Chapter 8
The Road to War
Britain Taxes the Colonies
• Britain decides to tax the new colonies
– Britain needs money to help pay for defending the
colonies
• First tax was the Stamp Act
– The law placed a tax on printed materials in the
colonies, such as legal documents, newspapers,
and even playing cards
– When items were purchased, people had to place
a stamp on the material to show they paid the tax.
Colonists Protest
• Patrick Henry was first colonist to speak out
against the Stamp Act
– He spoke to the House of Burgesses
• Because of these taxes, colonists began to
boycott British goods and formed a group
called The Sons of Liberty
– Sons of Liberty were groups that led protests
against the new tax
Colonist Protests continued…
• Daughters of Liberty
– Women began making their own tea out of berries
and herbs
– Began weaving cloth instead of using British wool
• Because of these taxes, colonists started to
unite as Americans
Committees of Correspondence
• Samuel Adams felt it took too long for news to
travel from one colony to the next.
– He formed the Committee of Correspondence in
Boston
• This committee soon was forming in towns all over the
colonies
• These committees used fast horses to deliver news of
local events to different colonies.
Boston Tea Party and the Tea Act
• After the Townshend Acts were repealed, Britain
realized the only tax they would have was the tea
tax.
– This was to show the colonists that Britain still had a
right to tax them
• The tea act stated only one British company
would be able to sell tea to the colonies.
• Two goals for the Tea Act
– 1- help the struggling East India Company
– 2- get colonists to pay taxes to Britain
Boston Tea Party and Tea Act
continued…
• Colonists were not happy with the new tax
– They decided that ships bringing British tea would not
be allowed to unload in any colonial port
• One night, members of the Sons of Liberty
disguised themselves as Mohawks and secretly
boarded British ships. They chopped open the
barrels of tea and dumped them in the Boston
harbor.
• Britain was furious about this action and felt that
Boston needed to be punished.
Britain punishes Boston
• Because of the Boston Tea Party, Britain punishes
Boston by:
– Colonists were forced to feed and house British
soldiers
– Massachusetts was put under control of British
general named Thomas Gage
– The port of Boston was closed. No ships could come
or go until they paid for the tea they destroyed.
• The colonists called these new laws Intolerable
Acts
British punishment/Intolerable
Acts continued…
• The Intolerable Acts also had another effect
– It forced many colonists to take sides in the
conflict between Britain and Boston
• Patriots were people who opposed British rule
• Loyalists were people who remained loyal, or
supported British rule
No Taxation…
• “No Taxation without representation” was a
protest cry by the colonists
– The colonists had been self governed for years.
Since the colonists did not vote in Britain, they
had no representation there. The colonists
believed that the British had no right to tax them.
Continental Congress
• George Washington was ready to lead men into battle
to relieve Boston
– He fought for Britain in the French/Indian War and now
was ready to fight against them
• This congress met to vote on what actions the colonists
would take against Britain until the Intolerable Acts
were repealed
– Agreed to stop all trade with Britain
– Agreed that each colony should begin training a militia,
volunteer armies
– Agreed to meet in one year if situation has not improved
The Revolution Begins
• British soldiers begin their march toward
Concord
– Patriots militias stored weapons in Concord
– British wanted their march to be secret
• Paul Revere had learned of their secret plans,
and he rode on his horse shouting the news
that the British are coming
Shot Heard Around the World
• The first battle was in Lexington
– Lexington minutemen gathered to “stand up”
against the British
– British soldiers marched into Lexington and
surrounded the Lexington minutemen
– When surrounded, someone fired a shot (no one
is sure who) and British soldiers opened fire killing
eight minutemen
• Because of this, the battle was known as “the shot
heard around the world”
Battle of Concord
• Militia from nearby towns began pouring into
Concord to help
• Suddenly the Patriots had an advantage over
the British
– British began a long retreat back to Boston
Battle of Bunker Hill
• William Prescott led 1200 men up the hills of
Charleston
• If the Patriots control Bunker and Breed Hill,
they could bring up their cannons and fire on
British in Boston.
– Their goal was to force the British to leave Boston
– It did not work
• British won the Battle of Bunker Hill, but more
then 1,000 soldiers were killed or wounded