Cause and Effect
The Navigation Acts (1650)

 Colonists were required to transport goods only on
British ships
 Certain goods (sugar, tobacco, indigo, furs) could
only go to England.
 Imported goods must be purchased from England or
pay taxes in British port if purchased from a foreign
nation.
 Purpose: To make England a wealthy nation
The Navigations Acts
(1650)

 COLONIAL REACTION:
 many colonists ignored these laws.
 Smuggling was prominent.
 BRITISH RESPONSE:
 Passed Sugar Act and Writs of Assistance
Proclamation of 1763

 Prohibited all settlement and fur trapping west of the
Appalachian Mountains
 Britain passed this law to pacify the Indians and to
save them the expense of protecting colonists who
settled on the frontier.
 The colonists resented the Proclamation. Many
defied the Proclamation and moved anyway.
Writs of Assistance (1764)

 Legal papers which gave custom officials the right to
search any building for any reason.
 The writs were an attempt to stop smuggling.
 The colonists complained that these writs violated
their rights as English subjects.
Sugar Act (1764)

 Reduced the tax on sugar/molasses but also
provided for stricter enforcement of the Navigation
Acts by sending suspected smugglers to England for
trial with Crown-appointed judges (not jury).
 This law was an attempt to stop smuggling by
lowering the tax and give the British government the
tools to crackdown on smugglers.
Sugar Act (1764)

 The colonists felt that this Sugar Act took away their
rights of trial by jury and taxation with representation
as guaranteed to them as English subjects.
Stamp Act (1765)

 The Stamp Act was a direct tax on the colonies
which placed a tax on almost all printed materials.
 It was attempt to raise revenue for Britain.
You Mad Bro?

 People in Britain were
shocked at the uproar
in the colonies.
 Britain had spent a
great deal of $$$
protecting the colonists
from the French
 British paid 26 TIMES
the taxes of the
colonists.
Here’s Why…

 Britain taxing the colonies went against the long-
established British principle of no taxation without
representation (see Magna Carta 1215)
 ONLY the colonists or their elected representatives had
the right to pass taxes
 No colonial representation in Parliament = No British
taxes
 Colonists were willing to pay taxes passed by colonial
legislatures
Stamp Act Crisis (1765)

 In response to the Stamp Act
the colonists did the following:
 Formed the Sons and
Daughters of Liberty
 protested in the streets
 harassed tax collectors
 boycotted trade with England
 non-importation agreements
 Stamp Act Congress and
Resolves
A Call for Unity

 The Stamp Act crisis brought a sense of unity to the
colonies.
 Critic of the law called for delegates from every
colony to meet in New York.
 The purpose of this “Stamp Act Congress” was to
consider action against the hated Stamp Act.
 Delegates from nine colonies sent delegates.
The Stamp Act Congress

 Drew up petitions, or letters, to King George III and
to Parliament.
 These petitions rejected the Stamp Act and asserted
that Parliament had no right to tax the colonies.
 Parliament paid little attention to these petitions.
The Stamp Act Congress

 Besides petitions, the colonists took more direct
action.
 They called for a boycott (to refuse to buy certain
goods or services) of British goods
 The boycott took its toll, trade fell off by 14%.
 British merchants and workers suffered.
 Finally, in 1766 Parliament repealed (cancelled) the
Stamp Act
Stamp Act (1765)

 In reaction to the protests of the Stamp Act the British
government repealed the law.
 In its place, they passed the Declaratory Act.
Declaratory Act (1766)

 The Declaratory Act repealed the Stamp Act but also
asserted British authority to tax the colonists in “all
cases whatsoever.”
 The British asserted their authority to tax the
colonists whenever they wanted.
 The colonists considered this act a victory.
Townshend Act (1767)

 Placed duties (taxes) on glass, paper, paint, lead,
and tea brought into the colonies.
 These duties were to be paid in gold or silver only
and paid at the port of entry.
 Also, suspended the New York legislature.
 The Townshend Act was an effort by England’s new
Finance Minister to tax the colonies “without offense”.
Townshend Acts (1767)

 This act challenged the colonists basic notions of
taxation without representation and liberty. In
response, the colonists renewed their boycotts of
British goods.
 Five colonists killed in a clash with British troops in
1770 known as “The Boston Massacre”.
 The Townshend Act was repealed one month after
the Boston Massacre.
Tea Act (1773)

 Kept the tax on tea and gave the East India
Company a monopoly over the American tea trade.
 The British kept the tax on tea to show the colonists
it still had the right to tax them.
Tea Act (1773)

 In response to the Tea Act the colonials:
 Organized Committees of Correspondence
 The Boston Tea Party was staged by the Sons of Liberty.
 The King was furious. Parliament passed four new laws
(Intolerable Acts) to punish the colonists.
Intolerable Acts (1774)
also called the Coercive Acts

These acts were meant to punish Boston for
the Boston Tea Party and to isolate Boston
from the rest of the colonies.
 Closed Boston harbor until the colonists paid
for all the tea they dumped.
 Greatly restricted colonial government
 Allowed British commanders to house troops
wherever necessary.
 Allowed British officials accused of crimes to
stand trial in England.
Intolerable Acts (1774)

 Colonists sent supplies to aid Boston; Boycotted
British goods; Established the First Continental
Congress
 Britain stood firm and tension between Britain and
the American colonies increased; the colonists
prepared for war; Fighting begins at Lexington and
Concord (the shot heard ‘round the world)