American History I Unit Two
A New Nation
EQ: What
were the
causes of the
independence
movement in
colonial
America?
• 1689-1754 France and Great
Britain in war on 4 occasions
for dominance in Europe
• 1754 last conflict- French
and Indian War
o Dispute over Ohio Valley
o French built forts, Governor
of VA built a fort that the
French took down and built
their own in its place
o George Washington went to
expel the French, short battle,
GW surrendered  world
war
• Albany Conference- June
1754, Iroquois refused
alliance with American
colonists but would remain
neutral
• Albany Plan of Unioncommittee led by Ben
Franklin- proposed colonies
unite to form a central govnt,
plan rejected but attempt to
unite for common defense
• 1755, VA: General Edward Braddock & Lt. Colonel G. Washington attack Ft.
Duquesne, French and Indian forces ambush- killing Braddock, prompted
more attacks from the Delaware in western Penn
• 1756 fighting  Europe = Seven Years War
• British fleet cut supplies to French colonies  Iroquois pressured Delaware
to end attacks  French out #ed
• 1759, General James Wolfe and fleet sailed to Quebec, won & seized
control of New France
• Spanish joined French in 1761- Britain took Spain’s colonies in Cuba and
Philippines
• Treaty of Paris: 1763- ended war, French lost power in NA
• All French territory east of the Miss. River except New Orleans  British
• Florida  Britain in exchange for Cuba and the Philippines
• France signed a separate treaty giving the Spanish control of New Orleans
and French territory west of the Mississippi
• Proclamation of
1763 – issued by in
Oct. by King George
III, line north to south
along App. Mtns
where colonists
couldn’t settle west
of line without gov
permission
• War would disrupt
trade
• Farmers and land
speculators unhappywanted access to
land
Tax policies
• 1763 George Grenville, new Prime Minister of
Britain and 1st lord of the Treasury
• Got Parliament to pass laws allowing colonial
merchant smugglers to be tried at viceadmiralty court run by naval officers
• No juries  did not have to follow English
Common Law
• John Hancock, tried in vice-admiralty courtdefended by John Adams
• Adams argued the use of vice-admiralty courts
denied colonists rights as British citizens
Sugar Act
• Grenville, American Revenue Act, 1764
• Raised tax rate on imports of raw sugar and
molasses- new taxes on silk, wine, coffee, pimento,
and indigo
• Hurt colonial trade
• Colonists angry- violation of traditional English
rights- property improperly seized without due
process
• James Otis argued colonies had no representation in
Parliament  “No Taxation Without Representation”
• Sugar Act remained, Grenville passed the Currency
Act 1764- slow inflation, banned the use of paper
money in the colonies (had made loans easier to
repay)
Stamp Act
• March 1765- taxed printed
materials- newspapers, pamphlets,
posters, wills, mortgages, deeds,
licenses, diplomas, playing cards
• First direct tax on colonists
• Patrick Henry’s speeches 
Virginia House of Burgesses to pass
resolutions declaring Virginians
were entitled to rights as British
citizens and could only be taxed by
their own reps
• Summer 1765- sons of liberty organized
demonstrations
• October, 1765 Stamp Act Congress- issued a
Declaration of Rights and Grievances, drafted by John
Dickinson
• Declared taxation depended upon representation, only
body to tax was the colonial representatives not
Parliament, petitioned of relief and repeal of Stamp
Act
• Colonial response boycott of British goods
• NY: nonimportation agreements -not to buy British
made goods until the Stamp Act was repealed
• Protests  Parliament repealed the Stamp Act in 1766
• The Declaratory Act- Parliament had the power to
make laws for the colonies
Townshend Acts
• 1767, Charles Townshend, chancellor of the Exchanger,
new taxes on glass, lead, paper, paint, and tea imported
by colonies
• Violators tried in vice-admiralty courts
• Authorized writs of assistance- general search warrant
• Winter 1767-1768 J.Dickinson published essays, Letters
From a Farmer in Pennsylvania  reasserted right to tax
by colonial assemblies, form body to resist
• Adams and Otis in Mass. issued a circular letter to be
circulated to other colonies criticizing the Townshend Acts
• British demanded withdraw, Massachusetts assembly
refused
• British government ordered the assembly of
Massachusetts dissolved
• August 1768  nonimportation agreements- not import
goods from Britain
• May 1769 Virginia Resolves- only the
House of Burgesses could tax Virginians
• Britain dissolved the House of Burgesses
 G. Washington, Patrick Henry, T.
Jefferson called convention- passed
nonimportation law in VA
• Women’s groups, Daughters of Liberty
spun own cloth- called homespun– sign of
patriotism
• British response to “no taxation without
representation”
• Virtual Representation  colonists = English
citizens, English citizens elected members of
P, colonists thus represented
Boston Massacre
• March 5, 1770- crowd of colonists
taunted and threw snowballs at
British troops guarding the customs
house
• Troops fired on the colonists, five
died, six wounded- first colonist to
die was Cripus Attucks (of Native
and African descendent)
• Temporary peace in Colonial
America
• Townshend Acts repealed,
smuggling resumed, The British
ship Gaspee searched ships
without a warrant, June 1772
ran aground and set afire by
colonists, suspects sent to GB for
trial
• March, 1773 T. Jefferson
suggested a committee of
correspondence to open
communication with the other
colonies about British actions 
unification & coordination
Boston Tea Party
• New policies with British East India
Company bypassed American
merchants who distributed the tea
• October 1773 East India Company
shipped 1,253 chests of tea to
Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and
Charles Town
• Boston- December 17,1773- night
before tea ashore- group of 150 men
dressed as Native Americans
boarded the ship and destroyed 342
chests of tea
• Spring 1774, Parliament passed 4 new laws = the Coercive Acts
• 1st act, Boston Port Act- closed the port until the city paid for the tea
• 2nd act, Massachusetts Government Act, required all council members, judges, and
sheriffs in Massachusetts to appointed by the governor, not elected- banned town
meetings
• 3rd act, Administration of Justice Act, governor could transfer trials of British
soldiers and officials to Britain to protect them from American juries
• 4th act, Quartering Act, local officials required to provide lodging for British
soldiers, in private homes if necessary
• Coercive Acts violated traditional English rights
• July, 1774- Quebec Act- governor and council appointed by the king would govern
Quebec- also added Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, and Indiana, Wisconsin, colonists
moving west would fall under royal control with no ability to elect assemblies
• Implied British trying to take control of colonial governments
• Coercive Acts and Quebec Act = the Intolerable Acts