Turmoil over
Taxation
Chapter 5 section 2
Bell Ringer!
• Why did the British government see the need to
begin taxing the colonies?
• What was the main reason why colonists resisted
these taxes?
• What other issues did they have with the British in
America?
Britain Imposes New Taxes
• The French and Indian War plunged Britain deeply
into debt.
• Britain needs more revenue
• The British Prime Minister, George Grenville, decided
that the colonists should help pay off the post war
debt. Grenville decided to use taxation on goods,
such as sugar, to help cover the debt.
The Quartering Act (1765)
• Under this law, colonists had to provide candles,
food, drinks, and a place to sleep for British soldiers
stationed in their area.
• Cost saving measure for Britain
The Sugar Act
Grenville persuaded Parliament to pass the Sugar Act
(1764); which placed a heavy tax on molasses. As a
result, colonists resorted to smuggling molasses into
the colonies.
The Stamp Act
• In 1765, Grenville persuaded Parliament to
pass the Stamp Act. The act placed duties
(taxes) on legal documents such as:
o
o
o
o
Wills, Diplomas, Contracts
Marriage papers
Newspapers and Almanacs
Playing Cards and Dice
Tar and Feathering
The Bostonians Paying the Excise-Man,
1774 British propaganda print that depicts
the tarring and feathering of Boston
Commissioner of Customs John Malcolm.
This was the second time Malcolm had
been tarred and feathered.
“No Taxation without Representation”
• Colonists used this quote as a way to express
their feelings on British taxes.
• The colonists wanted a voice in the British
government (Parliament)
• Colonists were willing to pay taxes, but only
the taxes that were passed by the colonies.
STAMP ACT CONGRESS
• October 1765 - 9 colonies sent delegates to a
meeting in New York
o The delegates created a petition to the king, rejecting the Stamp Act,
Parliament had no right to tax the colonies
• Colonial merchants then created a boycott of all
British goods
No British
Goods!
Petition and Boycott
• A petition is a formal
written request to someone
in authority, signed by a
group of people.
• To boycott means to
refuse to buy certain
goods and services. In
many cases, people
boycott something in
protest.
Repeal of the Stamp Act
• The boycott worked and Parliament repealed the
Stamp Act in 1766!
• Parliament also passed the Declaratory Act giving
them supreme authority to govern the colonies
THE TOWNSHEND ACTS(1767)
 Britain placed a tax on the following:
 GLASS
 PAPER
 LEAD
 PAINT
 TEA
• The duties were
collected before the
goods entered the
colonies –
Townshend thought
this would anger the
colonists less than a
direct tax like the
Stamp Act
Writs of Assistance
• A legal document, used by British
officials, to inspect or search a
ship’s cargo without reason or
justification.
The Sons of Liberty
• Secret society formed to oppose British
policies
• This group of colonial protesters urges
people to boycott British Goods.
o Staged protests
o Burned stamped paper, attacked customs
officials
Leader: Paul Revere
Founder: Sam Adams
Calls for Protest!
• Anger that Britain was placing
new taxes on them
• Argued that Writs of Assistance
went against their basic rights
o Serious threat to their rights and freedom
• Boston
o Another boycott of British goods led by Samuel
Adams
o Daughters of Liberty join in and encourage
colonists to weave their own cloth and use
American products
o British trade fell sharply
THE BOSTON MASSACRE
•
Fall of 1768 1,000 British soldiers
arrived in Boston ( General
Thomas Gage) – tensions rose
•
On March 5th 1770, outside a
Boston customs house, a group of
colonists shouted insults
(protesting the Quartering Act) at
“redcoats” guarding the building.
o
•
•
Protesters shouted insults such as “lobster back”
and threw snowballs, oyster shells and chunks of
ice at the British soldiers.
As the crowd grew larger the
British soldiers panicked and fired
their muskets.
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Results of the Boston Massacre
• Five people were killed by the soldiers,
• Samuel Maverick, 17 years old, and Crispus Attucks,
an African American sailor were both fatally
wounded
• John Adams defended the soldiers on murder
charges
o The jury ruled that they had acted in self-defense
• Became a tool for anti-British propaganda
• Letter-writing
campaign, led by Sam
Adams
• This committee, from
Boston, wrote letters to
other colonies in an
effort to keep them
informed
• Became very
successful as a means
for protest