The Stirrings of Rebellion

Chapter 4 Section 1

Following the French and Indian War, Britain needed to raise revenue to pay for debt.

Date British Action Colonial Action (Reaction)1764 Sugar Act:

1765 Stamp Act:

Quartering Act:

1766 Declaratory Act:

1767 Townshend Acts:

1773 Tea Act:

1774 Intolerable Acts:

The Sugar Act - 1764

British Action• Strictly enforced• Halved duty on foreign

molasses (Indirect Tax)• Placed duties on certain

imports (ie. lumber)• Allowed smugglers to

be tried in British courts

Colonial Reaction• Angered over

economics not “Taxation w/o Representation”

• Written protests• Occasional boycotts

Stamp Act 1765

British Action• First Direct Tax• Taxed legal and

commercial documents (licenses, newspapers, almanacs)

• Special “stamped” paper for legal docs

• Dice and playing cards

Colonial Reaction• Violent protests (harass

tax collectors)• “Sons of Liberty”• Colonies pass laws to

evade the tax• Stamp Act Congress

issues Declaration of Rights and Grievances

• Further boycotts

Violence against tax collectors

Quartering Act – 1765 and 1774

British Action• Standing army after

French and Indian War• Required colonial

assemblies to house and provision British soldiers

• Soldiers stayed in inns, stables, barns, etc.

• 1774, Use private homes as necessary

Colonial Reaction• 1765, Most colonial

assemblies refused to pay for provisions

• 1774, Wrote petition to King George

Declaratory Act - 1766

British Action• Accompanied repeal of

Stamp Act• Statement of

Parliament’s right to rule the colonies in any way it saw fit

Colonial Reaction• Pleased w/ repeal of

Stamp Act• Continued protest of

other British imposed laws

• Scared that more punitive laws would follow

Townshend Acts - 1767

British Action• Indirect tax on lead,

paper, tea, paint and glass collected at port

• Revenue paid British officials in colonies

• Created customs commission

• Suspended N.Y. assembly for failure to comply

Colonial Reaction• “No Taxation without

Representation” cries from colonists

• Resumed boycott of British goods

• Cut British exports to colonies by 38%

“No Taxation without Representation”

• Based on your prior knowledge, synthesize the meaning of the saying above in one (1) to two (2) written sentences.– The English Bill of Rights (1689) – “The crown cannot issue taxes without

approval of Parliament”

–The colonists had no representation in Parliament. so they argued that they could not be taxed by Parliament

– Parliament argued that they have the right to speak for the interests of all British subjects not just the districts that elected them.

Boston Massacre - Background

• British agents in Boston seized John Hancock’s colonial ship Liberty

• Customs inspector claimed suspicion of smuggling

• Triggered colonial riots in Boston• British station 2,000 troops in Boston– Troops were poorly paid– Competed for jobs w/ colonists

Boston Massacre

March 5, 1770• Afternoon, Fist fight

over jobs

• That night, a mob gathered in front of customs house

• Armed clash between colonists and guards• 3 colonists killed • 2 wounded

Tea Act - 1773

• Created to save the failing British East India Co.

• Granted BEIC right to import tea free of tax that colonial merchants paid

• Hoped colonists would buy the cheaper tea

• Bostonians dressed as natives destroy a shipment of tea (Boston Tea Party)

• * 18,000 lbs. of tea dumped into Boston Harbor*

Boston Tea Party

• December 16, 1773, large group of Bostonians disguised as Native Americans dump 18,000 pounds of the East India Company’s tea into Boston Harbor.

The Intolerable Acts - 1774

• King George III was angered over the events in Boston.– Parliament passes the Intolerable Acts• Shut down Boston Harbor until colonists pay for damaged

tea• Reissued Quartering Act, forcing colonists to house British

soldiers in private homes• General Thomas Gage (British commander in America)

becomes Governor of Massachusetts• Boston placed under Marshall Law (rule imposed by

military forces)

The Committees of Correspondence

• Committees developed by colonies to communicate with one another following the Boston Massacre

• After the Intolerable Acts are passed, committees assemble the First Continental Congress– September, 1774, 56 delegates meet in Philadelphia to

draw up a declaration of colonial rights• If the British use force against the colonies, they should fight

back.• Agree to meet again in May 1775 if demands are not met.

1. Was this source created by British Loyalists or Colonial Patriots? Describe at least three (3) reasons for why you made the decision you made.

Fighting Erupts at Lexington and Concord

• Minutemen – Civilian soldiers that began to quietly stock up on firearms and gunpowder.– General Gage learned about this and prepared to

strike.– British agents ordered to find stockpiles in Concord

and arrest John Hancock and Samuel Adams in Lexington

– April 18, 1775, Paul Revere, William Dawes, and Samuel Prescott rode out to spread word that 700 British soldiers were coming

Battles at Lexington and Concord

• April 19, 1775, British troops killed 8 out of 70 minutemen in Lexington

• British reached Concord, but munitions were gone.

• On march back to Boston, 3-4,000 minutemen slaughtered British using guerilla warfare.

Describe the events surrounding the map below.

Second Continental Congress• May 1775, colonial leaders met to discuss new plans on

how to deal with Britain.• John Adams suggested:

– each colony should set up its own government– The militia set up around Boston should be called the

Continental Army– They should select a General

• Congress agreed to name the militia the Continental Congress and named George Washington their leader. Also began printing paper money and appointed ambassadors to deal w/ foreign nations.

The Battle of Bunker Hill

• British General Gage wanted to attack the militia on Breed’s Hill overlooking Boston

• British lost 1,000 men – Colonists lost 450