The Stirrings of Rebellion
Chapter 4 Section 1
The Sugar Act - 1764
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British Action
Strictly enforced
Halved duty on
foreign molasses
(Indirect Tax)
Placed duties on
certain imports (ie.
lumber)
Allowed smugglers to
be tried in British
courts
Colonial Reaction
• Angered over
economics not
“Taxation w/o
Representation”
• Written protests
• Occasional boycotts
Stamp Act 1765
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British Action
First Direct Tax
Taxed legal and
commercial
documents (licenses,
newspapers,
almanacs)
Special “stamped”
paper for legal docs
Dice and playing
cards
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Colonial Reaction
Violent protests
(harass tax collectors)
“Sons of Liberty”
Colonies pass laws to
evade the tax
Stamp Act Congress
issues Declaration of
Rights and
Grievances
Further boycotts
Violence against tax collectors
Quartering Act – 1765 and 1774
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British Action
Standing army after
French and Indian
War
Required colonial
assemblies to house
and provision British
soldiers
Soldiers stayed in inns,
stables, barns, etc.
1774, Use private
homes as necessary
Colonial Reaction
• 1765, Most colonial
assemblies refused to
pay for provisions
• 1774, Wrote petition
to King George
Declaratory Act - 1766
British Action
Colonial Reaction
• Accompanied
• Pleased w/ repeal
repeal of Stamp Act
of Stamp Act
• Statement of
• Continued protest
Parliament’s right to
of other British
rule the colonies in
imposed laws
any way it saw fit
• Scared that more
punitive laws would
follow
Townshend Acts - 1767
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British Action
Indirect tax on lead,
paper, tea, paint and
glass collected at
port
Revenue paid British
officials in colonies
Created customs
commission
Suspended N.Y.
assembly for failure to
comply
Colonial Reaction
• “No Taxation without
Representation” cries
from colonists
• Resumed boycott of
British goods
• Cut British exports to
colonies by 38%
“No Taxation without
Representation”
– The English Bill of Rights (1689) – “The crown cannot issue
taxes without approval of Parliament”
–The colonists had no
representation in Parliament. so
they argued that they could not
be taxed by Parliament
– Parliament argued that they have the right to speak for the
interests of all British subjects not just the districts that
elected them.
Boston Massacre - Background
• British agents in Boston seized John
Hancock’s colonial ship Liberty
• Customs inspector claimed suspicion
of smuggling
• Triggered colonial riots in Boston
• British station 2,000 troops in Boston
– Troops were poorly paid
– Competed for jobs w/ colonists
Boston
Massacre
March 5, 1770
• Afternoon, Fist
fight over jobs
• That night, a mob
gathered in front
of customs house
• Armed clash
between colonists
and guards
• 3 colonists killed
• 2 wounded
Tea Act - 1773
• Created to save the • Bostonians dressed
failing British East
as natives destroy a
India Co.
shipment of tea
(Boston Tea Party)
• Granted BEIC right
to import tea free of
tax that colonial
• * 18,000 lbs. of tea
merchants paid
dumped into Boston
• Hoped colonists
Harbor*
would buy the
cheaper tea
Intolerable Acts - 1774
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British Action
George III’s response to
Boston Tea Party
Gen. Gage new
Governor Mass.
Closes Boston Harbor
Quartering Act of 1774
Places Boston Under
martial law
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Colonial Reaction
First Continental
Congress:
Representative colonial
assembly – 56
representatives met in
Philadelphia
Declaration of Colonial
Rights
Agreed to fight if
attacked
Agreed to reconvene in
May 1775 if demands not
met
III. Lexington and Concord
• To Concord, By the Lexington Road
• Civilian militia or minutemen begin to stockpile firearms, 1775
• Resistance leaders John Hancock, Samuel Adams hide in
Lexington
• Gage sent men along Lexington Road to seize and destroy all
weapons & gunpowder
III. Lexington and Concord
• “The Regulars Are
Coming!”
• 700 redcoats sent to capture leaders,
destroy munitions, April 1775
• Paul Revere, William Dawes, Samuel
Prescott warn leaders, townspeople
• Revere reached Adams & Hancock –
continued his famous ride
III. Lexington and Concord
 “A Glorious Day for America”
 April 19, 1775 Battle of Lexington - British
Soldiers attacked 70 minutemen – 8
killed and 10 wounded
 British continued on to Concord, found
nothing & were heading back to Boston
– 3000 to 4000 minutemen attack
 Dozens killed they return to Boston after
humiliating loss
 Adams says “this is a glorious day for
America”
Review Questions
• List and explain three ways the colonies
organized to resist British taxation?
• What were three events & what took
place that increased tension before the
outbreak of war?
• When, where and what happened at the
Battles of Lexington and Concord?