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Turmoil Over Taxation
Chapter 5, Section 2
New Troubles on the Frontier
• After winning the war, American colonists should have been happy, but many problems still faced them.
• With the French gone, colonists were eager to move into the Ohio Valley.
• However, colonists clashed with the many Natives lived in the valley.
• English officials did not protect the Indians in most cases.
Pontiac’s War
• Angry Native Americans found a leader in Pontiac, an Ottawa Chief who had fought with the French.
• Pontiac called the British, “Dogs dressed in red, who have come to rob us of our hunting grounds and drive away the game.”
Pontiac’s War• In Pontiac’s War, the Chief led Native forces
against the English in the Ohio Valley.
• He captured forts and regained some Indian land in late 1763, but the French soon left the area and could no longer help Pontiac.
• Most of the Native Americans gave up hope and returned home.
The Proclamation of 1763
• Pontiac’s war convinced the British that they needed to keep the colonists out of Indian lands.
• The British declared the Proclamation of 1763, which drew an imaginary line across the crest of the Appalachian Mountains.
• Everything west of the proclamation line was off-limits to the colonists.
• The proclamation was meant to protect Native American lands.
• Colonists were furious at this action.
The British Impose New Tax
• To make things worse, the French and Indian War had plunged Britain deep into debt.
• In 1763, the British government raised taxes on the American colonies to pay off the war debt.
• In 1764 the British passed the new Sugar Act, which taxed molasses.
• Colonists had avoided paying the old sugar tax by smuggling.
• The new sugar tax was much less expensive than the old one, but British officials expected everyone to pay it.
The British Impose New Tax
• In 1765 The Stamp Act placed new taxes on legal documents like wills, diplomas, etc.
• All items named in this law had to have a stamp on it to show the tax had been paid.
• However, when the British tried to enforce the Stamp Act, mobs tarred and feathered officials and destroyed their homes. The officials were too afraid to do their jobs.
The British Impose New Tax
• Colonists thought the taxes were unjust because the colonists could not participate in Parliament and therefore had no say in such laws.
• “No taxation without representation” became a cry of the colonists, meaning England had no right to tax them.
The British Impose New Tax
• Some colonists united from across the colonies in 1765 with the purpose of protesting the Stamp Act.
• This delegation was known as the Stamp Act Congress.
• The congress presented a petition (a signed document addressed to authorities that requests change) to the King, demanding increased rights, but they were ignored.
The British Impose New Tax
• The colonists also tried boycotting the British. A boycott means to refuse to buy goods and services.
• All these forms of protest worked. England repealed (canceled) the Stamp Act in 1766.
The British Impose New Tax
• In 1767 the British passed the Townshend Acts, which put taxes on items like glass, paper, tea, etc.
• Though the taxes were low, colonists still protested them.
• At this time British officials also invented legal documents known as Writs of Assistance that allowed officers to inspect a ships cargo without giving a reason.
• This cut down on smuggling.
The British Impose New Tax
• Again colonists protested this as a violation of their rights.
• Protests spread across the country. People continued to boycott British goods and make their own goods instead.
• Colonists formed anti-British groups like the Sons of Liberty and the Daughters of Liberty, which hanged puppets dressed as British officials and burned them.
• Some even threatened British officials.
The British Impose New Tax
New Colonial Leaders• As the struggle over taxes continued new
colonial leaders emerged. They included:• Sam Adams: A poor public speaker who
arranged protests and stirred public support.• John Adams: Sam’s more cautious cousin
who had gained very much respect in Massachusetts as a lawyer and local leader.
• Patrick Henry: A young Virginian lawyer who became famous for his speeches.
The Boston Massacre
• Port cities like Boston and New York became centers of protest.
• In 1767 Britain sent two regiments to Boston to protect customs officers from local citizens. To many in Boston the soldiers were a daily reminder that Britain was trying to bully them into paying unjust taxes.
• The soldiers became targets for colonists to tease and shout at.
The Boston Massacre
• On March 5, 1770 a crowd gathered around the soldiers and began to throw ice-balls and oyster shells at them.
• As the crowd grew larger the soldiers panicked and fired on the crowd.
• 5 Colonists were killed in the Boston Massacre, enraging the colonists more than ever before.
Committees of Correspondence
• Angry at the massacre, Sam Adams formed Committees of Correspondence to build outrage about the shootings among other colonists.
• Members of the committees wrote pamphlets and letters to all the colonies urging them to protest the British.
From Protest to Revolution
Chapter 5, Section 3
Setting the Scene In twos and threes they met in homes
across Boston. It was December 16, 1773. Outside a cold drizzle was falling. Inside they threw blankets over their shoulders and rubbed coal dust on their faces, disguising themselves as Mohawks.
They marched to Griffin’s Wharf with one purpose: destroy British tea.
A Dispute Over Tea• Tea was extremely popular in
the colonies – at least 1 million Americans brewed it twice a day.
• The East India Company brought tea to the colonies and sold it to merchants, who then sold it to colonists.
• However, once tea was taxed by the Townshend Acts, colonists refused to buy it.
A Dispute Over Tea• The East India Company went into
debt with all the tea going unsold.• In response, Parliament passed the
Tea Act of 1773, which allowed the EIC to sell tea directly to colonists instead of through merchants.
• In this way the tea would cost less for colonists.
• However, colonists boycotted the act because they claimed it threatened their right to free trade and put American merchants out of business.
A Dispute Over Tea• Again colonists boycotted tea, finding
other ways to get caffeine (to this day most Americans choose coffee.)
• The Sons of Liberty forcefully kept the EIC from unloading tea cargo.
• When three ships full of tea arrived in 1773 Sam Adams and the Sons of Liberty decided to act.
• While the governor met with a group of colonists, a messenger suddenly broke in and shouted, “Boston harbor is a teapot tonight! The Mohawks are come!”
The Boston Tea Party• The Boston Tea Party had begun as an attempt by
the colonists to damage British property.• All together the colonists dumped 342 chests of tea
into Boston Harbor.
• Many colonists cheered this bold action. Others worried it would encourage lawlessness. Almost all, however, were shocked at how severely the British reacted.
• In 1774 Parliament passed four laws meant to punish the colonists. The Americans called them the Intolerable Acts because they were so harsh.
Parliament Strikes Back
• There were four acts altogether:• First, Parliament shut down Boston Harbor.
• Next, Parliament forbade Massachusetts colonists from holding town meetings without permission.
• Third, Parliament allowed British officials on trial for a crime to be tried in Canada or England instead of Boston.
• Finally, a new Quartering Act was passed where soldiers could stay in colonists homes instead of camping at the Boston common.
The Intolerable Acts
• Britain also passed the Quebec Act at this time that set up a new government in Canada. It also gave parts of the Ohio Valley to Canada, angering American colonists.
• Committees of Correspondence continued to communicate throughout the colonies, encouraging colonists to send food to feed the hungry in Boston to show their support.
England Strikes Back
Colonies Unite• In September of 1774, colonial leaders called a meeting
in Philadelphia later known as the First Continental Congress.
• Delegates from all colonies but Georgia attended.• The Congress decided to aid Massachusetts using a
boycott, and urged each colony to form a Militia, which is an army of citizens who serve as soldiers during emergencies.
• As they left the congress the delegates agreed to meet again. Little did they know the nation would be at war by then.
Lexington and Concord
• In Massachusetts colonists were already prepared to fight.
• Volunteers known as minutemen trained regularly. They got their name because they were prepared to fight at a minute’s notice.
• The British also began to build larger groups of soldiers around the Boston area.
• British spies reported that minutemen had a large store of arms in Concord (18 miles from Boston.)
• British commander Thomas Gage planned a sneak attack to seize the store of arms at Concord.
Lexington and Concord
• The Sons of Liberty, having anticipated this move, spied the force of 700 British soldiers.
• As the British moved across the Charles River, an American hung two lamps in the Old North Church in Boston (instead of one by land.)
• Colonists across the river saw this and sent messengers on horseback to Concord.
Lexington and Concord
• One midnight rider was Paul Revere. He probably didn’t shout “The Redcoats are coming” because his mission relied on secrecy.
• Revere and a few others alerted riders of British movements, who then spread the word throughout the countryside.
• Revere was actually captured by the British before he made it to Concord, but his job was already accomplished.
Lexington and Concord
• At daybreak on April 19, the redcoats reached Lexington where 70 minutemen waited.
• Just as it looked as though things would settle down, an unknown soldier fired “The shot heard round the world,” signaling the start of the Revolutionary War.
• The British defeated this small force and moved on to Concord, where the ammunition was hidden.
Lexington and Concord
• As they reached Concord the British met a group of 300 minutemen. After a quick exchange of shots the lobsterbacks were forced to retreat.
• As the British ran back to Boston, American sharpshooters did heavy damage from behind trees and windows.
• When the Brits finally reached Boston, nearly 1/3 were dead and most of the rest were wounded.
