No Taxation Without Representation

ObjectivesExplain the Proclamation of 1763.

Analyze why Britain began to enact harsher trade laws and taxes.

Understand cause and effect relationships as they relate to the reactions of the colonists.

Indentify those individuals and groups that began to rebel against British policy.

VocabularyRevenue – incoming money from taxes or other sources

Writ of assistance – court document allowing customs officers to enter any location to search for smuggled goods

Resolution – an official expression of opinion by a group

Effigy – a mocking figure representing an unpopular individual

Boycott – to refuse to buy items in order to show disapproval or force acceptance of one’s terms

Repeal – to cancel an act or law

DirectionsFollow along with the PowerPoint to fill in

information about British laws placed on American colonists.

Proclamation of 1763Prohibited, or barred, colonists from living west

of the Appalachian Mountains.

Proclamation of 1763

Proclamation of 1763This was set up for the following reasons:

a. Keep peace between Native Americans and settlers

b. Kept colonists near the Atlantic coast, where British authority was stronger

c. Allowed Britain to control westward expansion and the fur trade

Proclamation of 1763King George III sent 10,000 troops to enforce

the proclamation and keep peace with Native Americans.

New TaxesGreat Britain needed revenue, or income, to

pay for the troops, and to pay off large debts from the French and Indian War.

New TaxesThey issued new taxes and enforced old taxes

more strictly. Some colonists resorted to smuggling, and this led to a loss of revenue.

SmugglingParliament then passed a law to have accused

smugglers tried royally, and empowered customs officers to obtain writs of assistance. These documents allowed the officers to search almost anywhere for smuggled goods.

Smuggling Poster

Sugar ActThis lowered the tax on the molasses the

colonists imported. Britain hoped that this would lead to colonists paying the tax instead of smuggling. It also allowed officers to seize goods from accused smugglers without going to court.

Sugar ActColonists believed they had a right to a trial by

jury, and to be viewed as innocent until proved guilty. They also did not want their homes randomly searched for smuggled goods.

Stamp ActIn 1765, Parliament passed the Stamp Act. This

law taxed almost all printed materials. Newspapers, wills, and even playing cards needed a stamp to show that the tax had been paid.

Stamp ActPatrick Henry: passed a resolution – a formal

expression of opinion – declaring that only the burgesses could tax its citizens.

Stamp ActSamuel Adams: helped start the Sons of

Liberty. They burned effigies, or stuffed figures, made to look like tax collectors.

Stamp Act

People urged merchants to boycott, or refuse to buy – British goods in protest.

Businesses in Britain lost so much money that they demanded Parliament repeal, or cancel, the Stamp Act.

Stamp Act

Townshend Acts1767: Parliament taxed imported goods, such

as glass, tea, and paper, before they were brought inside the colonies.

Remember

Import means to go in to a country.

Townshend ActsWomen protested by supporting another boycott

of British goods. They also urged colonists to wear homemade fabrics. Some women’s groups called themselves the Daughters of Liberty.

Wrap Up

1. Explain the Proclamation of 1763.

2. How are the Stamp Act and Sugar Act similar? How are they different?

3. Why do you think Samuel Adams and others formed the “Sons of Liberty” instead of just acting alone to express their anger at the British policies?

4. How was the Townshend Act different from the Stamp Act and Sugar Act?