England tightens control
over the colonies
 After the French and Indian War,
Britain wanted to govern all its
landholdings in North America
equally
 King George III-king of England
who’s strict laws and high taxes led to
the American Revolution
 Parliament began to impose new laws
and restrictions on colonists
 After the period of Salutary Neglect,
many colonists felt their freedoms
were being limited
 Outlawed the colonists from
settling west of the
Appalachian Mountains
 Prevent further conflict
with the Natives,
 After Pontiac’s Rebellion
 Colonists wanted to move
into the fertile valley of the
Ohio River
 Many felt they had earned
the right by helping to win
the war
 Must enforce the
Proclamation and needed
troops in the colonies.
 Quartering Act (1765) –
Required colonists to
house British soldiers
and provide them with
supplies
 Reason for the 3rd
Amendment
 Most of the troops were
stationed in New York
with General Thomas
Gage
 England had a huge debt
from the war, and the
quartering act required
even more money.
 Colonial assemblies had
been responsible for
creating taxes to support
the colonial military
 Sugar Act (1764) – tax on
sugar, molasses and other
products shipped to
colonies; included a harsh
punishment for smuggling
 Many colonial merchants had
been trading smuggled goods
and reacted angrily to the new
enforcement
 Colonial leaders criticized the
direct taxation by Parliament
 James Otis argued that
Parliament had no right to tax
the colonies because they had
no direct representation in
Parliament
 England argued that since
colonists benefited from
English laws they were subject
to be taxed.
 Required that all legal
documents and paper have
an official stamp showing a
tax had been paid for them
 New type of tax – Direct
Tax
 It was a tax directly on
colonists
 Colonial leaders continued
to question the legality of
being taxed without
representation
 Met in New York City;
first time colonies met to
act together in protest
 Created petition to King
protesting the act
 Declared right to tax the
colonies rested with
colonial legislatures
 Colonial merchants
boycotted British goods
•The protests had an effect
on British Merchants. They
were scared their trade with
the colonies would be hurt
•Parliament repealed the
Stamp Act in 1766
•Declaratory Act (1766) –
Parliament declared it had
supreme power over the
colonies
•Could make any law they
wanted to now.
 After repealing the Stamp Act,
Parliament had to raise revenue
(money)
 Finance Minister Charles
Townshend proposes multi-part
plan
 Townshend Acts Suspended the legislative
assemblies in the colonies
 Placed duties (taxes) on
imported goods
 Goods brought IN to the country
 Townshend believed that these
taxes on goods would anger the
colonists less than a direct tax
like the Stamp Act
 Writs of assistance were used to
search homes and businesses for
smuggled goods
 British soldiers were sent to
colonial cities to enforce British
law & protect customs officials
 Standing armies in the colonies
became the norm
 Samuel Adams’ Sons of Liberty
urged colonists to resist British
goods
 Protests were assembled to
emphasize displeasure in the
colonies
Journal 1.
 A group of colonists who formed a
secret society to fight against
British laws
 Protests
 Boycotts
 Riots
 Colonists formed secret societies
to oppose British policies
 Many groups staged protests
against the taxes; some were
violent with fires set and tax
collectors tarred and feathered
 One of the leaders of
the Sons of Liberty
 Cousin of John Adams
 Planner of the Boston
Tea Party
Journal 2.
 A protest that turned into a riot
outside customs house on Kings St.
in Boston
 5 people died after shots were fired
by the Redcoats
 Including Crispus Attucks
Crispus Attucks
 Colonists use the event as
propaganda to gain support from
other colonies against the British
 Soldiers did receive a fair trial and
were acquitted
 John Adams- lawyer for the soldiers
 Tea was popular but was
smuggled
 Tea Act (1773)-a tax on tea, the
colonist were forced to buy all
their tea from a British company
at a higher cost.
3. Boston Tea Party
 Colonists disguised themselves as
Journal 3.
Native Americans and dumped
342 chests of tea in Boston
Harbor
 The colonists intent was to
destroy British property in an
effort to show Britain how
strongly they opposed taxation
without representation
Intolerable Actions
 British government sought to punish the colonists
for Boston Tea Party
 British called the Coercive Acts
 Colonists call them Intolerable Acts
 Laws not received well in colonies
 Closed Boston Harbor until the colonists paid for the tea
 Banned committees of correspondence
 Allowed Brits to house troops wherever needed
 British officials accused of crimes in the colonies would
stand trial in Britain
 Was used as a way to punish the colonists for their
rebellious behavior
 Parliament appointed a military General as Governor of
Mass. to enforce the acts
Boycott-a refusal to buy goods
2. Sons of Liberty formed-led by
Samuel Adams
3. Committees of
Correspondence- a way for the
colonists to get info
1.
* groups of colonists who exchanged
letters on colonial affairs.
Tar and Feather
5. Boston Tea Party
6. Boston Massacre (Propaganda)
7. The First Continental Congress
4.
Journal 4.
 All colonies except Georgia
meet as the 1st Continental
Congress
 Debate & reject a plan to
compromise & reconcile with
Great Britain
 12 of the 13 colonies attended,
showing that the colonies were
ready to stand as a united front
against England
 Decisions made @ the 1st C.C.:
1. Ban all trade w/ Britain
2. Begin training troops
3. Meet again in 7 months
“The distinctions between Virginians,
Pennsylvanians, New Yorkers, & New
Englanders are no more…I am not a
Virginian, but an American.”
“Gentlemen may cry peace, peace—but there is no peace.
The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps
from the north will bring to our ears the clash of
resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field!
Why should we idle here?....I know not what course
others may take. But as for me, give
me liberty
or give me death.”
-Patrick Henry, March 1775