Road to the revolution

1. Road to the revolution Use the information in this presentation to fill out the chart and answer the questions on the sheet provided

2. The Sugar act • The Government of Great Britain, Parliament, needed money to pay off the cost of the French and Indian War.  They believed that the colonists should help pay this cost since much of the fighting was done to defend them.  • So Parliament passed the Sugar Act, which was a tax on sugar, and molasses.  Molasses was very important to New England merchants, since they bought molasses to make rum to sell to other colonies including the French, Dutch, and Spanish.  This tax almost stopped the rum trade from New England, and the New England colonies protested.  • The tax worried colonial leaders. They feared Britain might be moving towards seizing power from colonial governments, such as the right to tax. The colonial leaders did not want that to happen. They wanted the American colonies free to govern themselves as they had been doing for many years.   

3. No Taxation without representation • The one idea that fired the imaginations of the American people the most during the Revolutionary War was the idea that they should have a say in how their government treated them. • "No Taxation Without Representation" was an example of this: The American people didn't appreciate the fact that the British government, an entire ocean away, was making taxes that applied to them. They couldn't tell the King or Parliament that the taxes were too high or just plan unfair because the English government was too far away. • And when the people tried to complain to their local English leaders, they got referred to the King. They couldn't win.

4. Committees of correspondence • What was a Committee of Correspondence?  Think of it as a REALLY slow group text…. • It was just people, like you and me, who had something in common and they wanted to talk about it.  It was difficult to travel in colonial times, so instead, they wrote each other letters.  These letters were passed from person to person, with people adding comments and responses.  It wasn't the quickest way, but it worked.     • Committees of Correspondence sprang up in the Massachusetts colony. These committees wrote each other about colonial matters.  • Pretty soon, similar committees were formed in other colonies. These groups began corresponding with each other, discussing British taxes and other wrongdoings.

5. The stamp act • The Sugar Act had not generated enough money, so Parliament passed the Stamp Act.  While the Sugar Act did not cause too much concern other than in New England, The Stamp Act brought about huge protests.    • The Stamp Act was different. The Stamp Act required colonists to buy and place stamps on many paper goods such as newspapers, diplomas, contracts, prayer books, marriage licenses, and other legal documents. Laborers, craftsmen, farmers, lawyers, merchants, and basically everyone had to pay this tax.  • Lawyers and publishers were the hardest hit. People could not afford both the lawyer and the tax. Many could not afford to buy books, not even prayer books.  • This act was extremely unpopular in the colonies. It gave colonial leaders a chance to convince the colonists that they were being taxed unfairly because the colonists had no voice in government - no taxation without representation!  

6. Protesting the stamp act • As the uproar against the Stamp Act grew, colonial leaders created a special congress - a Stamp Act Congress. Individual colonies sent delegates to New York City to attend a meeting of this special congress.  • The delegates drew up a petition protesting the Stamp Act, giving their reasons, and demanding this law be repealed. They sent this petition to Parliament back in England.  • This was very important. It clearly demonstrated that the colonies could and would speak with one voice. 

7. The Townshend actS • These new laws (named after Charles Townshend the British Chancellor of the Treasury) placed new taxes on glass, lead, paints, paper, and tea. • Colonial reaction to these taxes was the same as to the Sugar Act and Stamp Act. • Britain eventually repealed (canceled) all the taxes except the one on tea. In response to the sometimes violent protests by the American colonists, Great Britain sent more troops to the colonies.

8. The boston massacre • By 1770, although some colonists were still loyal to the crown, many others were upset about the taxes and the troops and the disregard the British Parliament had shown for the needs of the American colonists. Jobs were lost. British troops were arrogant. And monies were tight. Taxation without representation was the cry heard everywhere. Tension was growing.   • Fights often broke out between the British soldiers and the colonists. On March 5, 1770, a group of sailors threw snowballs and sticks at a group of British soldiers. And things got crazy. A club was thrown. The British felt threatened. They fired into the crown. When it was over, five men were dead, including Crispus Attucks.  He was the first man to die in what would soon become the Revolutionary War. This incident was called the Boston Massacre.  • The British officers involved were arrested for murder. The officers pleaded self-defense, and the jury agreed.  • After the Boston Massacre, British Parliament repealed all taxes except the one on tea.  • The colonists heaved a sign of relief. Most merchants lifted their ban on British goods. But colonial leaders were still unhappy with the way the British were treating the colonists. They did not believe that British Parliament had the colonists best interests at heart. 

10. The tea act • British Parliament passed the Tea Act. This law gave one British company the right to control all trade in tea with the colonies. It would be sold directly to the colonists and cut out the colonial tea merchants. The colonists would still have to pay the tax on tea, however the tea would be less expensive because they wouldn’t be paying the increased profits of the colonial tea merchants • To the colonial leaders, the Tea Act was just like the Stamp Act - an attempt by Parliament to seize control from colonial government. First, taxation without representation, then the Townshend Acts, and now control of trade. Colonial leaders found this totally unacceptable.

11. The boston tea party • A group of colonists in Boston, dressed as Native Americans boarded three British tea ships anchored in Boston harbor. They dumped 342 chests of tea into the salty water.  • Some colonial leaders offered to pay for the tea if Parliament would repeal the Tea Act.  • Parliament refused the offer to pay for the tea, and passed a group of new harsh laws to punish the Massachusetts colony. The colonists called these laws the Intolerable Acts. 

12. The intolerable acts • In response to the Boston Tea Party, Parliament passed a group of new harsh laws to punish the Massachusetts colony. These laws were so harsh the colonists called them the Intolerable Acts.  • One law allowed Britain to house troops whenever and wherever they wanted.  • One law closed Boston harbor for all trade until the tea dumped overboard was paid for in full.  • One law banned the Committees of Correspondence.  • In response, other colonies sent supplies to Boston. And the committees of correspondence called a meeting of all colonies to decide what to do about the problems with Britain.  

13. The quartering act(s) • The Quartering Act was an act passed by British Parliament to ensure that British soldiers would be properly billeted and fed during their times of service in the North American Colonies. • In addition to providing housing for troops, communities were also required to provide food and drink, and they would not be compensated. In communities where supplies were limited, this was a major source of friction, as people resented being forced to turn these necessities over to soldiers. Some communities, notably in New York, refused to abide by the terms of the act.