Lesson 6.2: Colonial
Resistance Grows
Today we will
describe several
events that
increased tension
between Colonists
and the British
government.
Copy the following on Portfolio p11
British Act
Proclamation of 1763
Sugar Act (1764)
Quartering Act (1765)
Stamp Act (1764)
Townshend Acts (1767)
Tea Act (1773)
What it Did
Colonists’ Reaction
Vocabulary
• writ – a legal document issued by the
government or the courts
• propaganda – words or images designed
to persuade an audience to act, feel,
think, or believe in a specific way
• summarize – give a brief description
• prompted – caused to happen
• correspondence – communication by
exchanging letters
What We Already Know
Ever since the
Proclamation of 1763,
relations between the
British government
and the American
colonists had been
growing increasingly
hostile.
What We Already Know
Parliament’s attempts to raise revenue by
taxing the colonies were met with protests,
petitions, and boycotts.
What We Already Know
The Enlightenment was an intellectual movement
that emphasized reason and science, and its
scholars believed that all government should be
based on natural laws and natural rights.
To raise revenue and
to demonstrate its
authority, Parliament
passed the
Townshend Acts in
1767, leading to a
new wave of
protests in the
colonies.
The Townshend Acts Are Passed
• Parliament had canceled the Stamp Act. But
it still needed to raise money to pay its
expenses in America.
• Charles Townshend, the
king’s finance minister,
suggested a series of laws
that would raise revenue in
the colonies.
• One of the Townshend Acts
stopped New York’s
legislative assembly from
meeting until the colonists
agreed to quarter British
troops.
The Townshend Acts
• Another act placed taxes on certain goods
brought into the colonies. The money raised
would help to pay the salaries of British officials
in the colonies.
• To enforce these laws,
British officers used
Writs of Assistance.
These were search
warrants used to enter
homes or businesses
to find smuggled
goods.
The Reasons for Protest
• Anger over the new
taxes and the closure of
the New York assembly
• “Parliament has no right
to tax us directly!”
• The Writs of Assistance
also angered many
colonists.
• These acts threatened
their natural rights and
freedoms.
John Locke and Natural Rights
• Natural rights had been
described by English
philosopher John Locke
during the Enlightenment.
• Locke wrote that the law
of nature teaches that
“no one ought to harm
another in his life, health,
liberty, or possessions.”
Tools of Protest
Colonists in Boston decided to protest the
Townshend Acts by calling for another
boycott of British goods, which spread
throughout the colonies.
Tools of Protest
Samuel Adams,
a leader of the
Boston Sons of
Liberty, led the
protest.
Tools of Protest
• The Sons of Liberty asked
shopkeepers not to sell
goods made in Britain.
• The Daughters of Liberty
urged colonists to weave
their own cloth and to
use only American goods.
• Trade with Britain dropped.
• Some colonial leaders
called for peaceful protests.
John Dickinson
Repeal of the Townshend Acts
• Parliament repealed all the Townshend Acts
except the tax on tea, in order to continue
demonstration of its power to govern the
colonies.
• Most colonists
were content
and believed
the crisis was
over.
Repeal of the Townshend Acts
• Parliament repealed all the Townshend Acts
except the tax on tea, in order to continue
demonstration of its power to govern the
colonies.
• Most
Colonists
were content
and believed
the crisis was
over.
Repeal of the Townshend Acts
• Samuel Adams,
however, wanted to
make sure that the
Colonists did not
forget the cause of
liberty.
• He helped to form
Committees of
Correspondence in
various towns in
Massachusetts.
Committees of Correspondence
• These groups wrote letters
to one another about
colonial matters.
• Soon these Committees
were exchanging letters
throughout Massachusetts,
as well as with Committees
formed in other Colonies.
• The Committees kept
opposition to the British
alive by exchanging letters
on colonial affairs.
4. What were the
committees of correspondence?
A. Colonists who helped Samuel Adams to
become governor of Massachusetts
B. Colonists who encouraged independent
action in each colony to support the British
C. Colonists who kept opposition to the British
alive by exchanging letters on colonial
affairs
D. Colonists who spied on the Sons of Liberty
for the British government
4. What were the
committees of correspondence?
A. Colonists who helped Samuel Adams to
become governor of Massachusetts
B. Colonists who encouraged independent
action in each colony to support the British
C. Colonists who kept opposition to the British
alive by exchanging letters on colonial
affairs
D. Colonists who spied on the Sons of Liberty
for the British government
The “Liberty” Incident
• Customs officials in Boston tried to search the
merchant ship Liberty, which was carrying
smuggled goods.
• Colonists rose up in protest and a riot broke out.
• British officials reacted by calling for more
British troops to be sent to Boston.
The Boston Massacre
• In the fall of 1768,
about 1,000 British
soldiers arrived in
Boston to keep order.
• Poorly paid British
soldiers often hired
themselves out as
workers when offduty, leading to
competition with
colonists for jobs.
The Boston Massacre
Tension filled the streets, as
soldiers and Colonists openly
taunted each other.
Frightened British
recoats feared for their
lives.
Ned, they’re
comin’ right
for us!
On March 5, 1770, a
scuffle broke out between
colonists and a group of
redcoats guarding the
Customs House.
The Boston Massacre
The soldiers fired on the protesting
Colonists, and five were killed,
including a sailor and former slave
named Crispus Attucks.
The Boston Massacre
Colonial
leaders called
the shooting
the Boston
Massacre.
They said
that the five
colonists
gave their
lives for
freedom.
The Boston Massacre
• The Sons of Liberty turned the tragedy into antiBritish propaganda.
• Paul Revere’s illustration of the event was
circulated throughout the colonies.
• Thousands of colonists were outraged by
news of the killings.
The Boston Massacre
• The British soldiers
involved in the
shooting were
arrested for murder.
• John Adams, a
cousin of Samuel
Adams, successfully
defended the
soldiers in court.
• He wanted to prove
that the Colonies
followed the Rule of
Law.
To many Colonists, however the
Boston Massacre would stand as a
symbol of British tyranny.
The Tea Act
• The British East India Tea Company was a
major part of the British economy, but in
1773 it was facing bankruptcy.
• Many members of Parliament were investors
in the company, and didn’t want to see it fail.
• In 1773, Parliament gave the company a
monopoly on the Colonial tea trade.
• The tea would come to the Colonies in the
company’s ships and would be sold in the
Colonies only by the company’s merchants.
Why did the Tea Act
upset the colonists?
A. It raised the price of tea too high for
average people to afford.
B. Colonists would now be forced to pay
a tax on their tea.
C. It forced colonists to buy tea every
month whether they wanted to or not.
D. They could no longer buy tea from the
East India Tea Company, as they
usually did.
Why did the Tea Act
upset the colonists?
A. It raised the price of tea too high for
average people to afford.
B. Colonists would now be forced to pay
a tax on their tea.
C. It forced colonists to buy tea every
month whether they wanted to or not.
D. They could no longer buy tea from the
East India Tea Company, as they
usually did.
The Boston Tea Party
• Colonists would
have to pay the
tax on the tea,
which was a
very popular
drink in all the
American
colonies.
• Many colonists
began protests
against the Tea
Act, because
they feared what
Parliament
might do next.
The Boston Tea Party
Tea was not unloaded,
and tea ships were
blocked from landing.
The Boston Tea Party
East India Tea
Company
agents were
harassed
and assaulted
by the Sons of
Liberty.
The Boston Tea Party
• On December 16,
1773, a group of
Colonists in Boston
boarded three tea
ships.
• Dressed as Native
Americans, they
dumped 342 chests
of tea into Boston
Harbor. This event
became known as the
Boston Tea Party.
The Boston Tea Party
• Many colonists believed
that the tea party would
show Britain how much
they opposed being taxed
without representation.
• Others questioned
whether destroying
property was the best
way to respond to British
taxes.
• Some colonial leaders
offered to pay for the tea
if Parliament would agree
to end the Tea Act.
The Boston Tea Party
• An angry Parliament turned down the offer.
• It wanted the colonists to pay for the tea.
• It also wanted the people responsible to be
brought to trial.
• It wanted Massachusetts to be punished.
5. The Boston Tea Party was
prompted by the Tea Act of 1773,
which….
A. gave one British company a monopoly
over the tea trade in America.
B. made it illegal to drink tea imported from
any country other than Britain.
C. raised the tax on tea so high that only the
wealthy could afford it.
D. required all colonists to buy at least ten
pounds of tea per year from British
merchants.
5. The Boston Tea Party was
prompted by the Tea Act of 1773,
which….
A. gave one British company a monopoly
over the tea trade in America.
B. made it illegal to drink tea imported from
any country other than Britain.
C. raised the tax on tea so high that only the
wealthy could afford it.
D. required all colonists to buy at least ten
pounds of tea per year from British
merchants.
Why did a bunch of Colonists,
dressed up as Indians, dump tea
into Boston Harbor?
A. They were trying to force the East India
Company to lower its prices.
B. The tea was inferior in quality to what they
usually bought.
C. It was one of several colonial protests
against the Townshend Acts.
D. They were protesting the Tea Act of 1773.
E. The price of crumpets was outrageous.
Why did a bunch of Colonists,
dressed up as Indians, dump tea
into Boston Harbor?
A. They were trying to force the East India
Company to lower its prices.
B. The tea was inferior in quality to what they
usually bought.
C. It was one of several colonial protests
against the Townshend Acts.
D. They were protesting the Tea Act of 1773.
E. The price of crumpets was outrageous.
British Act
What it Did
Colonists’ Reaction
banned settlement
west of Appalachians
colonists ignored it and
moved west anyway
Sugar Act (1764)
tax on sugar and
other imported goods
smuggling by colonists
increased, hated it
Quartering Act (1765)
colonists must house
and feed redcoats
colonial anger and
resentment grow
Stamp Act (1765)
tax on official
documents
boycotts and protests;
Sons of Liberty;
petitions to Parliament
Townshend Acts (1767)
tax on tea and other
imports
forced boycotts; anti-tax
resolutions by colonial
assemblies
Tea Act (1773)
monopoly on colonial
tea trade
Boston Tea Party
Proclamation of 1763