without their consent. (TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION). • Parliament ignored the colonial tradition of self government.

12. The Stamp Act

13. Protesting the Stamp Act • The colonists protested the Stamp Act in the following ways: • First, in Virginia, Patrick Henry, although accused of treason by his opponents, persuaded the burgesses to take action against the Stamp Act. • They passed a resolution—aformal expression of opinion—saying that they had the “sole exclusive right” to tax their citizens. • Second, The Sons of Liberty, originally organized in Boston by Samuel Adams, protested by burning effigies—rag figures—representing unpopular tax collectors, raiding and destroying houses of British officials, and marching along the streets to protest Britain’s taxing of Americans. • Third, boycotts, against importing British and European goods occurred. People refused to buy the stamps. Non-importation agreements were signed by thousands of merchants, artisans, and farmers. They agreed to not buy or use goods imported from Great Britain. As the boycott spread, British merchants lost so much business that they begged Parliament to repeal, or cancel, the Stamp Act.

14. The Stamp Act Congress • In October of 1765, delegates from nine colonies met in New York at the Stamp Act Congress. • They drafted a petition to the king and Parliament saying that only their own assemblies could tax the colonies. • In February 1766, Parliament gave into the colonists’ appeals and the appeals of the British merchants and repealed the Stamp Act.

15. The Declaratory Act of 1766 • Parliament passed another act, the Declaratory Act of 1766, on the same day it repealed the Stamp Act. • The act allowed Parliament the right to tax and to make decisions for the British colonies “in all cases.” • Even though the colonists had won against the Stamp Act, the war over making decisions for the colonies had just begun.

16. New Taxes – The Townshend Acts • Parliament passed the Townshend Acts in 1767, which taxed important goods at the port of entry. • They tried to avoid some of the problems the Stamp Act caused and they knew the colonists would not tolerate internal taxes (those levied or paid inside the colonies). • Therefore, it taxed basic items such as glass, tea, paper and lead—items that the colonists did not produce themselves and therefore, had to import. • By this time, the colonists were angered by ANY tax the British imposed. They believed that only their representatives had the right to levy taxes.

17. New Taxes – The Townshend Acts • Another boycott occurred in hopes of showing Britain that only the colonies’ representatives had the right to tax them. • This boycott was even more widespread. • Women took an active role in the protest. The Daughters of Liberty urged Americans to wear homemade fabrics and produce other goods so as not to buy British products. They believed this would help the American colonies to become economically independent.

18. Chapter 5 Newspaper Project • Your group will be assigned one of the events leading up to the American Revolution – The Boston Massacre or the Boston Tea Party. • You will each be assigned a position on the paper.  These positions are: • Interviewer: You will write a personal interview creating a person that was involved in the one of the events.  This interview should contain factual information about the event.  This interview should include how the person feels the event will lead to the Revolution, what their role was in the event, and their opinion of the British rule in the colonies. • Correspondent: You will write a letter to the editor about the one of the Acts – The Stamp Act or the Sugar Act.  This letter should be written in business letter format.  You should include an opinion whether or not you are supporting the Act with at least three supporting details.    • Field Reporter: Your job is to write a description of the event as it happened.  Imagine that you are watching the event and writing about what you are seeing.  Sequence the events in order. • Political Analyst: You will write a descriptive account of the ending effects of the Act.  Make sure you answer the following questions: how will this change the feelings of the colonists, how will this lead to the Revolution, what was the reaction of the King? • Cartoonist: You will create two political cartoons.  One will be in favor (pro) of the Act and one will be against (con) the Act.  • Your group will read the information about the Acts on-line and in your textbook. • Divide into your positions to complete the individual writing assignments.  • As a group read and revise each article.  • Arrange articles into a newspaper using Microsoft Publisher or Word.