Chapter 4
Independence
1763-1783
Chapter 4
Section 1
The Seeds of Unrest
Pages 100-106
Objectives
Section 1
• 1. Explain how the British Crown responded to
Pontiac’s Rebellion.
• 2. Discuss why the British government passed
the Sugar Act and the Stamp Act.
• 3. Recount how the colonists responded to the
Stamp Act.
• 4. Summarize the events that led to the
Boston Massacre.
Governing the New Territories
• American Indian resistance: After the French and
Indian War the British limited the amount of rum and
ammunition for trading with the Indians. The British
ended the practice of giving gifts to the Indians for use
of land.
• The Indians were angry, they thought the trade goods
and presents fair payment for allowing use of their
lands. The British had been warned the Indians would
wage war.
• The Indians were becoming more upset by the settlers
moving into the western territories. Trade had been
disrupted and now lands were being taken from them.
Neolin
• American Indian known as the Delaware Prophet.
He traveled among the Indians trying to convince
them to return to ancient practices. He
encouraged the Indians to drive out the settlers.
• Pontiac, Ottawa chief, heard the message. Pontiac
called upon other tribes to unite and destroy the
enemy known as the settlers. Most of 1763 was
about waging war on the frontier.
Pontiac’s Rebellion
• The rebellion ended when the Indians failed to
take Forts Detroit and Pitt. The Indians had
attacked the forts for several months without
any success. Ammunition was running short
and no outside support from the French. The
British possessed military control of Indian
lands in the West.
Neolin’s Prophecy
culture
• Neolin’s tribe, the Delaware, largely accepted
European settlers and traders who took over
their land. They also adopted certain elements of
European culture. As a young man, Neolin
reportedly had a vision in which a spiritual figure
warned him that there were dire consequences
for such behavior-tribal degeneration. In 1762
Neolin started to preach openly against
Europeans. He told American Indians followers
that they could cleanse themselves by adopting
new behavior, driving the British from their
territory, and taking potions to induce vomiting.
The Proclamation of 1763
Pontiac’s Rebellion
Successes
• Proclamation of 1763:
• Barred settlement west of
Appalachians
• Required traders to obtain
permission before entering
territory.
Failures
• Attempted to tax colonists
to recover costs of fighting
rebellion
Financing the Empire
• The Proclamation of 1763 wasn’t the only
British policy that upset the colonists.
Parliament wanted the colonies to pay for the
“protecting and securing the frontier.”
• To raise the money to recover from the French
and Indian War the British knew it had to
come from taxes.
• Sugar Act-1764: Act imposed a duty, or import
tax, on foreign sugar, molasses, and other
items entering Great Britain’s American
colonies. This is the first time the British
actually enforced the law.
• Stamp Act-1765: The British imposed a
revenue law. All printed materials such as:
advertisements, legal documents, diplomas,
newspapers, and playing cards.
Colonial Protests
• The British knew the colonists wouldn’t be happy
about the tax. In the past colonial assemblies had
passed taxes with little protest. This time it was
Parliament where the colonies had no representation.
• Nonimportation agreements: colonial merchants
promised not to buy or import British goods.
• Sons of Liberty: were committees of artisans, lawyers,
merchants, and politicians formed to protest the Stamp
Act. The group relied on pamphlets, petitions, and
public meetings to gain support. On occasion they
would resort to violence.
Activity
• Imagine that you are colonists living in Boston
shortly after the passage of the Stamp Act.
• Design a handbill with text and images
illustrating the colonial response to the Stamp
Act. ( handbills should reference the
nonimportation agreements, protests against
the Stamp Act, the Sons of Liberty, or the
Stamp Act Congress. )
Repeal of the Stamp Act
• Samuel Adams: leader of the Boston Sons of Liberty.
The Stamp Act passage, allowed him to become a
political activist. He was a propagandist who knew
how to stage demonstrations and write articles.
• Stamp Act Congress: October, 1765-delegates met in
New York City to protest the tax on the colonies. This
was a mark towards unified resistance.
• British merchants supported the boycotting of goods
and services, but knew it would hurt business. They
pressured Parliament to repeal the Stamp Act. The Act
was repealed in March of 1766.
• Declaratory Act: 1766, went unnoticed by the
colonies-This act declared that Parliament had
full power and authority to make laws…..to
bind the colonies and people of America.
• The right of Parliament to tax colonies was
unresolved.
The Townshend Acts
• Townshend Acts: 1767- the finance minister of
Britain, Charles Townshend, never really
understood the colonists point of view about the
stamp act. They would accept taxes at the
colonial port.
• Parliament placed import duties on items as tea,
lead, glass, and dyes for paint.
• Writs of Assistance: British implemented search
warrants. These were general search warrants.
Custom officials could search vessels,
warehouses, or homes for smuggled goods.
Quartering Act
• In response to the British army’s difficulties in
quartering soldiers in the colonies, Parliament
decided to pass a quartering act. The measure
required the colonies to house soldiers in
barracks, alehouses, or empty buildings and to
provide beds, heat, light, and other supplies free
of charge. In 1765 this American Mutiny Act, also
known as the Quartering Act , went into effect.
The colonists regarded the new law as unfair.
New Jersey’s assembly objected to the act on the
grounds that it imposed an unfair tax on the
colonies.
The Boston Massacre
• 1768: General Thomas Gage dispatches troops to
Boston to put down protests and support the
writs of assistance.
• March 5, 1770: The Boston Massacre occurs
outside the customs house. Samuel Adams and
the Sons of Liberty placed a political spin on the
event.
• Several months later the British soldiers were
tried for murder, defended by John Adams. The
soldiers were branded on the hands and
released.