The Move Toward Independence (1770-1776)
Tea Act (1773)
By 1770, Parliament had repealed all of the Townshend Duties of 1767
except for the tax on tea.
Americans expressed the following view:
“Parliament, in 1770, repealed so much of the Revenue Act as imposed a
duty on glass, painters’ colours, and paper, and left the duty on tea, as a
test of the parliamentary right to tax us.”
 The Association of the Sons of Liberty in New York, published Dec.
15, 1773.
At this time, the Americans were still boycotting British tea (as they had
been for five years.) The boycott had put the East-India Company in dire
straits and many Americans expected that the boycott would eventually
lead to the repeal of the tea tax.
The Tea Act of 1773 angered colonial leaders because it lowered the price
of tea without repealing the tea tax of the Revenue Act of 1767. The
colonial leaders thought the British were trying to use cheap tea to, in the
words of Benjamin Franklin, “overcome all the patriotism of an American.”
The first public statement against the Tea Act was the Philadelphia
Resolutions, October 16, 1773. Major points:
 That the duty imposed by Parliament upon tea landed in America is a
tax on the Americans...
 That the express purpose for which the tax is levied on the
Americans, namely for the support of government, administration of
justice, and defence of his Majesty’s dominions in America, has a
direct tendency to render assemblies useless and to introduce
arbitrary government and slavery.
 That a virtuous and steady opposition to this ministerial plan of
governing America is absolutely necessary to preserve even the
shadow of liberty and is a duty which every freeman in America owes
to his country, to himself, and to posterity.
THE BOSTON TEA PARTY (1773)
The first four cities to receive tea shipments were New York City (The tea
ships failed to arrive on schedule), Philadelphia (the captain was convinced
to sail back to England), Charleston (the tea was unloaded & later
destroyed), and Boston (the only confrontation).
On December 16, 1773, after a mass meeting which failed to convince
Royal officials to allow the ships to sail back to England, colonials dressed
as Indians board the ships and dump the chests of tea into the harbor.
Destroying the tea was an act of treason; as a result many men did disguise themselves as Indians to hide their identity.
“Previous to the dissolution [of the meeting at Old South Meeting House], a number of persons, supposed to be the aboriginal
natives, from their complexion, approaching the door of the assembly, gave the war-whoop, which was answered by a few in the
galleries of the house….”— The Evening Post, 20 December 1773.
What did “Indian Dress” look like?
“To prevent Discovery we agreed to wear ragged clothes and disfigure ourselves, dressing to resemble Indians as much as
possible, smearing our faces with grease and lamp black or soot, and should not have known each other except by our voices.” –
Joshua Wyeth, reminiscing in 1827. [Drake, Francis S. Tea Leaves: Being a Collection of Letters and Documents Relating to the
Shipment of Tea to the American Colonies in the year 1773 by the East India Tea Company, 1884]
Why did the colonists dress as “Indians”?
Historian Phillip J. Deloria suggests that “Playing Indian” is a tradition in American culture that has persisted for centuries. Deloria
argues that dressing as “Mohawks” provided the colonists with a shared identity that was distinctly not British. In fact, prior to the
Revolution there were several instances of colonists dressing as Indians while protesting British rule. [Deloria, Philip J. Playing
Indian, 1998]
Parliament responded with Coercive (Intolerable) Acts (see chart).
 Boston Port Act.
 Massachusetts Government Act.
 Justice Act.
 Quartering Act.
First Continental Congress - September 5, 1774
There were three things that the Congress needed to accomplish.
 Define American grievances. A DECLARATION OF RIGHTS AND
GRIEVANCES was written which promised obedience to the King but
denied Parliament’s right to tax the colonies.
 Develop a plan of resistance. An economic boycott (do sanction
work?) was called for while petitioning the king for relief.
Nonimportation of British goods, nonconsumption of British products
and nonexportation of American goods to Britain.
 Outline a theory of their constitutional relationship with England.
To accomplish this, the Congress provided for the convening of
another Congress in 1775.
The colonists had not yet crossed the line to independence. Most still
hoped for reconciliation even though committed to resisting the authority of
Parliament.
The Second Continental Congress - May 10, 1775
 Still no real sentiment for independence.
 Adopted measures for creation of Army and Navy.
 George Washington appointed Military Commander.
 Draft Olive Branch Petition, July 5, 1775, proclaim loyalty to King
George III.
 King rejects and declares colonies in open rebellion.
The American Shift
Thomas Paine’s, Common Sense, February 14, 1776.
 Republicanism, govt. should derive authority from the people.
 An argument for separation and not conciliation.
Declaration of Independence, July 2, 1776.
 King George the tyrant, list of wrongs.
 All people have natural rights (life, liberty, property).
 When govt. abuses rights, people have right to “alter or abolish it.”
 Declaration gives a clear position and purpose to revolution.