# 20
Unit Two: Founding of
a New Nation
# 21
Unit Two: Warm Ups
# 23
I. Road to
Revolution: The
Acts
A. Greenville and the Sugar Act
1.
Aftermath of the French and
Indian War




Britain was left with a huge
debt
10,000 British troops were
still in the colonies
Prime Minister Greenville
wanted the colonists to pay
for the troops staying in the
colonies
Use taxes to pay for them
2.
British vs Colonists on Taxes

Britain


Colonies are subjects of King
Under British law
Colonies


Didn’t ask the King to defeat the
French
Quartering Act 1763
3.

required colonists to provide housing and supplies for
British soldiers
Sugar Act
4.


First tax passed to deal with the cost of troops
British Parliament passed a tax on sugar and
molasses imported from the West Indies
Colonial Response
5.



Northern Merchants said
it would hurt the rum
industry
The molasses used to
make rum would be
more expensive
Samuel Adams said that
this tax turned them from
free people into “tributary
slaves”
No taxation without representation
6.


Colonists saw it as unfair to be taxed without
representation in the British Parliament
Major issue of Revolutionary war
B. The Stamp Act Brings Protest
1.
Stamp Act (1765)


Law required a tax stamp to be placed on all
legal documents
Contracts, Licenses, Newspapers, Almanacs,
Printed Sermons, and even Playing Cards
2.
Mobs in the Streets


3.
In protest, mobs forced stamp agents to resign
Colonists hung dummies representing stamp
agents
Stamp Act Congress



Representatives from 9
colonies met in NY
Sent a petition to the
King and Parliament
Stated that the Parliament
could not tax them without
representation
4.
Sons of Liberty


5.
Group started to organize protests against the
taxes
Boycotted (refused to buy) British goods
Stamp Act Repealed



British Merchants were losing money because of
Boycott
Asked the Parliament to end the stamp act
Act was repealed but Parliament said they could
still tax if they wanted to
C. Townshend Acts (1767)
1.
What were they?



Charles Townshend (New Parliament Minister)
comes up with these taxes
Taxed lead, paint, paper, glass, and tea
imported from Britain
Also involved Writs of Assistance: Customs
officers could search colonial homes without a
warrant
2.
Colonial Response



3.
Merchants found ways to get around the taxes
Some smuggled goods
Merchants in Boston, New York, and
Philadelphia signed agreements to not import
British goods
Repeal of the Townshend Acts



Smuggling and Boycotts hurt British Merchants
again
Most of the acts were repealed in March 1770
The tax on tea was left in place
D. Boston Massacre 1770
Boston Massacre – Five unarmed,
innocent, God fearing, Colonists are brutally
gunned down by bloodthirsty British troops
in front of the State House in Boston.
Crispus Attucks
1.
2.
former slave (African father, Native American
mother)
killed in the Boston Massacre


3.
Discuss Propaganda

Media – TV, Newspapers, Internet
I. Road to
Revolution: The
Acts con’d
Warm Up:
What was the stamp act and
explain how the colonist reacted?
# 20
E. Tea Act (1773)
1.
What was it?


Lord North (new
Prime Minister) has
parliament redo the
tax on Tea
This would help the
East India Tea
company and hurt
Colonial Merchants
2.
Boston Tea Party




In response to the tea act
Nov 1773: Three ships
loaded with tea enter the
Boston Harbor and are not
allowed to unload
Dec 16 1773: About 70
angry Bostonians dressed
like Native Americans
Threw the chests of tea
into the harbor
F. Patriots Organize
Militias – Armed citizens defending their
communities.
1.

Minutemen – Colonial militia trained to be ready
in one minute.
G. Intolerable Acts
1.
Punishing the Colonists


2.
Lord North wanted to punish the colonies
(Massachusetts mostly)
Upset over the protests
What the Acts did




Closed Boston Harbor
Cancelled the Massachusetts Charter (No more Rep
Government)
Moved trials of colonial officials to Britain
Allowed soldiers to be housed in colonists homes
(Quartering)
I. Overall Effect of Acts




Colonists became more united
Felt their rights were being taken away
“No Taxation without Representation”
became a rallying cry
Colonists began to see themselves separate
from Britain
H. 1st Continental Congress 1774
1.
2.
3.
Colonists for 1st Government
Philadelphia
Protect Colonial Rights
Delegates from 12 colonies (all except Georgia)
met to discuss the situation with Britain in the fall
of 1774.
They met at
Carpenters’ Hall in
Philadelphia in what
became known as the
“First Continental
Congress” to convince
Parliament to repeal
the Intolerable Acts.
Delegates included
John Adams, Benjamin
Franklin, Samuel
Adams, George
Washington, Richard
Henry Lee, and John
Jay.
Carpenters Hall
Continental Congress’ Resolutions
The Congress did not intend to
declare independence from
Britain. The delegates believed
that they were entitled to the
same rights as all Englishmen and
that the Intolerable Acts and other
laws violated those rights.
At the conclusion of the Congress,
the delegates signed nonimportation agreements
boycotting British goods. In
addition, they pledged to meet
again in 1775 if the Intolerable
Acts were not repealed.
However, before the delegates
could meet again, the
Revolutionary War had begun, and
the Second Continental Congress
found itself occupied with the
conduct of a war rather than
repeal of the Intolerable Acts.
The Non-Importation agreement
This painting of Patrick Henry addressing the First
Continental Congress can be found in the House Corridor
of the United States Capitol.
The colonists prepared for war
Colonial early warning system
The Minutemen
Lexington and Concord
Colonists prepared for combat
 In several
Massachusetts towns
people had begun to
stockpile weapons and
train openly for combat
 General Thomas Gage,
British military governor
of Massachusetts, learned
of colonial military
preparations, and ordered
British troops to Lexington
and Concord to seize
weapons
General Thomas Gage
“One if by land, two if by sea”
Many of the leaders of the
rebel movement, known as
the “Patriots”, fled Boston to
avoid arrest by the British.
Those who stayed devised a
plan to alert those who
remained of a British
advance: one lantern in the
steeple of the Old North
Church, two if from the
Charles River.
On April 18, 1775 silversmith
Paul Revere saw the lanterns
and along with William
Dawes and Dr. Samuel
Prescott, rode through the
countryside warning
colonists and militia that the
British were on the march to
Lexington and Concord.
The riders
William Dawes
Only Prescott
was able to
make it to
Concord
Paul Revere
Revere was captured,
but lied to the British
about colonial troop
strength, and was
eventually released to
return to Boston on a
poorly rested horse.
Dawes took the longer “by
land” route across the
isthmus of Massachusetts and
was able to elude capture by
British forces and warned
militia at several locations
along the route the British
traveled to Lexington and
Concord. Dawes was thrown
from his horse and was
captured.
The Minutemen
 Based on English militia
model
 All males over age 16 were
required to join militia and
attend musters. Minutemen
were selected from colonial
militia rosters
 The average age was about
25 years old, and many were
veterans of the French and
Indian War
 Term “minute men” first
used in 1756; but not
officially used for colonial
militia until 1774; meant
they would be ready to fight
“in a moment’s notice”
Lexington and Concord
April 19, 1775
“The shot heard round the world”
Cartoon shows George III and Lord Mansfield,
seated on an open chaise drawn by two horses
labeled "Obstinacy" and "Pride," about to lead
Britain into an abyss represented by the war with
the American colonies
How the war began
When the British troops arrived in Lexington, the colonial
militia under Captain John Parker, was lined up on the village
green. Parker had ordered his men to “stand their ground…”,
but added “if they mean to have a war, let it begin here”.
As the two sides watched each other, a shot apparently was
fired in the distance. The British responded by firing at the
militia, who returned fire. At the end of the skirmish, along
with the subsequent one at Concord, 50 militia and 73 British
soldiers were killed.
The British marched back to Boston under heavy fire from the
colonists, who practiced guerrilla warfare, meaning they were
hiding behind rocks and trees. The British army had always
fought in a traditional style, in the open with both sides facing
each other, which made it difficult for them to effectively fight
back. Eventually the British troops made it back to
Charlestown after suffering many more casualties on the
march.
The British army and colonials were now at war.