The Causes of the American
Revolution
Debts, Taxation, and
Misunderstanding

War Debts
• Britain accumulated
£123,000,000 in war debts.
• An annual budget of
£250,000 to maintain a military presence in colonies.

The Sugar Act
• Lowered the tax
(duty) on sugar by ½.
• Colonial tax burden?
1:26
• Set up special courts for smugglers.
• Response? Led by
Samuel Adams —non importation/nonconsumption.

The Stamp Act
• Nature of discontent?
• The Law?

Virtual Representation
• “the right of exemption from all taxes without their consent…would deprive them of every privilege distinguishing freemen from slaves.

The Protest
• Stamp Act Congres
• Harrasment: Andrew
Oliver and Thomas
Hutchinson
• Key components of protest: restating of civil rights and nonimportation.

The Virginia Resolves
• The resolves claimed that Virginia was an independent realm of the British Crown, subject to taxation only by its colonial assembly and not by
Parliament.

“The Repeal”

The Declaratory Act
• The Declaratory Act asserted Britain's exclusive right to legislate for and tax its colonies

External v. Internal Taxes
• Colonists tended not to mind “external taxes” such as the Molasses Act.
• These were meant to regulate trade.
• Internal or “direct” taxes were much more contemptible to the colonists. They were designed not to regulate trade, but to raise revenue.

Townshend Acts
• Revenue Act: a duty placed on items such as tea, lead, paper, and barrels.
• Taxation and the salary of governors…a key component.

Response to the Townshend Acts
• Daughters of Liberty
• Samuel Adams Circular Letter
• Non-Importation (40% dip in already strained British commerce)
• Townshend Acts Repealed.

3/5/1770: Joy and Sorrow
• The Townshend Acts
Repealed
• Boston Massacre

Tea Act of 1773
• Changes in the tea policy.
• Dutch smuggling
• Cheaper yet better tea!
• Oh…wait. Merchants role, the new
“Consignee”

Boston Tea Party:

First Continental Congress
• Coordinating event that saw 12/13 (Ga.) colonies meet in
Philadelphia. Their powers were limited, but it was unified.
• Boycott
• Continental
Association
• Committees of
Correspondence

Goal of the 1 st CC?
• “We ask for only for peace, liberty, and security. We wish no diminution of royal prerogatives, we demand no new rights.”