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Beginning of The American revolution 1767-1775
The Townshend Acts of 1767 placed a duty on imported goods including glass, lead, paint, and paper. Americans responded by not buying British goods.
The Tea Act of 1773 To avoid paying the tea tax, colonial merchants smuggled tea in from the Netherlands. In 1773, Parliament passed the Tea Act, which made it possible for the East India Company to sell tea below the price of the smuggled tea. Britain believed that the colonists would buy the English tea since it was cheaper.
BOSTON TEA PARTY On December 16, 1773, Samuel Adams led patriots, disguised as Indians, on a raid of British ships docked in Boston’s harbor. They dumped the cargoes of tea overboard. This was later called the Boston Tea Party.
The Intolerable Acts of 1774 were Britain’s response to the Boston Tea Party. One act closed Boston’s harbor until the colonists paid for the destroyed tea. Another took away nearly all power from Massachusetts’ legislature. Control of the colony was given to the newly appointed British governor, General Thomas Gage.
INTOLERABLE ACTS 1774 To bring the colonies under control, Britain’s Parliament passed 4 laws: 1. closing of Boston Harbor until damages from Boston Tea Party were paid for 2. Cancelled Massachusetts’s royal charter 3. British troops in colonies who committed a crime were tried back in British courts, not colonial courts 4. Quartering Act – house and feed British soldiers As a result of these laws, the colonists formed the First Continental Congress to discuss how to respond to the British
The First Continental Congress September 5 – October 26, 1774 • The First Continental Congress was attended by representatives from all the colonies except Georgia. They bet in Carpenter’s Hall in Philadelphia to protest the Intolerable Acts. There representatives decided to stop trade with Britain unless the Acts were abolished. They also advised colonists to prepare for war. They agree to meet again in May 1775.
Colonial Militia and Minutemen Britain had large numbers of well-trained militia. Soldier uniforms included bright red jackets. The colonists called the soldiers “redcoats”.
The colonies did not have a central government, army, or navy. Each colony did have a small citizen army called the militia. Some members of the militia were ordinary citizens such as farmers, craftspeople, and businessmen. They were prepared to drop everything and become volunteers at a moment’s notice. They were called minutemen.
Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts 1775 • Fighting began in April at Lexington and Concorde. General Gage received secret orders to arrest Massachusetts’ troublemakers. Boston patriots learned about the orders. They fled the city. Gage found out that Americans had stored arms and gun powder in the nearby town of Concorde. Joseph Warren, a Boston patriot, discovered Gage’s plan. He sent three carriers Paul Revere, William Dawes, Samuel Prescott to ride and warn the citizens.
When the redcoats reached Lexington, seventy minutemen were waiting. It is not known who fired first, But eight minutemen were killed and ten were wounded. Only one British soldier was injured. The British continued toward Concorde. Again minutemen met them. Three redcoats and two patriots were killed. When the British began to march back to Boston, minutemen fired at the from behind trees and bushes. About 250 British were wounded. American losses numbered ninety.
Fort Ticonderoga, New York 1775 In May 1775, patriots Ethan Allen along with his militia “Green mountain Men” and Benedict Arnold led the siege of Fort Ticonderoga, a British post in New York. They also captured nearby Crown Point. These two victories supplied Americans with much needed artillery.
The Second Continental Congress – May 1775 • At first, few delegates wanted to break ties with Britain. However, King George continued to ignore the colonists’ petitions. He closed all American ports to overseas trade. Support for American independence continued to grow. Even so, it is important to note that as many as one-third of the colonists remained loyal to Britain.
They called themselves loyalist. The patriots called them Tories. More than one-third of the colonists didn’t care one way or the other. The war depended upon the patriots who numbered less than one-third of the population. • In Philadelphia, on June 14, 1775, Congress established the Continental Army. On June 15, Virginia’s George Washington was made the army’s Commander in Chief.
Questions • Why did Britain impose taxes on the colonies? • What English policy restricted the settlers moving westward? • In the lead up to the revolution what does “no taxation without representation” mean? • What caused the colonists to form the first Continental Congress? • Were the delegates in attendance at the second Continental Congress ready to separate from England?
